How to Use Mason Jars With a Blender

After the last post on The Return of the Blue Mason Jar, it reminded me to share this great way to utilize your mason jar in the kitchen!

I’m not really a morning person, so over the last few years I’ve really tried to streamline my mornings. One of my favourite ways to do that is by swapping out my usual breakfast with a smoothie. They are a great way to make a healthy meal for on-the-go and they just so happen to be delicious too. I load them up with frozen fruit, protein powder and coconut water/milk or make an awesome Mint Chocolate Green Monster Smoothie. I like knowing I’m getting a good meal in first thing, before the craziness of the day sets in and I forget to eat.

The only downside to making a smoothie in the morning is the clean up – washing an entire huge blender just to make one smoothie is not fun, especially when you get protein powder stuck on it. I’ve tried using a Magic Bullet before, but it never seemed to be powerful enough to blend the frozen fruit. More times than not, I’ll just make a quick protein shake (water + protein powder in a shaker cup) and grab a banana. Not very exciting, but at least it’s quick.

Then I found out that you can use a mason jar with your blender and make single serving smoothies – and breakfasts just got fun again!

It turns out that the threads of regular mason jars fits the threads of most blenders. Apparently blenders used to come with a mason jar as an accessory for blending smaller amounts, but over the years manufacturers stopped adding them in.

To see if your blender is compatible with a mason jar, attached the blade and twist on the cap. As long as the blades are not touching the inside of the glass and the seal is tight, then you’re good to go. You may need to swap out a regular mouth mason jar for a wide mouth mason jar depending on your blender.

A few important safety tips:

• Only use real mason jars – they’re made with tempered glass and can stand up to the pressure of the blending without breaking. Don’t use old spaghetti sauce or mayo jars, which are often made with thinner, more fragile glass.
• Never blend hot liquids, such as soups. The hole in the top of your blender is there to allow pressure and steam to escape. Since the jar does not have a hole at the top, the pressure might cause the jar to explode.
• Make sure that the rubber seal on your blender is in good condition. and fits properly on the jar. You can do a test using half a jar of water and see if there is any leakage. If there is, replace the rubber seal.

Smoothies are great, but there are lots of other great uses for swapping out your blender for a mason jar:

As I was whipping up this morning’s smoothie, I seemed to grab someone else’s attention. I guess he was wanting to get in on that strawberry-banana action too.

This is his favourite way to see onto tables, smell particularly high flowers, look both ways at intersections when we cross (drivers always crack up when they see that) or peek over the bed to see if it’s safe to jump up for morning cuddles (he waits until we’re awake). His little quirks really do make life more interesting.