Best Blender Suggestions for Protein Shakes

I like crushed ice in protein shakes, but many of the small blenders don't work very well (the motors are too small).  I've looked at the Nutri-Bullet, which has 600 watts of power, and the Shark Ninja, which has 1000 watts of power.  I couldn't tell how large the tallest container was for shakes with the Nutri-Bullet, and I don't understand how the shake cup works with the Shark Ninja.  When you look at the picture it's upside down.  For some reason I picture it being a messy process.  I hate to get out my large blender that's hard to clean for something I'd use every day.

Any suggestions on what you've found that works best and is powerful enough for crushing ice well?  Thanks!

Just get a magic bullet. It was amazing, preop diet and immediately post-op. my husband learned it and lost 20 on his own making protein shakes when I was on the post-op diet. So worth it and super easy to keep clean. I like 1/2 banana, 1/2 c vanilla flavored unsweetened almond milk, protein and a handful of blueberries. Powdered peanut butter is a great add too. I'm 4 mos out and have lost 68 lbs. catch me on MFP as goginger

I used to use the Magic Bullet but I found it didn't crush the ice well.  I purchased a Ninja Professional which is 1100 watts and comes with a big pitcher and a single serving cup.  I love it!  The single cup is upside down but as long as you screw the top on tight, you won't have a problem.  I got it for around $105 at Bed Bath Beyond (129.99 less 20% coupon).

Thanks everyone!  Fran67, that's the one I was leaning towards, and I just received a 20% off coupon in the mail for BB&B, so maybe that's a sign, LOL!  I just don't understand the upside down cup.  Are we supposed to turn the entire appliance over to get that off?  That's all I can assume, just seems weird.  Thanks for the advice guys!  :-)

The blades screw onto the top of the cup, then you turn the cup over and put it into the base.

I bought this for my pre-op and have been very happy with it.  

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003YLEXBO/ref=wms_ohs_prod uct?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Nutri-bullet is the updated version of magic bullet, and it works well for shakes as long as you don't overload with ice. I try to use really cold beverage to start and add minimal ice to keep it smooth. If you are just doing shakes, a Cuisinart blender will do the job just fine and will smash as much ice as you want to throw in--it has the advantage of variable speed and an ice-crush feature.

You may have already made up your mind, but if you have not, you may want to consider a Vita-Mix blender. I absolutely love mine. Not only will it do the ice in smoothies perfectly, it will also grind grain into flower and is so powerful that you can put the ingredients in it for a soup and it spins so fast it will actually heat the soup. I use my Vita-Mix every day. It is self cleaning, it is made in America and the company is great. I had a problem with mine, I melted it in my oven. I put it into the oven to clean off the countertops for a home appraisal and forgot about it. I called Vita-Mix and asked them if their warranty covered stupid? I emailed them a picture of my melted machine and they promptly put a new machine in the mail to me. They didn't give it to me for free, but they did give me a 50% discount. I don't usually endorse things, but I am very happy with this machine.

Go to GNC and buy a blender cup. Mix your protein shake up and put in crushed ice after it's mixed if that's what you want. Costs about $5 and you can get crushed ice at a local "stop and rob". Easy peasy. Cleaning blenders three times a day is for the birds.

I'm a Vitamix lover as well -- I bought mine refurbished on the Vitamix site -- I think it was about $350 -- but is guarenteed for 7 years.  If you buy it full price (like $500) at Williams Sonoma, they guarantee it for life. 

When I read all the reviews of the various blenders, it seemed that some of the plastic parts on the less expensive blenders broke after a few months -- so I tried to figure out whether the refurbished Vitamix was worth three times more, and decided that it would hold up better -- and sprang for it.  Now, there is no way I would have spent $500, even if I thought it was 5 times better! LOL!

If they don't have any refurbished ones available on the vitamix site, call them.  The site may not have been updated yet -- that's what happened to me.  I called to see when they expected to have any refurbished ones available, and they had some.  

Overall I've been very pleased, and it crushes the ice into tiny little particles for amazing shakes!  And a load of other stuff too.