About 6 months ago I discovered the glory of the Nutribullet while visiting my best friend at her house in Los Angeles.

I’d been struggling to make daily smoothies for several weeks at my apartment. My drinks consistently ended up with kale and celery lumps in the ‘juice’ and after a few weeks it became too difficult for me to put down the slosh. I could have just taken out my Juicer and juiced each vegetable or fruit individually, but then I was left with a giant mess to clean up, and half a cup of juice felt like a small reward for all that work. One morning while visiting her, I woke up early, and while everyone was sleeping, I tiptoed downstairs to find something to make for breakfast. There were no eggs to be found, but she had a bunch of veges and fruit, so I thought I’d try making a smoothie with her Nutribullet because she always said such wonderful things about it. I’d never used one or seen one used, but I figured it had to be pretty straight forward.

I loaded it with kale, apples, lemon and a little bit of water, screwed the cap on and placed it upside down on the base.

Nothing happened.

I thought it might be broken so I started wiggling it around and still nothing. I think I got a little angry that it wasn’t working and pushed it down and turned it sort of hard, because all of sudden it turned on, startled me with the noise and blending and I screamed from shock. Whoops!

I was elated when it pulverized the contents of the bullet in less than 15 seconds. I added a little extra water and ‘nutribulleted’ it some more. My juice was so smooth and chunk-free in under 30 seconds. Grinning from ear to ear, I started drinking my smoothie and delighted in the fact I found this game-changing juicing contraption. When she woke up and came downstairs, she asked me if I heard screaming earlier and, with excitement, I told her my story.

She replied, “Yep, I love that thing. It’s the best.”

When I returned home from my trip, I purchased my own Nutribullet and have been making chunk-free smoothies for the past few months. I also discovered it had MANY other uses. You can do pretty much anything with your Nutribullet.

Here are 4 Simple Nutribullet Recipes I’ve made with mine:

1) Almond Flour | Walnut Flour | Oat Flour

What I use it for: I make a lot of gluten-free recipes that call for flour. From apple-pie crusts to breading to brownies.

Instructions: Place almonds, walnuts, oats or any other dry ingredient in to the Nutribullet and grind for 15-20 seconds. Voila, homemade flour!

2) Coffee Grinds

What I use it for: There’s nothing better than a cup of FRESH coffee. If you purchase coffee grinds at the store because it’s quick and easy, you are doing yourself an injustice. Coffee loses 40% of it’s flavor after being ground, placed in an air-tight container, shipped to a store, and sits on a shelf waiting for you to purchase it. Grinding right away and then brewing, insures you get all of the flavor in your cup.

Instructions: Place a handful of beans in your Nutribullet and grind away. In under 10 seconds you have freshly ground coffee.

3) Broccoli & Cheddar Soup

What I use to for: Lunch/ Dinner/ Freezer Meals

Instructions: Steam a frozen bag of Broccoli or fresh broccoli for about 10-15 minutes. Melt 1/2 block of sharp white cheddar cheese in a pan with 1/4 cup of milk or half & half (substitute lactose-free/ dairy-free for allergies). Once the broccoli is steamed and the cheese is melted (it will thicken a little), place them both in your Nutribullet with 1 cup of warm water. Nutribullet all the ingredients! Add the puree back to the saucepan to heat up a little more and add salt/ pepper to taste. Eat immediately for lunch/ dinner. Freeze the extras in 1 portion servings so you can pull them out for a future lunch or dinner meal.

4) Puree Pumpkin

What I use it for: Pumpkin pie, soup

Instructions: Turn the over to 400 degrees F. Cut the pumpkin in half, remove the seeds. In a mixing bowl, combine 2 tablespoons sunflower oil, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon Coconut Sugar (or raw sugar), and a pinch of salt/ pepper. Stir the mixture. Cover the entire pumpkin (both sides) with the mixture and place the pumpkin hole-side-up on the baking sheet. Bake for 50 minutes. Remove the oven and let cool. Once cooled, you can scoop out the inside of the pumpkin and place directly into your Nutribullet. Add 1/2 cup of water (depending on how big your pumpkin is; you’ll want a medium consistency of puree). Nutribullet the mix. Use immediately or freeze for future use.