Anyone Have A Vitamix?

[Libby]

Do you like it? Is it worth it?

[lejones1]

I do and it's great! I think whether it's worth it really depends on your eating habits and what you want it for. It's really good for juicing, if you want to leave the fiber in. It's also great for chopping things really finely (nuts, etc) and making really smooth dips. For smoothies and soups (unless you want them SUPER smooth), you could get the same effect for a lot less money with a regular or hand blender.

[Enid]

We have one and I love it...use it for many things: smoothies....hummus......soups that get hot right in it...coconut butter...sunflower seed butter...a caramel sauce from nut butter and dates...I thought my husband was crazy to buy one for the price but we really use it almost every day. Also easy clean up-

(although 1 bizarre thing...when it is on high, the buzzing of the motor makes my scalp tingle! Although I also get that with bacon sizzling. Perhaps they should put a warning for may elicit bizarre symptoms if you have dysautonomia!)

[Libby]

haha dysautonaumia warning, love it.

I've been trying to figure out a way to change my diet. I want to go gluten-free for hashi's, but if I cut out flour I have no quick meals. Especially on days my gastroparesis is killing me. Meat is out (which is fine, I don't love it anyway), and so are high fiber veggies/fruits (which is SO SAD). They're just too hard to digest as-is, but I'm thinking that a smoothie with everything already manually digested, more or less, would do the trick. And I like those juices, Odwalla is delicious, but they're crazy expensive for more than the occasional treat. Plus, I'd rather know exactly what's going into my food.

I think I'll go to Bed Bath and Beyond and get one to try out. I have a coupon and they have an unlimited return policy, so win-win.

[AllAboutPeace]

I just had a conversation about this recently with my sister in law who is a nutritionist. She recommended a Nutri-bullet. Apparently, it is great for doing all of the same things (including nuts, seeds, etc) only the price ticket is lower. She has one and uses it daily and it's super easy to clean because you mix it in your serving cup (just like a Magic Bullet in that regard).

[looneymom]

I also have a Nutrti-Bullet. I make green drinks with it everyday. It's very easy to use and cleaning it is a breeze.

[Libby]

Hm. I hadn't looked into Nutri-Bullet, but I will now. A lower price point would definitely be nice. Thanks!

[RichGotsPots]

Hey Libby, really glad to see my fellow potsies getting healthy with their diet. You absolutely can't go wrong with that! I recommend juicing for breakfast, most greens. I found a the Breville Elite on sale with free shipping for $229 on Buy.com. It's originally $399 but on amazon for $299. It's a periodic sale and changes from day to day for you have to catch it.. I also own an Omega vert. omega is a slow single auger juicer. With that juice you can store it for 2 days in the frig but with the breville have to drink it fast. i also owned a green star twin juicer, juiceman and Jack la Lane. Don't ask lol. The green start by far gives the driest pulp and most juice for leafy green. breville is probably the best on carrots and fibrous things.

I recommend juicing the starchy fibrous things that you dont like eating like carrots, peas, asparagus, apples, etc... And blending everything else. I especially recommend to mostly blend fruit because of the sugar content. The fiber makes it low GI index rated so wont spike your sugar as high.

My Mom has the Vitamix and loves it. I was using a Cuisinart hand blender, which is awesome for soups. But now I bought Kitchen Aid on Overstock.com for $99 plus got 10% for being a first time customer. On any blender review kitchen aid gets high marks and is almost as good as Vitamixer. The only problem with Kitchen Aid is the Jars end up leaving after a year, but Overstock had insurance for $10 that cover everything for 2 years so. If it breaks at any time they give you a full credit to get a new one

The other blenders I hear good things about are Blentec, it has not tamper to stick in the jar but the wildside jar blends even better than vitamix I hear and its as powerful. Some Oysters are highly rated and cheap. Waring xtreme is even more powerful than vitamix and blendtec and gets good ratings. And Omega 3HP gets pretty good ratings..

Not many people know about this appliance but every kitchen in India has an electronic stone wet grinder. Its like those stones they use to crush olives. You can make the creamiest nut butters in them and fluffy types of dough and rice. It can be used to grind almost anything.. Would take too long to make a smoothy though.

Most ppl get the nutibullet for traveling with. It does ok though for home use too, not as smooth as a blendtec or Vita

[Kellysavedbygrace]

I LOVE my Vitamix and use it almost every day since 2004. It is so powerful it liquifies even strawberry seeds. (we bought a refurbished professional series machine for about $300 (normally in $500 range) don't know if that is the one you are considering but if so I'd highly recommend.

To green juice and remove the fiber I use a nut milk bag to strain the fiber. It is easy and you can buy. Nut bag through amazon for $4.

Last summer I also bought the Breville juicer mentioned above and compared the two. There were advantages and disadvantages to both. Breville doesn't require pressing the juice through the nut milk bag and does not require the addition of a liquid (I use a little organic apple juice) but it took longer to process the juice, using a spinning motion that exposes the food to the air allowing more oxidation and was about 10x harder to clean.

I also have the dry container that allows me to mill my own grains, like wheat, for making fresh bread. I did this for several years and it is a wonderful improvement in health because the wheat berry, when freshly milled, provides complete balanced nutrition through the fats and proteins in the wheat germ and bran. Unlike it's distant cousin flour, which has had the germ and bran removed and

other vitamins added as "enrichment.". If you are interested in more on freshly milled wheat PM me.

Here are the most common things I make in my Vitamix:

- green juice, strained (usually kale, celery, cuke, romaine, Ginger, asparagus or pea pods w a little organic apple juice)

- smoothies- either strawberry/ banana for the kids or peanut butter chocolate for my hubby. (Smoothies are too sweet for me now)

- freshly milled wheat pancake or waffle batter

- soups- either par cooked or raw

- frozen treats- strawberries and Greek vanilla yogurt make a great dessert for company

[Libby]

Wow, Rich! You could open your own BB&B! LOL. Thanks for the run down. I've looked at juicers before, but then I read about how hard they can be to clean.

I ended up getting the vitamix to try. Whether I like it or not, I'm going to return this one and buy a refurbished one I think. I've made two smoothies, one with just a random mix of spinach, carrots, celery, banana, pineapple and blackberries. A little weird - I'm not used to the spinach-y taste - but not bad. Today I made a fruit smoothie with banana, pineapple (with core!) and a whole apple (minus the seeds - cyanide), then a little ice and few scoops of greek yogurt. And it was DELICIOUS. And incredibly smooth.

Thanks Kelly! Your model is exactly what I'm thinking of ultimately getting (though I'm looking at the next generation one too, because I'd love it to fit under my cabinets). It sounds like the refurbished models are only used a handful of times, for demonstrations/reviewers, and thoroughly checked, but I was wondering how well it would hold up. It sounds like they're built to take a beating. Have you had any issues with it? The refurbished ones knock 2 years off the normal warranty, but then they offer the extended warranty for $75 more. Worth it or not, do you think?

I had been wondering about the flour. My ultimate goal is to go gluten free, so it probably wouldn't be wheat but I might try rice or almonds eventually. Do you use the dry container just to keep the other scuff-free or is there another advantage?

[Kellysavedbygrace]

The blade is actually different in the dry container. The angle puts less strain on the motor when grinding dense materials such as grain. Probably don't need the dry container unless you are milling grain of some sort. I suppose if you want to make rice flour it would be good but the almonds would be better on the regular container.

We did not buy the warranty and have not needed any service. Once we did have to replace the tamper bc I accidentally started it with the lip under the cover instead of on top. User error. We just ordered another.

Everyone I know who has a Vitamix recommends it to others.

Feel free to PM me at any time if you have questions.

[comfortzone]

Used a Blendtec for 2 wks & returned today....(BB&B w/ 20% off) - went to Costco today and got the 5200 Vitamix for $379 instead. It feels huge compared to the nice compact Blendtec - but I had a weird leak issue with Blendtec - so it had to go. Vitamix was about $50 bucks more but I doubt it would ever leak out the bottom. I use a fresh squeezed lime for nearly all green smoothies to brighten the taste...plus add chia, flaxseed meal & brown rice protein powder too sometimes.

Bottom line I am not getting any younger and a machine that purées could come in handy (hope not but you never know)....plus I am a cook so it's just easy and fun to use daily. I haven't lost any produce because of spoilage in my frig Cuz if its getting ready to toss I throw it in a smoothie instead - saving me as a single person a ton of money. I was just not able to eat the variety of foods I knew I needed to eat daily with any regularity due to fatigue issues...so now I still shop the rainbow but blend things everyday for all those nutrients and virtually no labor involved. There's a learning curve to get through on many levels from amounts, to taste and texture, learning the machine, your favorites, your personal digestive needs or issues.... But while I cannot afford it I got it anyway thinking it was just another "doctor" bill & hopefully it will improve my health somehow.... So it's a personal decision and if you buy at Costco or Bb&b you have the choice to return indefinitely..

[Chlay]

Do any of you have difficulty swallowing ? I have a juicer and a blender. But my swallowing is often not good enough for even that, my nutritionist wants me to have one veggie juice a day at least, what are your favourites?(:

[RichGotsPots]

I'm loving my Kitchen aid, it liquefies everything! So starting to make green smoothing a habit for dinner, less work then chewing lol

I don't like mixing fruit and veggies, but I guess its okay if you like fruits in your salads. What I do to add flavor for green drinks is I used cucumber, a lot of cilantro, carrots, scallions and tomatoes. I find that the blended juice can be a bit foam and the Breville has a great cup to stop the foam when pouring so I use that sometimes..

[kitt]

We bought a Vitamix at Costco earlier this year at a cost of right at 500.00.

I like buying at Costco because you can always return it without a receipt as they have all your purchases online, and will return items with no questions asked.

The Vitamix works for us because we make green smoothies, soups, hummus and nut butters.

I was spending 7.00 per green smoothie almost daily at Whole Foods.

Now I cut up several apples, add kale, spinach, banana, blueberries, (pineapple if you choose) and a little bit of ice, and the Vitamix times itself, meaning it's automatic on the 'smoothie' setting. No guessing when it's done.

For soup I make (before I had a Vitamix) broccoli soup. Once I saw Gordan Ramsey make it, I thought, "that's my soup!" So easy. Cut up two entire broccoli, (stems, leaves and all), and boil. Add all green pieces to a blender or food processor if you don't have a Vitamix. Add salt, (and add onion and garlic to the boil beforehand if you choose.) I choose!

The difference with the Vitamix is the soup comes out far smoother. It pulverizes it to get the maximum nutrients. The blades actually rotate at 240 mph...Crazy.

You can make the same soup with cooked carrots. Am not a carrot fan, (too sweet for me) but it's a good soup by most peoples standards.

Both soups freeze beautifully, and have zero-ish calories.

I've made the broccoli soup in the Vitamix without cooking the broccoli, but raw broccoli has a very intense taste, so haven't done that since.

Smoothies are so much fun. You can add yoghurt, milk, nuts, peanut butter...And with the Vitamix it comes out so smooth.

Don't mean to sound like a commercial, but this is how I love to eat.

Whole food!