I wish I had a Ninja Creami during the liquid diet

[BigSue 1,342]

YOU GUYS this machine makes ice cream out of Protein shakes! I am so obsessed with my Ninja Creami. I'm way past the stages that involved subsisting mainly on Protein Shakes, but even now, I am loving the ability to make delicious ice cream that's even lower in calories than Halo Top (and doesn't leave me painfully bloated if I eat more than 2 bites of it, the way Halo Top does). This thing would have been a game-changer during the pre-op diet, liquid, and pureed stages. I would almost say it should be a mandatory purchase for all WLS patients (j/k but HIGHLY recommended).

Who else has jumped on the Creami bandwagon?

[BlondePatriotInCDA 426]

I've read several posts about people raving about the Creami, it sounds great! I'm just very hesitant after reading all the negative reviews with mechanical breakdowns ...cutting the plastic container putting shards of plastic in the ice cream...etc. How long have you had it and how is it performing for you?

[BigSue 1,342]

43 minutes ago, BlondePatriotinCDA said:

I've read several posts about people raving about the Creami, it sounds great! I'm just very hesitant after reading all the negative reviews with mechanical breakdowns ...cutting the plastic container putting shards of plastic in the ice cream...etc. How long have you had it and how is it performing for you?

I bought it on Black Friday, so I've had it a little over a month. No major problems so far. I will say it's a pain to clean and runs really, really loud (seriously, you should either leave the room while it's running or wear ear plugs), but for the results it produces, I think it's worth the trouble. I held off on buying it for a long time because America's Test Kitchen gave it a negative review, but I don't think they were considering the advantage of being able to make healthy ice cream.

[BlondePatriotInCDA 426]

1 minute ago, BigSue said:

I bought it on Black Friday, so I've had it a little over a month. No major problems so far. I will say it's a pain to clean and runs really, really loud (seriously, you should either leave the room while it's running or wear ear plugs), but for the results it produces, I think it's worth the trouble. I held off on buying it for a long time because America's Test Kitchen gave it a negative review, but I don't think they were considering the advantage of being able to make healthy ice cream.

Thank you for replying. Like I said, I've been contemplating it.. Perhaps buying an extra warranty make but help. I noticed most people had issues with it between 1 month and 3..

Again, thank you for the answers...anything to break up the monotony of the same foods over and over would be welcome.

[BabySpoons 589]

I have a Vitamix but have yet to make ice cream in it. Thanks for the reminder. Need to give it a try. Sounds yummy and Ninja does make good products. I recently bought a Ninja Woodfire Pellet Smoker Outdoor grill.

Do you have a favorite recipe to share that would work in my Vitamix?

[Shanna NYC 148]

I own the Creami Breeze and I love it. I bought it back in July, granted I haven't used it a ton, but I just made a batch just last night. So far no mechanical issues and this one doesn't seem terribly hard to clean, but yes oh yes it is quite loud. It's only for a few minutes for each spin, but I think it's louder than your average blender. For what it produces though, I'd say it's a fair trade.

My first attempt, I used the vanilla Isopure Protein Powder mixed with almond milk and sugar free vanilla pudding mix and I was not a fan at all.

Yesterday, I used a Fairlife Nutrition Plan chocolate shake and 1 tbsp of Sugar Free Chocolate pudding mix to make the initial mix. Added a splash of skim fairlife to spin into a creamy consistency and then mixed in melted sugar free chocolate chips to make it more like chocolate flakes throughout. Absolutely delicious.

There are a ton of recipes online I would love to try. I really want to make a coffee flavored one next.

[brandycsiz 47]

I got one for Christmas and totally love it... So nice to be able to have a sweet treat at night and not have to think about it. I have pinned so many recipes on Pinterest that I cant wait to try. It is defiantly loud but only for a few minutes, you have to remember to keep bases in the freezer since they have to be there for 24 hours before you spin them but those are just little things..

I currently have Fairlife chocolate with sugar free Cheesecake pudding blended in, in the freezer.. I am going to be working on a Dole Whip one for this weekend...

[BlondePatriotInCDA 426]

23 hours ago, brandycsiz said:

I got one for Christmas and totally love it... So nice to be able to have a sweet treat at night and not have to think about it. I have pinned so many recipes on Pinterest that I cant wait to try. It is defiantly loud but only for a few minutes, you have to remember to keep bases in the freezer since they have to be there for 24 hours before you spin them but those are just little things..

I currently have Fairlife chocolate with sugar free Cheesecake pudding blended in, in the freezer.. I am going to be working on a Dole Whip one for this weekend...

This sounds delicious! I decided to break down and buy one. Which model does everyone have? I recently started drinking the fairlife Elite Core Protein Drinks which I actually don't mind (yay for 42 Protein grams each), but if I can incorporate them into a "treat" it would be all the better!

Thanks for your responses in advance! 😊

[Shanna NYC 148]

I have the Ninja Creami Breeze 7 in 1.

[BigSue 1,342]

On 1/10/2024 at 3:11 PM, BlondePatriotInCDA said:

This sounds delicious! I decided to break down and buy one. Which model does everyone have?

I got the Deluxe because (1) it has bigger containers (24 ounces for the Deluxe vs. 16 ounces for the other models) and (2) it has more programs than the other models. To be honest, I don't fully understand the difference between programs, and I'm not 100% convinced it matters (e.g., what's the difference between light ice cream and frozen yogurt programs?), but it's nice to have options. I like the bigger containers because it allows more flexibility in what recipes I can make, and I usually eat half and re-freeze the other half for later.

A few pro tips:

• Buy extra containers. You have to freeze the mixture for 12-24 hours, so you'll want to be able to make it in advance so you don't have to wait until you consume one to freeze the next one. The machine only comes with two containers (unless you find a deal that includes extra containers), and I bought 4 more for a total of 6. My extras are not Ninja brand but they are the same shape and size to work with the machine, at half the price of the Ninja brand.
• Re-spin! No matter what program you use, your ice cream will probably come out looking like powder and you'll think something is wrong. Put it back in the machine and re-spin at least once, sometimes two or three times. Some people say to add liquid before re-spinning, but I recommend NOT to do that, because as it sits at room temperature during the re-spins, it will start to melt into its own liquid, so if you add more liquid, it will get too soft. Also, this is kind of confusing, but if you save some for later, you have to re-freeze it in the container and then creamify it using the applicable program (e.g., light ice cream, sorbet, frozen yogurt, etc.), NOT re-spin. In other words, never use the re-spin button when it's frozen solid.
• You'll probably need to add sweetener and/or flavor. When people are dissatisfied with recipes, I suspect that it's usually because of insufficient sweetness. YMMV, but I like things super sweet, so I always add sugar-free sweetener (erythritol and/or Splenda) and lots of it. People say that freezing and creamifying it makes it taste less sweet, so when you taste the liquid before freezing it, you'll probably want it to be on the verge of too sweet. Same goes for flavor -- it tastes weaker after freezing and creamifying. There are some great flavorings available that can really enhance your creations. Lorann, One on One Flavors, and Bakto flavorings are available on Amazon and offer a ton of variety. McCormick cake batter extract is also a delicious addition to vanilla bases and is available at most grocery stores.

[BlondePatriotInCDA 426]

7 hours ago, BigSue said:

I got the Deluxe because (1) it has bigger containers (24 ounces for the Deluxe vs. 16 ounces for the other models) and (2) it has more programs than the other models. To be honest, I don't fully understand the difference between programs, and I'm not 100% convinced it matters (e.g., what's the difference between light ice cream and frozen yogurt programs?), but it's nice to have options. I like the bigger containers because it allows more flexibility in what recipes I can make, and I usually eat half and re-freeze the other half for later.

A few pro tips:

• Buy extra containers. You have to freeze the mixture for 12-24 hours, so you'll want to be able to make it in advance so you don't have to wait until you consume one to freeze the next one. The machine only comes with two containers (unless you find a deal that includes extra containers), and I bought 4 more for a total of 6. My extras are not Ninja brand but they are the same shape and size to work with the machine, at half the price of the Ninja brand.
• Re-spin! No matter what program you use, your ice cream will probably come out looking like powder and you'll think something is wrong. Put it back in the machine and re-spin at least once, sometimes two or three times. Some people say to add liquid before re-spinning, but I recommend NOT to do that, because as it sits at room temperature during the re-spins, it will start to melt into its own liquid, so if you add more liquid, it will get too soft. Also, this is kind of confusing, but if you save some for later, you have to re-freeze it in the container and then creamify it using the applicable program (e.g., light ice cream, sorbet, frozen yogurt, etc.), NOT re-spin. In other words, never use the re-spin button when it's frozen solid.
• You'll probably need to add sweetener and/or flavor. When people are dissatisfied with recipes, I suspect that it's usually because of insufficient sweetness. YMMV, but I like things super sweet, so I always add sugar-free sweetener (erythritol and/or Splenda) and lots of it. People say that freezing and creamifying it makes it taste less sweet, so when you taste the liquid before freezing it, you'll probably want it to be on the verge of too sweet. Same goes for flavor -- it tastes weaker after freezing and creamifying. There are some great flavorings available that can really enhance your creations. Lorann, One on One Flavors, and Bakto flavorings are available on Amazon and offer a ton of variety. McCormick cake batter extract is also a delicious addition to vanilla bases and is available at most grocery stores.

"McCormick cake batter extract is also a delicious addition to vanilla bases and is available at most grocery stores" this sounds amazing! I never knew they made such a thing!!

I decided to buy the deluxe too, for the size of the containers and different options. I've already made Fairlife core elite (42 Protein grams) ice cream and it was wonderful...A nice change of texture from just drinking my protein!

Thank you for responding to this post, amazing tips!