I have a dirty little secret: Sometimes in the middle of the night when I can't sleep, I turn on the TV and watch...INFOMERCIALS! Yes, I know that in reality there is probably no contraption that will "whittle my thighs away" or "blast stubborn belly fat", but during that span of time when I am immersed in watching such a commercial, it seems so plausible.

Such was the occasion one night last summer when I happened upon the Magic Bullet Blender infomercial. I was immediately reeled in with claims that the Magic Bullet blender will do any blending job in 10 seconds or less. I started thinking about all the things I could do if I had a Magic Bullet: make yummy smoothies, pesto sauces, and daiquiris (I am from Louisiana, home of the drive-thru daiquiri stand)!

For those of you who have been living in a bush for the past year, allow me to explain just what the Magic Bullet is. The 'Bullet' consists of a base with various different sizes of plastic cups and screw on blades that go on the cups. You put your ingredients into the cup, screw on the blade, flip the cup upside down, and lock it into the blender base; Then abracadabra, the Bullet blends away! It is totally cool!

The Good: The Bullet is very easy to use as described above. It is also easy to put together, easy to take apart, and super-easy to clean. All you do is put the blade and the cup in the dishwasher. It is great for making smoothies, shakes, fruit sorbets, mixing cake batter, whipping cream and even grinding coffee beans.

But, I do have some complaints. The Bullet DOES NOT do "any job in 10 seconds or less"! I use my bullet every morning after my workout to make my smoothie and it takes more like 45 seconds. I have gotten it down to a science though where I take the cup out of the base after about 20 seconds, shake it to redistribute the ingredients, then put it back on and blend some more. So, if there are any PR people for Magic Bullet reading this, then I suggest you change this little claim to a more realistic one (after all, y'all know that false advertising is my #1 pet peeve about product merchandising!)

(* side note from Tanya): There are about 50 reviews /comments on Amazon.com (plus my dad used his until it burned out) and the one that summarizes the Bullet best says: Don't go thinking you're going to cook a 12 course meal with this thing. It is good at pureeing /pulverizing stuff, maybe not so good at chopping cheese, onions or food processing.

I didn't order my Bullet from the infomercial that night, which took an immense amount of self-restraint mind you. Instead I got it a few days later at Target for 39.95. Yes, this price may seem a little steep, but take it from a poor college student when I say that I believe it is money well spent! It is also available on Amazon.com for $59.95 [link].

In conclusion, I think that the bullet is a good investment and is SO much easier than lugging out the big blender every morning. I cannot speak for how well it makes sauces and pestos because I have not used it for that yet, but as for making smoothies and mixed drinks, it gets the job done.