New Wave for a Diabetic Crave!!
Written: Nov 29 '05 (Updated Jan 10 '06)
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Pros: Drinks come out perfect without ice chunks.
Cons: Dispenser can get messy and drip.
The Bottom Line: Makes great drinks, even though this product is not perfect.
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| LILvoyce's Full Review: Hamilton Beach 58754 Wave Station 8-Speed Blender |
I have been a diabetic now for about 8 years. I have been controlling my sugar levels by watching my diet. Now that I have entered my second trimester of pregnancy, I am more so watching my diet. As with pregnancy comes cravings. My children are constantly tempting me with these frozen island fruit drinks, and slushies, they get from the convenient stores. They look and smell so good.
I decided that I would purchase a blender just for the purpose of frozen drinks, to indulge in my cravings, and try to duplicate these drinks in a more healthy way without all of the sugar. I was out shopping at Walmart for a blender when I saw the Hamilton Beach 58754 WaveStation 8 Speed Blender. This item came with a price tag of $38. It was mid range of all of the other blenders in the store. What sold me on this item was the drink dispenser attached to the pitcher of this blender. At the time I thought it was a great idea. I had figured that it would be a lot less messier to use a dispenser rather than trying to pour from the spout and risk splashing these heavier drinks.
Product Details
This product offers an 8 speed setting: Low Pulse, Aerate, Puree, Ice Breaker, Smoothie, Milkshake, Icy Drink, and Hi Pulse.
Product Claims: Information taken from the box
Easy to clean
One hand dispenser
Wave action system
56 oz Double wall thermal jar
600 Watts Peak Power
3 Year Warranty
My Experiences
At first when I took this product out of the box, I thought perhaps it was cheaply made. I had a very old Oster Blender that I had gotten used to using over the years. Comparing the two, I could not believe how light the Hamilton Beach Blender was compared to the Oster. I doubt that my new blender will last 20 years like my Oster did, but it definitely had a lot of features I prefer over my old blender.
First off, I actually learned to love the lightness in weight of the all plastic pitcher the Hamilton Beach offers. My drinks are so easy to pour, I can pour them with one hand, rather than having to use both hands trying to lug my other glass pitcher around. You will appreciate the weight of this item if you are hosting a party and are having to make and serve several drinks. The plastic that this pitcher is made out of does not feel like it would be very forgiving if you were to drop it. It is thin and very stiff feeling. I am very careful when I use this product, I have not dropped the pitcher yet. I also wash this product alone as to not risk breaking the pitcher.
It really pays to read all of the directions on this item. For instance.....It is important that when you are crushing ice that you add some sort of liquid. You can burn out your blender and maybe even hurt yourself if you do not. My daughter got a hold of this blender one day and decided to crush ice and forgot to add the liquid. Right away you could smell a burnt plastic scent lingering in the kitchen. Surprisingly this item still worked after that.
Cleaning this product according to the directions is really important. The dispenser can get clogged up with fruit, juice, etc. You want your blender to always be as clean as possible. My Daughter yet again made drinks, and went from one type of drink to another, and with only rinsing out this pitcher she started on other flavored drinks, only to have pieces of fruit mixed in with a frozen mocha drink. The fruit was trapped in the dispenser. She was not happy with the end result but that was her error.
This blender comes with a plug if you decide you do not want to use your dispenser. It it easy to look at this little piece of plastic and throw it away when you first open your box that the blender came in. I thought it was to be discarded with packaging until I read the directions.
Another helpful hint to read is that when you use the dispenser it is important to leave this product running, it makes your thick liquids much easier to dispense.
My biggest complaint was with what turned me on to the product to begin with. The dispenser.... It is very difficult to dispense most drinks even when leaving the blender running. After getting used to using this blender, there is an art of tapping your glass along the plastic dispenser, and if you tap it just right your drink will start to come out without any problems. I prefer to skip the hassle of using the dispenser, because I found that sometimes the dispenser will leak just a bit. I make less of a mess just removing the lid and pouring from the spout.
Why I love this blender and would not trade it for anything
I love it! It actually works. I am able to mix drinks with little bits of ice, or very thick drinks with lots of ice. I have never experienced ANY ice chunks ever. I am so pleased with the wave action. My drinks are perfectly blended the way I want them. Most blenders I have ever worked with left huge chunks of ice. I have also had to pull out the pitcher and stir the ice chunks to the bottom and then having to repeat the blending process. With the Hamilton Beach Wave Station, I don't have to do that! This blender actually works.
I love the 8 different speed settings. I can tell a difference between each of them, by the way the consistency of my drinks come out. There is really a distinct difference between all of them.
Cleaning
In between making drinks, it is ok to rinse and re-use, but this product must be thoroughly cleaned when not in use. This means taking it apart and hand washing. Its not a big deal, and takes less than a minute to take the pitcher apart to wash, and then hand wipe the base down with a damp cloth. Its easy.
RECIPES
In your booklet that this blender comes with, there is 12 recipes. There is also a toll free number and a listing of their web site: www.hamiltonbeach.com, so that you might be able to get more recipes.
Sugar-free Delights
I am having fun trying to duplicate some of all of the no-no's I am not allowed to have. I try to experiment and come up with ways I can enjoy the foods I love making them sugar-free.
I call this one Rasberry Lemonade for One: I take one packet of Crystal Lite on the Go and I will cut the water in half. Instead of adding a 20 ounce bottle of water, I will add about half. I will add these to the blender with about three handfuls of ice. I will either blend and drink as a lemonade slushy, or add a handful of frozen rasberries then mix. YUM.. this is my favorite drink.
I love to mix sugar-free ice cream and sodas together, for an interesting shake. My favorite is sugar-free root beer and sugar-free vanilla ice cream.
Tropicana offers a sugar-free juice in the can. I will replace with this in place of any recipe calling for fruit juice. Its not bad. I also enjoy sugar-free Koolaid slushies. Instead of using crushed ice, I will make cubes from frozen Koolaid, then mix them with liquid Koolaid. When making sugar-free drinks, I have noticed that freezing your liquid instead of adding crushed ice brings about a more bold flavor. I don't like my drinks watered down.
My family also enjoys using the Hamilton Beach Wave Station. The kids enjoy making shakes and smoothies. My 14 year old daughter enjoys being in the kitchen. She loves to make an afternoon smoothie, for her and her brother. One of their favorite drinks is just adding orange juice and ice together. She will go heavy on the ice, and her mixture will almost come out as a sherbet.
Overall
I am really enjoying my Hamilton Beach Wave Station. I was not so impressed with the drink dispenser, but overall, I really loved the performance of this product. I enjoy experimenting in the kitchen. I would recommend this product, and I think it makes a great Christmas gift.
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Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 38
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Epinions.com ID:
LILvoyce
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Member: Barbara
Location: FLORIDA
Reviews written: 664
Trusted by: 505 members
About Me:
Its time to find the Healthy Me...... This is my year to do that:-D
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