Product Review - Magic Bullet

It’s Saturday night and you’ve just returned from yet another night on the town, but aren’t quite ready to go to bed yet. You still have to clear the cigarette smoke from your lungs and down six bottles of water before you attempt to sleep. What do most people do? They click on the TV. The first thing you are met with? Infomercials.

Throughout this website, you will find several product review from items “As Seen on TV!”. Such as the following product:

http://www.buythebullet.com/

Meet the infamous Magic Bullet. Created by Homeland Housewares, its relatives include a Fat Burning supplement, an upgrade kit, and a recipe booklet. The Bullet appeared a few years ago for the one-time low price of $99.95, but now is available in most home goods stores.

I purchased my Bullet from one of those local stores with a 20% off coupon clutched tightly in my fat little hands. I eagerly hurried home, thousands of recipes in my head for amazing, fat free meals that could be ready to pour in only 10 seconds.

The basic setup includes the motor, four ‘party cups’ two sealant lids, shaker and steamer tops, two blades, and two cups – a large and a small. Oh, the party cups come with 4 various colored ‘comfort rings’, as the site so eloquently put it. I also pulled out an instruction manual and recipe booklet, which as of late I unfortunately have not opened. In fact, I can’t recall where I put it. The instructions lasted about two days before my first explosion.

To start off with, I read some reviews on one of my favorite shopping sites: Amazon. One review stated that there was a strange smell when the motor was run for more than 10 seconds. Other reviewers loved the product, while some reeked of a standardized review from the company with nothing but the actual product name replaced.

My first ‘recipe’ was, and still is, my standard breakfast protein shake. I used the tall cup because of the amount of milk and powder required to create my desired amount of breakfast goodness. I used the basic two blade attachment to mix the drink. The outcome is the same each time: While the consistency of the shake tastes fine – no chunks of powder get lodged in my throat while I’m hurriedly driving to work – about a half inch of the drink by the blade turns into a foamy concoction, causing me to swallow large amounts of air. I attempted to drink out of a party cup with the yellow comfort lid, all to discover that those lids are not suitable for the dishwasher and warp if you use the heat dry option on it. The drink promptly spilled all over my white shirt, and I was clutching my purse to my chest most of the day. I have since not used the rings. In fact, those are gone too…maybe somewhere with the recipe manual.

Not to give up so easily, I attempted my first food chopping experience with the trusty Bullet. I use a lot of garlic in my dishes because of its heart-healthy benefits, but the smell on fingers of garlic is not pleasant after the second day. I decided to try to create a simple marinade using olive oil, a few cloves of garlic, and a few other spices. I used the main blade with the 4 pronged chopper, and the small cup. The result was pleasant, and at this point I did notice a slight ‘heat’ smell associated with running the motor longer than 10 seconds. I checked the machine over, with no visible problems, I continued using it.

The marinade came out beautifully, and my hands were not tormented by the sticky, garlic feeling that takes a week to wash off. As of now, I have chopped onions, cheese, and pureed fruit with it. The smell also has not returned.

I also made a fruit smoothie using frozen fruit, yoghurt, and some milk with it. My only complaint with the cups is that there should be a third cup in a larger size, as the smoothie turned out to expand a little more than I anticipated.

Here are some notes on caring for the Bullet:

Don’t wash the blades in the dishwasher. My advice is if you are in a hurry, rinse the residue from your creation off and leave it until you get home in the evening. At that time, I advise handwashing the blade. My experience with a fruit smoothie yesterday consisted of the rubber ring within the blade’s cap becoming loose and popping out of the chamber, delightfully spraying purple paste all over my refrigerator, and making me change into a new shirt.

The rings are a waste of time. I use the party cups when my other two cups are dirty and are in the dishwasher – these are the only things that can be thrown in there.

If you decide to make a smoothie and it calls for one cup of milk, add a little extra. The blades are not standard blender blades. This machine is ideal for apartment dwellers that have little space, but because of its small size, it can’t handle the stress of frozen fruit as well as a standard blender can. Hence why I bought the machine - I lived in a tiny, 730 square foot apartment with the world's smallest kitchen.

Overall, I like my little Magic Bullet and continue to use the product. If I can find the recipe booklet, I’ll try out one of the recipes. It’s probably with those darn party cup rings somewhere….

Special thanks to Kat for giving me the idea for my first review!