I've decided to eat more healthily, having homemade soups for lunch for the foreseeable. Would you recommend I get a stick blender, or do I need to get a full processor?

This depends what you get on with best, I like a processor because I find the stick thingy hard to use whereas my husband loves the stick as it's less washing up and he finds it easy to use.

No help I guess sorry.

I use a processor as it is cleaner and easier. If I used a stick, I would have soup everywhere.

I use a stick blender in the saucepan - for me it's quick and easy and avoids the need of transferring the cooked soup into a blender (not that I have one!)

I use a stick as I like a few lumps of veg in my soup. However, if you want your soup to be velvety smooth, use a liquidiser.

Flatmate prefers the stick, I use the blender (not my 30 year old food processor, although that would be useful to chop the veg up before cooking of course). You can get it smoother in the latter, but keep back some of the soup if you want to have chunks in too.

I think mollie is right and you just need to decide which you would get on with best. I like being hands-free to get on with something else even if only for 30 secs, the sticks are quite heavy too.

I tend to use the stick blender as it is quicker and more convenient - you can do the blending directly in the saucepan rather than having to pour the soup into the processor and then back into the pan afterwards.

I've never found it particularly messy to use a stick blender.

What a coincidence. Yesterday I made soup with a standalone blender, and right now I'm eating some soup which I blended with a stick blender.

I was thinking that the standalone blender would do a better job. It didn't. The soup I have right here is very nicely blended indeed. And the stick blender is so much easier to wash.

I had no problem blending the soup without spilling any or having any splashing out.

I like big lumps. So what I do is cook the soup with the vegetables all chopped up. Then before blending I remove a proportion of the vegetables and put them to one side. I then blend the remainder to a very smooth texture, put the proportion of chopped vegetables back in, and voila!

Today's soup was blended with a stick blender, and was velvety smooth. Other than the deliberate lumps.

I have both a stick blender and a blender and I do it like this too. Couldn't be doing with getting the blender out, just for a few seconds swizzing then having to wash all the bits.

Stick blender is a lot easier and the end comes off and can go in the dishwasher.

I also like lumpy bits which are easier to achieve with a stick blender.

I'll echo this. I spent years with a blender and food processor and bought a cheap stick blender for abroad - couldn't believe how quick & easy it was! Hence last year I invested in a turbo stick blender for here and wouldn't look back!

One kitchen gadget I wouldn't crave are those new soup makers - can't see the attraction, for my use anyway. Now a 'thermomix...! My husband goes deaf suddenly if I go on about one.

Not having heard of a thermomix, I checked their website. http://www.ukthermomix.com/

To me it looks worryingly like one of these multi-level marketing systems. You can book a thermomix demonstration or become a demonstrator. I hope it's not like these schemes where you have to pay the firm to sell their products, and there's hardly anything left over for the seller.

My eldest daughter has just pointed out to me that I'd have to use a processor every day for a year before it started to pay for itself. Looks like I'll be buying premium, off-the-shelf soups for a while longer.

I picked up my stick blender in Sainsburys a couple of years ago for a tenner.

Even if your heart is set on a blender, it'd be worth picking up a cheap stick to see how you get on with it. If you like it, you'll end up saving a fortune on shop-bought soups.

Different capacities as well.

Argos' cheapest hand blender is only £4.13, or there are better branded ones for £13.

You can get a food processor for £20 or a jug blender for £10-£20, all would be capable of whizzing up a soup and home made soup is much cheaper, healthier and nicer than shop bought soup.

I love a good homemade soup. Is it time to start up a soup recipe thread do you think?

I think mine has paid for its self many times over it's nearly 20 years old now. If it had just lasted a year then yes it's expensive but they do last longer and can do other things than soup too.

Oh go on then. I have a terrible tendency of acquiring things, and then assuming that I've addressed the underlying problem without taking further action (expensive treadmill, storage solutions etc). I'll go for a processor, and will instantly feel healthier, whether or not it ever comes out of the box.

Stick blenders have all sorts of applications. I think that a tenner for a usable stick blender is a bargain. I think mine cost £17 or so, but it wasn't the first one I bought and I'd decided that I wanted a reasonable one.

I'll join in if you do.

Bamix Swissline! bin your pathetic stick blenders and bulky machines.

Most definitely.

I do not use either. I jusy chop meat, veg by hand, takes less than 5 minutes. I like "bits" in my soups

A very good idea!