Vitamix for the Seattle factory

[barefoot]

I was so excited to see this thread! I follow a low fat high carb raw diet and so do a lot of juicing and green smoothies. I have a decent masticating juicer (Omega 8004) but I have blown through four blenders in the past four years and I am looking to buy a Vitamix too. I love that they are made in the USA amongst all their other attributes. So happy that you all are getting one for the office; it will make it easy and enjoyable to get more fruit and vegetables into your diets.

Bananas (sorry Dorayme) and dates (fat juicy Medjools) are two of my staples. Fortybelowfruity has a youtube video where she makes a raw cookie dough ice cream with the vitamix and these two ingredients. I love it.

Spinach and baby kales are two great greens to use in green smoothies not only for the vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients but they have a lot of dark green chlorophyll which makes the most lovely colored green smoothies even when you add frozen strawberries.

Another thing to look into is raw energy soups or even cooked blended vegetable soups.

Have fun playing around!

[Nli]

Can you Vitamix lovers tell me why ypu love them (if you do love them) and why they are better than a regular blender? Would appreciate hearing cons, too! I fear one would sit in my appliance retirement home....

Many thanks!

[dorayme]

Well I've only had mine for two days but I love it because it is substantially more powerful and blends difficult foods (greens that when they arent blended super fine make me gag) smoother than anything else I have tried or seen. Much of what I do involves frozen fruit and ice, frozen fruits and veggies are very hard on the motor for many blenders. Raw veggies like sweet potato would also be hard for most blenders to process, and if they could do it, the result would not be like cream. I used two medium sweet potatoes in this mornings smoothie and my kids couldnt even tell they were there. They loved it!

I have had more than one previous blender start to smell like something inside was going horribly wrong before it gave up the ghost. The standard 7 year warranty demonstrates that vitamix stand behind their product long after others have had to be replaced. My vitamix laughs at all of the above issues that other blenders have and powers through chopping, blending, puréeing, and mixing as though it were nothing. I also love the huge 64oz. Capacity jar, the made in USAness, and the substantial feel. This isn't just for a few margaritas, though it could handle them fine.

After our breakfast smoothies I made the kids and I soup for lunch. I used a recipe in the vitamix whole foods cookbook, but modified it for what I had on hand (veggie medly vs, broccoli florets). The entire process of adding ingredients and making the soup (to the point of steaming hot) took 10 minutes using only the vitamix. The vitamix spins so fast that within 4-6 minutes the friction from the blades heats the jar contents. Clean up, another two. I couldn't have made home made from scratch soup that fast waiting on my stove from a can and cleanup would have been just as long. But get this, for dinner meal dessert I made peach icecream in 30 seconds! It was firm enough to be scoopable and the taste was incredible!

I can easily see using our vitamix for every meal to prep everything from the main dish to sauces or a beverage. It really is that useful to me. I think at a different time, when I was not as concerned with health, the vitamix would have been just an overpriced blender. I'm at a point in my life when food health for our family is paramount. Under these circumstances I welcome ways to include whole raw veggies into my kids meals several times a day. I welcome providing yummy healthy smoothies at a fraction of the cost of buying them. I welcome an appliance that is built to last. I welcome one that saves me time.

This is how the vitamix is a better blender to me.

[bltkmt]

^^What she said. I have only had mine for a few weeks, but have had lots of fun experimenting on various smoothies. Have not yet tried a soup, but will soon. And I imagine a beet-less salsa could be made that would be delicious. We got the smaller container for ours (32oz?) so it fits under our kitchen cabinets...does not really take any more room than the old blender.

[Nli]

dorayme: you are the best - thanks for all of that. Will add it to my case in defense of the Vitamix....Nli

[darbs]

The best sub for bananas is mango!!! I use frozen mango in a lot of my smoothies, especially if the bananas at the grocery don't look so hot. Plain, unsweetened apple sauce is also a good substitute. Neither have a ton of flavor, but they give the smoothie the right texture. You know what I mean?! I am a smoothie fanatic and have one every morning for breakfast! They have been my life saver for sure. I'm lactose, egg, and soy intolerant along with a recently developed sensitivity to gluten and almonds. I don't know what I'd eat for breakfast without my smoothies!

[dorayme]

I don't know what I'd eat for breakfast without my smoothies!

bacon?

Jk, thank you for the mango tip, I will keep an eye out for them. I used pineapple this morning and it was very nice.

[backpack]

Oh, I love sweet potatoes, thank you for the suggestion backpack.

I have started preparing my own frozen fruits, and that makes sense. I would say that to me smoothness and creaminess are different. My first attempts at green smoothies were creamy but not smooth from the green bits that didn't process all of the way.

As far as the food processor, have no clue. But according to this recipe, it's possible. The part I didn't want to partake in is the straining at the end.

I am beginning to think that the RPM of the Vitamix is a big part of the equation that allows it to make the finished product that I desire (the whole food is utilized and homogeneous with the entire mixture). My Universal Kitchen Machine was not designed to spin that fast. It's powerful enough. The blender easily and rapidly crushes ice, and therefore it makes a great slushie. The mixer attachments and bowl can easily knead quantities of stiff dough to make 6 loaves of heavy whole wheat bread at once. It's just no where near as fast as the Vitamix.

I know that Vitamix also has something different going on with the blade design compared to a food processor. The blades both pull the ingredients from the top downward to them, but also allow the even mixture of ingredients, and don't allow bits to get stuck underneath them. My Cuisinart 3 cup, mini food processor (the only one I have and also surprisingly powerful) has a blade on one plane. It doesn't pull anything up or down, just hits whatever is in it's path. I have had thin slices of softer foods get stuck under the plane of the blade. I have successfully made yummy nut butter in it as well as processed a myriad of foods for various purposes. I wouldn't want to drink anything I made it in, but a better food processor may be a different story.

I would try the food processor, maybe make a small batch and resolve that whatever you are trying to make could be put into muffins or something if it didn't turn out like you were hoping.

If you are looking for an actual juicer, the Breville Juice Fountain Compact is excellent. I have had mine for about 7 years +/-. It makes quick work of both juicing and clean up. It extracts juice very well for a juicer of it's price. The design is nicely thought out for the juicer, it's pitcher and cleaning tool in every way. It was an affordable way for me to give my kids more veggies than they would eat. And I knew what was in it vs. some of the commercial veggie/fruit juice blends.

Even though I now have my Vitamix, I will be keeping the Breville, I love it that much!

When you try making juice, please share, I'm curious and others may want to know.

Um, on another note, Tom, would you consider making a padded travel case for my Vitamix? I've decided that I must have it wherever I go. I love teh smoothie!

I completely agree with your definition of creaminess and will have to keep that in mind when I do juice blending in the future.

I also found local retailers for the Vitamix.

They are both blenders, would you mind sharing what model of the Vitamix you chose? Which of the two has the smallest footprint?

Are they both dishwasher safe? Would it make sense to have both for a family of two?

[BrianI]

I think it's awesome that The Company invested in a vitamix for the break room. Not an inexpensive piece of equipment.

My neighbors have one - they love it.

[Darcy]

I think at a different time, when I was not as concerned with health, the vitamix would have been just an overpriced blender. I'm at a point in my life when food health for our family is paramount. Under these circumstances I welcome ways to include whole raw veggies into my kids meals several times a day. I welcome providing yummy healthy smoothies at a fraction of the cost of buying them. I welcome an appliance that is built to last. I welcome one that saves me time.

This is how the vitamix is a better blender to me.

You said it perfectly.

I get a CSA share every week in the late spring/summer/early fall and twice a month in the winter. Pre-Vitamix, I would end up not eating much of the greens (carrot greens, beet greens, salad greens, kale, chard, parsley, bok choy) because there were so many, too many (for me, anyway) to cook or eat in salads. Now I eat 100% of the greens, mostly in smoothies -- and often have to buy extra if I'm making a green smoothie every day. I eat way more greens now than I ever did before.

[dorayme]

They are both blenders, would you mind sharing what model of the Vitamix you chose? Which of the two has the smallest footprint?

Are they both dishwasher safe? Would it make sense to have both for a family of two?

I have the 5200 with the 64oz. Liquid Jar. They make a 64oz. Under cabinet height jar for some of the machines. I wanted this model, but didn't have the additional money for that upgrade. It isn't an issue, I keep the jar in a cabinet and the base on the counter. They also make a 32oz. Dry jar for grinding grains/making doughs and 48oz. Liquid jar that are both under cabinet height.

If I wasn't blending for the family, I would think the smaller capacity would be sufficient. The store personnel may be able to advise you more if you detail what you intend to use it for. Even with two in the family the larger jar would come in handy if you entertain, or plan to freeze leftovers for later use. I am still finding out how much smoothie I get from my ingredients. If I have leftovers after we are all served I pour them into Popsicle molds. They are the healthiest pop treats and there was no extra work or cost. I have an automatic ice maker and filter on my fridge, and therefore no ice trays, but as soon as I buy some I plan to start freezing cubes of leftover soup, sauces, blends, and chopped ingredients to later add into new creations. Thus further reducing waste. Right now, our dog and cat have been happy recipients of leftover soup/sauce.

They are not designed to go into the dishwasher. They do not come apart for cleaning. You fill the jar 1/2 way, put in a drop of dish soap and blend on high for up to a minute. I rinse the jar first. This turns the vitamix into its own dishwasher and there is no need to put it in a dishwasher. Blending thicker things like nut butters may possibly mean you need to do more of rag on a stick type cleaning. I don't have experience with this though.

[Tlacltme]

I received a Vitamix as a baby gift (after baby #8, mind you!) from my folks. Love love love it, for all of the reasons dorayme and others have mentioned. In my case, I also love the huge capacity as it's difficult to find items adequately sized for a family of 10

[dorayme]

Pre-Vitamix, I would end up not eating much of the greens (carrot greens, beet greens, salad greens, kale, chard, parsley, bok choy) because there were so many, too many (for me, anyway) to cook or eat in salads.

I dropped our CSA for that reason, that and they don't deliver to my zip code, and my parents were west coast almost the last two years. I am going to be re-joining now!

Tlacltme, I wish I would have know about and had a vitamix with my babies, especially number three. Her diary and soy intolerance issues, that she has since been healed from, made it necessary to have dietary alternatives. Though she was a nursling almost exclusively during this period, I was on an elimination diet to keep her healthy and symptom free. It was one of the worst times of my life. I love that I can now make my own almond, coconut and rice milk. It would have been invaluable then.

[Nli]

Hoping to bump this thread up to capture some more Vitamix tips, tricks and recipes anyone (esp the TB crew) might be kind enough to share! My daughter just bought one, loves it and I suspect one may be coming my way for a big birthday coming up soon. Thank you to all!

[backpack]

I dropped our CSA for that reason, that and they don't deliver to my zip code, and my parents were west coast almost the last two years. I am going to be re-joining now!

Tlacltme, I wish I would have know about and had a vitamix with my babies, especially number three. Her diary and soy intolerance issues, that she has since been healed from, made it necessary to have dietary alternatives. Though she was a nursling almost exclusively during this period, I was on an elimination diet to keep her healthy and symptom free. It was one of the worst times of my life. I love that I can now make my own almond, coconut and rice milk. It would have been invaluable then.

Dorayme, I feel for you and your sweet baby girl!

Being ultra sensitive to everything from food, to fabric and even environmental stuff is no fun at all.

I always felt guilty not to belong to a CSA but with many sensitivities, finicky digestive system and limited budget, I just can't afford not to eat every piece of organic fruit and vegetables I buy.

Many times, on errands days, using public transport, I have to stick with commercial organic juice , while it is a great to rely on the beautiful TB Lifefactory bottle inside the matching UV Synapse, it is not enough for sustenance during the cold months.

Even if the Synapse water bottle pocket is not considered insulated, I found that my purple Lifefactory bottle left open overnite in the fridge and the juice chilled in its bottle the same amount of time, will keep fresh up 6pm on warm and hot (not super hot) days.

I don't know how a home made smoothie would fare?

Something with ice packs might have to be rigged up with the at hand Yarn Stuff Sacks and Travel Stuff Sacks or future acquisition Quiver and/or Smart Alec Lower Pocket in Dyneema.