Hey, i dont own neither a processor or a blender but am thinking of buying this.
[www.target.com]|Hamilton_Beach_Big_Mouth_14-Cup_Food_Processor_-_70591&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=B00065L68Y&ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001
would a food processor be able to double as a blender to make smoothies or do I need to get a blender as well?

Also, could I use a food processor as a juicer

You could also get a combination food processor/hand blender. An example of this is at Target but also available elsewhere:
[www.target.com]

Wishing you vibrant health

bobati

The answer to your questions is no..

Food processors ARE NOT blenders, nor are they juicers..

In my 53 years on this planet I have come to realize that there is NO such thing as a multi-purpose tool that does all things even moderately well, much less extremely well to excellent..

Blenders blend..Juicers juice..And food processors slice, shred, & process food..The absolute worst thing that you could do would be to purchase a food processor & expect it to do either of the other two tasks..

In no way at all will it juice..Period..

In the sense that it will break down foods into smaller particle sizes by slicing & cutting them into smaller & smaller pieces, then I suppose that one could argue that a food processor blends..

But this is a specious argument, as the food processor reduces foods to smaller particle sizes by a completely different methodology then does a blender..

A blender SMASHES & beats the food placed in the carafe into smaller pieces..The blades of a blender are SQUARED OFF & DULL..A blender is designed to have AT LEAST 50% of the volume of the finished mixture be liquid..This assures that the blending times will be the quickest, as well as the motor under going the least amount of stress during the blending process..

Of all the tools commonly found in home kitchens, the blender is the ONLY one that should be used to crush ice..It is designed to crush ice, but ONLY if there is sufficient liquid in the carafe along with the ice to insure easy movement of the ice cubes..It is NOT designed to crush ice without liquids..Period..

Food processors are designed to SLICE foods using either the metal S-blade, or one of the slicing discs that they come equipped with..They will SHRED foods if using a shredding disc..Under NO circumstances should a food processor be used as a blender..

First, the bowls of the average food processor are not deep enough to hold as much liquid as even the smallest of blender carafes..

Second, they are NOT tightly designed..Truly liquid foods or mixtures will result in the liquid escaping around the entire perimeter between the bowl & it's lid, as well as around the stem of the S-blade & the post of the bowl that the S-blade's stem fits over..You will certainly get a mess on yourself, the surrounding walls, & the food processor itself; resulting in a lot of cleaning up..

The cutting edges of a food processors S-blade are THIN..While they will chop harder foods, such as nuts, they were NEVER designed to process FROZEN foods..The blades of food processors were made to be removable for two reasons..First, so the bowl could be easily cleaned..Second, so that the user could replace the blade when it becomes dull, as they ALWAYS do..The blades of a food processor should be sharpened regularly, & replaced when they can no longer be sharpened easily..

People, especially raw foodists, routinely put frozen berries & chunks of bananas into their food processors..They then wonder why their machines become ruined as a result of processing frozen foods..

The largest size frozen food that should be placed into a food processor should be a frozen cranberry..And you should NEVER fill the bowl any further then to the top of the upper S-blade..Adding a liquid of some kind while processing ANYTHING frozen would be a VERY good idea..Frozen sliced strawberries, whole raspberries, whole strawberries, chunks of banana, are a recipe for ruining your food processor..

People who put these kinds of frozen foods into their food processors should NOT be surprised when the motor's burn out..

To recap:

Buy the appropriate tool, or tools, for the task(s) at hand..Blenders for blending..Juicers for juicing..Food processors for slicing & shredding foods..

Hope this helps..

Bruce

thanks for the info, i definitely wont put anything frozen in there. I was just asking because i saw some recipes for smoothies online said to use a blender OR a food processor and i have never heard of making smoothies on a food processor.

I got my Vita mix and while I am still trying to work out a few glitches, it is totally amazing. I LOVE IT!!! Way better smoothies than I could ever make in my food processor....that is how I was doing it in the interim before VM. They were really chunky and food particles never got totally crushed up. I have a cuisinart food processor that is virtually brand new as well, and the two can't compare.