How To Use Portable Blender In Your Travel For Creamy Strawberry Banana Smoothie

Indeed, a blender is one of the kitchen appliances you’ll find in every home. Not only can you use it to speed up cooking time, but also maintain your healthy lifestyle, especially with fresh smoothies. And if you have and know how to use portable blender in your travel, you can enjoy all your creative recipes from anywhere in the world.

That’s right.

If you take part in events that have you spend time away from home, the truth is that you can’t take your kitchen with you. So, a dedicated portable blender for travel can be more healful than you think. You can make not only your favorite frozen banana and strawberry smoothie but also vegetable soups and even a lump-free protein shake.

A Personal Blender isn’t Exactly A Portable Blender

While many people use the two terms interchangeably, a personal blender isn’t exactly a portable blender. True, you can use either blender to puree food or make smoothies and other liquid recipes in single-serve quantities.

However, nearly all portable blenders have a built-in rechargeable battery, unlike a personal blender like Magic Bullet or Vitamix that relies on plug-in power. The manufacturers usually create them (portable blenders) with the idea of single-serve and blend-on-the-go in mind.

Of course, we sometimes say a personal blender is for blending on the go as well. But that’s more like a metaphor for its compactness and portability.

The Benefit of Using Portable Blender

Just like everything else, there’s a reason why creators innovated the person blender in the early 2000s, and so are portable blenders. But then, is the little guy really worth it? Or rather why do I need a portable blender if I’m not a nomad?

Well, first of all, you don’t need to live a nomadic lifestyle, traveling around the world, to make the most of a portable blender. Even at home, the device can come in handy when your full-size kitchen blender dies on you.

In any case, here are seven key benefits of using a portable blender

• So affordable: the device falls in the category of blenders under $50, with some top models even selling less than twenty bucks. That’s something you shouldn’t complain about even if you have a full-size Vitamix and a food processor.
• Easy to Carry: all portable blenders have a compact water bottle-like design that you can insert in your backpack’s side pocket without a hassle. You could even fit in most car cup holders or carry in your hands.
• Blend Anywhere: Thanks to the built-in battery, you can enjoy your nutrients at any time, anywhere. Be it in the amazon jungle, on Everest, beach, car, at the gym or office. You can also charge in either the home AC outlet, solar, RV converter, car charger, power bank, or even desktop.
• Drink as You Go: the container you use to blend can also be used to drink. Most even have a convenient flip-cap lid for easier drinking without hurting your lips.
• Easy to Store: The compact design takes literally no space. So, you can use and store in the tiniest space available.
• Clean with Ease: A portable blender is as easy to clean as a water bottle since the blending cups are also the same ones to drink. Some of the gadgets are even usable in the dishwasher cleaning cycle.
• Optimal Convenience: The single-serve blender is totally convenient when you count all the other six benefits and the dozens of creative recipes you can prepare. Smoothies, vegan salads, sauces, salsas, milkshakes, and protein shakes to mention a few.

How to Use Portable Blender for a Creamy Strawberry Banana Smoothie

Similar to the full-size designs, each of the portable blenders out there is unique in both makeup and performance. That means the way you set it up and operate will also be different depending on the machine you have at hand.

In our little experiment here, I will be working with the PopBabies USB Blender, which is not only affordable. But also the bestselling rechargeable portable blender in the market right now.

In any case, to make that creamy strawberry banana smoothie, you’ll need some strawberries, a ripe banana, coconut milk, and some ice cubes. You can make the ice cubes with the mini ice tray that comes with the portable blender to ensure the 1-2 inch size.

Directions:

1. Charge the motor base (3-5 hours)
2. Chop the ripe banana and strawberries no bigger than 2 inches
3. (Optional) crush the ice cubes further to smaller sizes
4. Put the milk into the blending bottle to about a fifth (20% of the total content)
5. Add the other ingredients, preferably the softest at the bottom and the toughest on top. Make sure you leave some space at the top of the bottle to get the best blending results
6. Attach the bottle to the motor unit while still sitting upright
7. Press the Power button twice to turn the motor on and start blending.
8. Continue blending as you shake the blender gently and tilt down to 45 degrees several times.
9. After blending for about 30-40 seconds, press the power button once to end the blending
10. Disengage the blending bottle from the motor unit. Serve in drinking glasses or drink directly from the bottle.

Note, the PopBabbies USB blender is programmed to automatically turn off after 20 seconds. So, when it happens, press the power button to begin blending again. You can wait until the return 20 seconds end again if the blender hasn’t fully pulverized all the ingredients. But if they have by the 30-second mark, you can press the power button once to stop blending.

Another thing, the motor in most portable blenders isn’t designed to run for more than two consecutive cycles or over one minute no-stop. It could overheat and burn out. Hence, the reason you should freeze your fruits yourself to about 1-1.5 inches and crush your normal ice cubes into a smaller size.

Care and Maintenance:

Similar to other appliances, you need to take care of your portable blender to make the most of it. That means ensuring it’s full of charge and also cleaning it immediately before and after every use.

• How To Charge Portable Blender

Although not all, some portable blenders cannot blend without charge and when charging. So, you’ll need to charge it fully before use to guarantee optimal blending.

As for the brands I’ve seen so far, the travel blender usually has a Type-C charging Port. So, the standard USB Type-C cable should be able to charge it. And to do that, you just need to plug the Type-C end (smaller end) of the USB cable into the allocated slot. Then, the larger end of the cable into any powered USB slot, such as wall charger adapter, computer port, car charger, or even power bank.

Note: Keep an eye on the integrated led light to know when your motor unit is fully charged. Also, check your manufacturer manual to know which light color represents full charge. If it’s our PopBabies model, Solid Red means battery low, Blinking Blue is almost full, and a Sold Blue is for a full charge.

• How To Clean Portable Blender

As was mentioned, you should clean your portable blender before and after every use. Just like the countertop blenders, the little guy does support self-cleaning through the motor’s power. You just need to add warm water and some dish soap into the blending bottle. Then, hit the power button and blend the soapy mixture for thirty seconds.

Alternatively, you can perform a deep cleaning of the blending bottle and the lid by hand washing in warm, soapy water. Then, rinse with clean, running water and drain if it’s meant to be stored.

If you prefer, you could also clean your blender container and lid in the dishwasher on the top rack. As for the detachable motor unit, the hidden electrical components can easily get damaged when they touches water. So, clean by wiping with a damp cloth or sponge without fully submerging into the water.

In Conclusion

A portable blender is definitely worth it if you want to maintain your healthy eating while even on the move. It’s not only easy to bring, but you can use it to make your favorite smoothies and shakes in seconds.

Even so, the motor in a portable blender is pretty tiny and not as powerful as that of full-size blenders. Hence, the reason I emphasize further chopping your solid ingredients into smaller sizes of under 2 inches. The same applies to the ice cube and frozen fruits if you’re trying to make a chilled, denser smoothie.