Resources

1. Vitamix Blender

Vitamix 5200 Blender: My family owns 4 Vitamix blenders and everyone at our Perfect Smoothie team owns one as well. We all started with other blenders and through the years figured out that this blender is really the cornerstone of what allows us to make smoothies every day. If you are hesitant to pay so much for a blender we recommend taking the chance and trying it for the 30 day trial, if you don't want to keep it Vitamix will even pay for the return shipping.

BONUS TIP: You alternatively can get a certified reconditioned Vitamix 5200 for almost $200 cheaper than the new model. By using our link you will additionally get free shipping (a $25 savings) . On the reconditioned blenders page the Vitamix 5200 is listed as the "Certified Reconditioned Standard".

2. Ceramic Knives & Peelers

Kyocera Knife: Cutting and peeling in the kitchen are something I always try to avoid. The "small" amount of extra work was significant enough that I would just avoid preparing something myself. It might sound crazy, but something so small made a huge difference for me. I normally try to use mostly frozen ingredients as they are typically pre-cut and pre-washed. However, a minimal amount of cutting will always be involved in preparing anything fresh which you can't really buy frozen.

I was skeptical that ceramic knives and peelers would be much different, however, it makes a HUGE difference. I found that after getting a ceramic peeler and knife I started to cook more given how easy it was to peel and cut things like sweet potatoes, which I frankly won't prepare if I don't have ceramics available. Any time I go to a friend or relative's place where I have to help in the kitchen I usually end up buying them this set as a gift. Without them I don't like to cook or even assist in the kitchen as it feels like normal knives are a pain in the butt.

BONUS TIP: You can get these with free shipping from Amazon. Additionally, with Amazon you can test the knives and peeler for 30 days and send them back if they don't help you. I guarantee you that once you feel the difference you'll never go back! Kyocera also offers lifelong free sharpening to anyone in the US, which means you'll hopefully never have to buy another knife.

3. Electric Kettle

Electric Kettle: I use this electric kettle every day to either make smoothies, make oatmeal with thawed frozen organic blueberries (usually for my first meal), or some type of hot tea. One of the main time saving tricks disclosed in our Fastest Smoothie Lesson is that we use mostly frozen ingredients mixed with hot water from the kettle which instantly thaws the ingredients allowing them to blend faster.

Without heated water you'd have to add about 2 to 3 times as much liquid, it would take significantly longer to blend, and you'll probably have to use the tamper. You can alternatively heat water in a microwave. Though, you can fill up a kettle once per day and then all you have to do is flick the switch and hot water is ready to pour in under 60 seconds. I find that having it right next to my smoothie and cooking workstation saves time.

4. Blender Bottles

Blender Bottle: I've tried lots of different containers for drinking (or "eating") smoothies and I find that these work the best. They are also big enough so that you can reach in with your hand and use a spoon to get the last parts of the smoothie out.

I now also use these instead of regular drinking glasses because they hold so much, are easy to grip, and are stable on the counter when completely full. Furthermore, I find that by filling up a 28 oz container with water, as opposed to something smaller, I tend to drink about 40% more water during the day with less refills.

BONUS TIP: For some reason you can get a two-pack from Amazon with free shipping, plus with the two-pack the price is about $2 bucks less per bottle. If you buy from the page with just the single bottle you have to buy 6 of them to for the shipping to be free, the only difference is that with the two pack the color choices are limited. If you are just wanting to give them a try I recommend getting the two pack.

Food Scale

Sohlne Electronic Food Scale: Whenever you are wanting to exactly follow any kind of recipe it is very handy to have one of the easy to use electronic food scales on your counter. One of the fun things about experimenting with recipes is that once you find one you really like half the fun is weighing the ingredients to see what the nutrition profile is. My goal was to experiment for several months and to create meals that were both healthy (and optimized according to the latest health research) and also tasted great. Knowing the weight of the food in grams or ounces is a much more accurate way to measure the food compared to calculating the volume with measure containers.

BONUS TIP: Once you've got a recipe that you really like you can use your food scale and follow along the steps in our build your own recipe lesson. I used my food scale to weigh all the ingredients for my 3 most common meals, used the steps in the lesson to calculate the nutritional profile, and then put all of the information in a spreadsheet so I know exactly what I consume on an average day.

Protein Powders

I've tested over 50 different types of protein and I now buy just these two. I prefer the double chocolate whey gold standard as my source of whey protein and the warrior blend raw vegan protein as my plant based protein powder source. I find that Sun Warrior makes the best vanilla tasting product and that Gold Standard makes the best chocolate flavored product (both without aspartame) and these two flavors just taste the best in smoothies. Furthermore, I like to diversify my sources of protein and try to consume one scoop of each product per day.

BONUS TIP: You can get both of these with free shipping from amazon using the above links. I tend to order two of each which lasts me 3 - 6 months.