Vitamix!

Well, my Breville blender bit the dust. So, I decided to go for it, and get a Vitamix blender. Williams and Sonoma has a 90 day return policy, so it was a win win for me.

I love this thing! We have been making smoothies twice a day and they are absolutley yummy. Finally, an easy way to chock down spinach! Here is my favorite recipe:

1 cup hemp milk
2 scoops Trader Joes hemp powder
1/2 cup red grapes
5 frozen strawberries
1/4 c of blueberries
3 slices of mango
1 cup of spinach

The blender cleans up super easy. The trick is NOT to use ice cubes if you are using frozen fruit. And chop up pieces of frozen banana and large strawberries.

I see this blender as an investment in my health. You can get the 200 at the Costco road shows. All the motors are exactlly the same on all models.

Have fun with that blender!

My fav way to eat spinach is in spinach pasta. No choking down needed; it is all slurping up.

I wish they still sold them with the stainless steel jars. I'd be all over one. With the polycarbonate, meh.

I should've kept my Champion juicer, too. I'm about this close to buying a new one ... if I could even imagine where I'd put it in my kitchen. Maybe whenever we remodel, it'll be with a juicer bar. :cool:

Want....

I LOVE my Vitamix and make smoothies all the time ... using Choc. Hemp Powder, Frozen Strawberries, a Banana, Plain Yogurt, and some Hemp Milk. Yum!! Tastes just like a chocolate strawberry shake. I also add a couple of ice cubes (even though the strawberries are frozen), they add a little texture to the drink.

I also have a Champion Juicer from the late 80's. It's nice to run frozen strawberries and bananas through the homogenizer which makes an ice cream-like fruit blend.

My Champion juicer was early '80s vintage. Sold it to some friends of my first husband. I hope it's still in a good home, whether with them or someone else!

Kmehrzad, will yours de-seed raspberries? Every food mill I've tried for that - motorized or cranked - has completely locked up on the seeds. I thought I'd killed my Kitchen Aid stand mixer with the strainer attachment - it took a lot of coaxing to get it apart once it locked. I never tried it with the Champion.

Love my vitamix which I've had for 10 or more years. GREAT way to sneak stuff into kids (smoothies) and love making my green smoothies in it. Awesome job at pureeing soups, better than an immersion blender.

Linda

Out of the blue, my folks sent me their Championship Juicer when they moved to Mexico. I never would have gotten one for myself, but I really love it!

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

Kmehrzad, will yours de-seed raspberries? Every food mill I've tried for that - motorized or cranked - has completely locked up on the seeds. I thought I'd killed my Kitchen Aid stand mixer with the strainer attachment - it took a lot of coaxing to get it apart once it locked. I never tried it with the Champion.

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I've never tried de-seeding raspberries. In fact, I love the seeds in raspberries and blackberries so I wouldn't want to get rid of them.

Did you ever use the homogenizer feature? It's makes a wonderfully refreshing frozen fruit concoction one can enjoy during hot summer days.

Ditto - love mine too. Best thing is clean up - I put a little hot water & dish soap in the blender, put the lid & mixer thingie on it & turn it on. Voila. Just rinse & dry.

I agree about the BPH container, I too wish it were glass. That being said, when I begin to make soups, I will not pour hot water in it. If it isn't hot enough after the 6 minute run, then I will microwave the soup.

I just got some cantaloupe and am going to make a sorbet. The guy at Costco demonstrating it put cabbage in the sorbet (a great way to reduce colon cancer!). Just a small piece. And he only added a bit of honey, no a boat load of sugar like most sorbets.

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Originally Posted by kmehrzad

I've never tried de-seeding raspberries. In fact, I love the seeds in raspberries and blackberries so I wouldn't want to get rid of them.

Did you ever use the homogenizer feature? It's makes a wonderfully refreshing frozen fruit concoction one can enjoy during hot summer days.

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I don't mind some seeds, but wild berries are always more seed-y than domesticated varieties, and in a dry year there's literally more seed than flesh. It makes for a very crunchy jam or sorbetto if you don't strain at least half of the berries, preferably more.


Which appliance has the homogenizer? I've never used it.

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

I don't mind some seeds, but wild berries are always more seed-y than domesticated varieties, and in a dry year there's literally more seed than flesh. It makes for a very crunchy jam or sorbetto if you don't strain at least half of the berries, preferably more.


Which appliance has the homogenizer? I've never used it.

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The Champion Juicer becomes the homogenizer. Just run frozen fruit through the tube, push with the wooden plunger and it comes out like soft ice cream. There are recipes online but I usually blend frozen strawberries and a frozen banana.

I love crunchy jam, by the way. Yummm! You can eat it for hours as you continue crunching down on the seeds that somehow get lost in your mouth.

Oooh, I didn't realize the new Vita-Mix blenders have a copolyester jar, not polycarbonate. :)

I'd still rather stainless for a blender ... but copolyester is tested free of estrogenic and androgenic activity, and I'm comfortable with my copolyester Camelbak bottle.

I'm really wanting to order a vitamix after reading the thread and browsing their site. It's expensive but sounds like it's worth the money. I suppose the only place to buy the latest one on the market is on their 'official site' or does anyone know of a different online site that sells the latest and newest models...

You might try Ebay. I sold ours on there last summer, since we were moving to an apartment and 1) weren't going to have as much kitchen space and 2) thought it might be too loud and disturb the neighbors -- they are awesome but have a powerful/loud motor.

At the time I listed mine, there were a bunch of others for sale on there; some used, some new. In nearly all cases, the discount over buying directly from Vitamix was significant.

It's a great machine, just be prepared for the noise! We used to keep a pair of shop earmuffs in the kitchen for when we were using it. :D

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Originally Posted by lattae

I'm really wanting to order a vitamix after reading the thread and browsing their site. It's expensive but sounds like it's worth the money. I suppose the only place to buy the latest one on the market is on their 'official site' or does anyone know of a different online site that sells the latest and newest models...

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I got mine at Costco

Just wanted to add my endorsement for VitaMix. I've been resisting getting one for years because of the cost. I finally broke down and bought one. Should have done this years ago. Now I make real smoothies for breakfast as opposed to "chunkies":rolleyes: I've also made some soups in the VitaMix that were awesome. I like that many of the soup recipes in their cookbook call for mostly raw ingredients but the soup tastes like the cooked version. I'm hooked!

Another happy Vitamix user, and I'd been through a few blenders and juicers. I got mine from QVC when it was one of their daily deals with the monthly payments. Love it!

I have a Vitamix and I use it at least once a day. Smoothies and soups like others here. But my favorites are hummus (it's so creamy without adding a ton of oil) and tomato sauce. I decided to try the sauce when I read about the leaching of impurities of cans into the sauce. 6 roma tomatos and a few other ingredients and ta da!! Sauce. You just have to simmer it for a while and it's excellent for pasta and pizza.

I'd be all over one of the old ones with the stainless jar. I wonder why they stopped making those. Maybe I should be searching eBay for one.

I really enjoy every morning using Vitamix for breakfast. Compared with other mixers, he is better than other mixers in terms of performance and ease of cleaning. I am not a professional chef, but I think professional chefs will also like this high-power smoothie blender.