My Stellar Magic Wand, Breakfast Smoothies for Picky Back to School Kids

I have a very picky eater. Last year school day breakfasts consisted of two or three cereal bars, loaded with sugar. It was better than the alternative, an untouched bowl of soggy cereal. No matter what brand or type of cereal, Michael would be fed up of it after two days, and it would get thrown away. Cereal bars worked because at least he was getting some carbs in, which experts say are vital to helping kids concentrate in school, but I was aware the other health benefits are non-existent.

A quick way of getting some healthy fruit into him, as an accompaniment to his array of cereal snack bars, is to make a smoothie. My old stick blender, literally bought in a Woolworths, had given up, so I was delighted to test out the new, powerful Stellar Stainless Steel Stick Blender.

It's quite large, but it does screw apart in two pieces for dishwashing the lower half, and storage. There is a dial on the top which varies the speed and power, and even on the lowest setting it packs a punch.

My previous stick blender had nowhere near the power the Stellar does. There is also a button for a pulse of extra power, which could help with making soups. It's definitely a space saving alternative to a large, clunky juicer. It requires less clean up and with a two year guarantee you can be confident to give it a try.

My smoothie recipe was pretty simple, raspberries, plain yoghurt, skimmed milk & honey for sweetness. Now I've seen the power in the Stellar Stick I'd be keen to try a more dense fruit or vegetable to see how it blends that. Maybe banana and try an unpeeled apple next week.

You can buy the Stellar Stick Blender for half it's RRP at £36 here.