Dietechicians and nutritionists have been saying for years that a healthy diet needs to include 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables. And I will admit that I was not even consuming 20 percentage of that number. So I began a regime of having a smoothie from our local Robeks 3 times a week. But each time I went in to have my favorite Active Apple, I always got this pit in my stomach when the cashier rang up close to $9 for my ounce drink. That was working out to be almost $30 a week and $150 a month.
Cleaning Fruit Pulp
So my spouse and I threw down $180 for a Ninja Mixer at Costco and started making smoothies at home. I even bought a Magic Bullet mixer to blend smoothies at work. And while the smoothies tasted great, the clean-up of the mixer afterwords always left me regretting the whole endeavor. The pulp from the fruit stuck to the side of the mixer almost as if it was blended with super glue. And soaking the container in water overnight almost did nothing to loosen the pulp from the plastic. And scrubbing the insides became a chore almost as bad as cleaning the toilet. And sometimes I thought I got it all off and then there was always this corner of the mixer I couldn’t reach with a sponge.
Hack for Cleaning Mixer
Then I discovered this awesome hack that changed the whole cleaning experience for me. I only needed 3 things; 1. water 2. dish detergent and 3. your mixer. By mixing water with a little dish detergent in the mixer, I was able to thoroughly clean the mixer with no scrubbing or soaking. Here are my steps:
1. Add 1/2 to 2/3 of water to the mixer.
2. Add a small amount of dish washing detergent (and I mean small as the mixer is going to really create suds).
3. Start out mixing on the low setting. You will start to see the pulp on the sides at the bottom of the mixer begin to disappear.
4. After about 25 seconds, switch the mixer to medium. At this point the mixer will be cleaning the lower 3/4 of the blender.
5. After about 40 seconds, switch the mode to high. The mixer will now be blending all the way to the top. Once you see no more pulp clinging to the sides, stop the blender.
Usually the whole process takes under a minute, but that of course depends on how stubborn your pulp is. Then simply pour out the contents of the blender and rinse out the suds. Your mixer will be cleaner than the day you bought it.