Vitamix Value

I'm not a cheapskate, really.  I like expensive things, like really nice handbags, good shoes, a wonderful restaurant meal. All kinds of spendy things.  But when it comes to my kitchen, I get all 1950's housewife-ish and start worrying about my "pin money".  I've always bought those $10 mixers at Kmart, $30 blenders at Wally World, stuff like that.  Even when I was a Pampered Chef representative, I bought only because I got a discount.  Without the discount, I would have been buying their wonderful carrot peelers for $5.

Then, my dad bought a really nice Mixmaster at a garage sale and it was fabulous!  I was so jealous!  But the odds of me finding a nice Mixmaster at another garage sale were slim.  That Christmas, my hubby bought me a brand new Mixmaster! Woot! Woot!  It was worth every penny.

So when I started preparing for my new vegan lifestyle, I knew I needed a new blender (I used mine so little that I had given it away!).  We wanted smoothies and we did have a nice smoothie machine.  But it couldn't handle veggies and denser fruits.  Not if you want a really smooth smoothie.  My friend Chance, who has been my mentor in all this healthy living, told me his family had a Vitamix and loved it.

I checked it out on the Internet and nearly lost my mind.  A Vitamix, brand new, is about $400. That's $400, yes.  Wow.  And that's just a basic version.  There are more expensive versions.

My little 50s housewife thought "Oh, dear! this will eat up all the money I've been saving for a new pair of kitchen curtains!"  And then some!

But my husband did some more research and he dug into it and, ultimately, he determined the Vitamix was the way to go. OKAY, WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?  He really is a cheapskate so this amazed me.  He then showed me all the positive reviews the machine got from users, showed me all the capabilities it had, assured me we could afford it, and before long, convinced me we indeed needed a Vitamix.

He found one on Vitamix's website, vitamix.com, that had been reconditioned and check this out -- it was RED!  I love red!  It cost about $350 but we were determined by then.

When the Vitamix arrived, we were like little kids getting a puppy on Christmas.  We praised it's attractiveness, we pored over every detail, we took it for a little test run and then praised it for being so darn smart!  One of the first things Chuck made was peanut butter.  Just roasted unsalted peanuts, whirled around in the Vitamix then slathered on your toast!  We keep it in a jar in our fridge and it is so good!

And of course we make smoothies. Fruit smoothies, fruit and veggie smoothies, green smoothies and even a chocolate smoothie.  One night Chuck made orange sorbet and it rocked!  In other words, the Vitamix has met every expectation we had and was totally worth the money.  It also juices, shreds veggies, blends, does all sorts of handy things.

Please go to the website to check out all the facts and features, but they really are great.  And we use it at least once a day, sometimes more.  It comes with a great cookbook that you can find on ebay for a whole lotta money. The cookbook tells you how to make soups, sauces, juices, smoothies and many other healthful dishes.

The machine itself is amazing.  It's really a simple machine, easy to use, not a bunch of crazy settings. It's easy to clean up, easy to use, just very useful.  Of course, a Vitamix isn't just for vegans, it would be a huge asset in any kitchen.

Here's our favorite Vitamix smoothie recipe (pictured above):

Banana, Orange and Carrot Smoothie
1/2 banana, peeled
1 orange, peeled and halved
1 baby carrot
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup cranberry juice
1 cup ice cubes
Place all ingredients into the Vitamix container in the order listed and secure lid. Select Variable 1. Turn machine on and quickly increase speed to Variable 10, then to High.  Blend for 1 minute or until desired consistency is reached.

See? Really simple!  If you're trying this recipe in another blender, you need  to chop up your fruit into smaller pieces.  You might have to blend it longer, as well.