Do you feel like you need to make some changes to your meals this year but lack inspiration? Look no further than your blender. Blenders are not only good for making smoothies but can bring a variety of delicious tastes right into your own kitchen. You can make sauces, soups, and even desserts. We present to you the best (and tastiest!) blender recipes that will keep you going!

Making Soup in a Blender

When making soup in a blender, there are often two steps:

• Vegetables may be pre-roasted, sautéed, or boiled.
• In a blender, combine the hot cooked veggies, additional ingredients, and liquids (such as broth) to get a smooth consistency.

On a hot summer day, gazpacho is a cold, refreshing, and tasty soup that is the ideal starter to any meal. It’s also an excellent healthful snack.

Gazpacho:

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds peeled, seeded, and roughly chopped tomatoes
• 1 day-old baguette, optionally scooped insides (use gluten-free for allergies)
• 2 peeled, seeded, and roughly chopped cucumbers
• 1 small sweet onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 red bell pepper or one of the following bell peppers: yellow, green, purple, or orange bell pepper
• 1 to 2 tbsp sherry vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
• half a cup of extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt, to taste1 dash, freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. In a blender, combine the tomatoes, bread, cucumbers, onions, garlic, and pepper. Blend the ingredients until smooth. If all of the ingredients don’t fit in the blender at once, you may need to load it in batches.
2. Add the vinegar and pulse until fully mixed.
3. At this point, you can strain the gazpacho if desired. It will have a smoother texture as a result of this. Some people like their gazpacho is somewhat thick; it’s a question of preference.
4. While the mixer is running, slowly drizzle in the extra virgin olive oil until thoroughly absorbed.
5. Pour the gazpacho into a large non-metallic bowl after it has been well mixed. Season with more vinegar and season with salt and pepper to suit. After fully mixing, refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
6. If preferred, garnish each plate with chopped veggies, croutons, and egg when serving.

Vegan banana pudding

It’s summer and whenever it gets too hot to bake, just try these quick and simple desserts, like this awesome raw vegan banana pudding. It’s super refreshing and you’re going to love it!

Ingredients

• Raw cashews nuts
• 2 frozen bananas
• 2 regular bananas
• 4 Medjool dates
• ¾ cup almond milk (185 ml)
• Toppings: raspberries and chopped cashews (optional)

Instructions

1. You can soak the cashews overnight or for a few hours to soften them up before blending.
2. Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Chill for at least 2 hours.
3. Before serving, sprinkle with your preferred garnishes, such as fresh raspberries and chopped cashews.

Instant Blueberry Frozen Yogurt

With only 4 ingredients and 5 minutes or less in a blender, you can have this healthy Instant Blueberry Frozen Yogurt! It’s great to have a healthy and easy option for some cool refreshments.

Ingredients

• 4 cups of blueberries, (frozen)
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1/2 cup nonfat plain yoghurt
• 1 tablespoon lime juice

Instructions

1. Place all the ingredients into a blender.
2. Blend until smooth, stopping to scrape the sides as needed.
3. Serve immediately for a soft-serve texture, or pour into a freezer-safe container with a lid and freeze for 1 hour before serving.

Flourless almond butter and jam muffins

These flourless almond butter and jam muffins are gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free, oil-free and whipped up in the blender in under 5 minutes flat.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup (128 g) almond butter
• 1 ripe medium banana (100g or 1/2 cup)
• large egg
• 1/4 cup honey (80 g)
• 1/2 cup rolled oats (40 g)
• 2 tbsp ground flaxseed (14 g)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup (60g) of your favourite jam

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 190C and prepare a muffin pan by spraying 9 cavities with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. Add all the ingredients except for jam to a blender and blend on high until the oats are broken down and the batter is smooth and creamy.
3. Use a greased tablespoon to spoon approximately 2 Tbsp (30 ml) of batter into the prepared muffin pan, filling each cavity about 1/3 of the way full. There should be enough to generously cover the bottom of the cavity.
4. Add 1 to 1 1/2 tsp. of jam to the centre of each cavity before topping with another 2 Tbsp (30 ml) of batter, or until each cavity is 3/4 of the way full. You want to make sure that all of the jam is covered so that it doesn’t seep out and burn on the side of the pan.
5. Bake for 10–12 minutes, until the tops of your muffins, are set and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool for about 10 minutes in the pan before removing them. Store it in an airtight container for up to a week.

Feeling inspired to get blending and cooking?