By :: Elizabeth Martin
There are questions I didn’t really answer in my first post about my new Vitamix, so I’m going to try my hardest to dispense with the meandering story-telling and stick to the facts in this post. I said try. No promises. With that in mind, let’s try this again.
Things I love about the Vitamix:
The variable speed dial – This allows you to chop/mix at a precise level, from 1-10. If I want to make salsa, I’ll set the dial to 4-5. If I’m making a smoothie (of the green variety), I’ll turn it up to 10, then switch over to “High” to fully pulverize all the ingredients. As you can imagine, the versatility of the variable speed dial allows you to make a lot of different types of foods.
The plunger – There’s a little see-through topper that inserts into the lid that – like most blenders – contains the ingredients while chopping them like crazy. But if you happen to throw a lot of ingredients into the canister, you can replace that little see-through topper with the plunger to mash everything down. It is awesome, and you can mash away to your heart’s content. The plunger is designed so that it’s long enough to push everything down into the spinning blades, but ingeniously short enough so that it does not also become a victim of the Vitamix’s super fast blades.
The sheer, unbridled power – As I said before, the Vitamix’s motor is a total beast. My husband used to drive a Honda Fit (he loved that car), and I honestly think that the Vitamix could have taken him in a straight up drag race. It’s no joke… when I turn it on, our dog runs for cover. Because this thing has such a powerful motor, you don’t have to spend so much time chopping and cutting things up. Just throw it in. You also don’t have to worry about burning out the motor. My friend who introduced me to the Vitamix had burned out four or five blenders before she finally bought her Vitamix. Regular blenders usually just can’t stand up if you are planning to make green smoothies long term.
The seven-year warranty – My understanding is that if you have any problems at all, the Vitamix people will fix it or replace it – free of charge. I think this is great, and I hear their customer service is great, too!
The cookbook – The Vitamix comes with a fabulous and pretty extensive whole food recipe-book. I pretty much made up my own recipe for our green smoothies, but everything else I’ve made since pulling this thing out of the box has come from the Vitamix cookbook. The cookbook is separated into the following categories: beverages, soups, dips & spreads, sauces, breads, breakfast, desserts, dressings & marinades, and recipes for kids. There is also a separate pamphlet focused on whole grain recipes. So far, I have made the following: hummus, whole wheat bread, apple pancakes (made with whole wheat flour), and smoothie popsicles (for my kids). I plan to try making various nut butters (since peanut butter is a no-no) and rice milk.
The dry mix option – The Vitamix also comes with a dry mix canister (if you opt for one of the upgraded packages). You can use this canister to grind your own flours and grains. I plan to use this to grind grain for a whole-wheat cereal for my kids. Really, the possibilities are endless.
The clean up – Again with the clean up. I love how easy the Vitamix is to clean. This is a big plus for me!
The three-payment option – I have the Vitamix 5200, and I’m not gonna lie… it wasn’t the cheapest appliance. My husband, kind soul that he is, knew that I really wanted one, so he researched what kind to get (there are a few different versions sold at different retailers). We were thinking about buying one from Williams-Sonoma, but then my husband discovered that if you buy the Vitamix directly from the source over the phone, they offer you the opportunity to spread your payment over three months. Which is pretty sweet.
(Again, it’s not cheap… but if you’re gonna use it long term, it’s totally worth it. We used our regular KitchenAid blender for several weeks before finally purchasing the Vitamix. There is a world of difference. Where we were kind of chewing our smoothies before, the Vitamix is able to really mix everything up so that it truly is a green smoothie. It is downright frothy!)
The health benefits – I feel that I have benefited from this purchase in so many ways that I thought the best thing to do would be to try and stay concise. He it goes:
Headaches: I have not had a headache since I started drinking my daily green smoothie. This is saying a lot for me. I used to be almost immune to Advil because I took it so much.
Weight loss: I have lost about 7 pounds with this dietary change. That is always a fabulous benefit!
Mental clarity: I feel I am able to focus more on my tasks at hand.
General digestive regularity: This dietary choice has so much fiber in it that I have been amazed at how regular I am… and I was already a very regular person, before the green smoothies… if you know what I mean. (I’m talking about pooping.)
Less tired/more energy: I have been a lot less tired, which has made me feel just happier during my day. It takes a lot of energy to keep up with my kids…
Skin, nails, and hair: The green smoothies have definitely improved all of these. My skin is clearer than it has been in quite awhile. And my nails and hair are so much stronger and healthier looking. I have a lot of bounce in my bobbed haircut!
The only downside: The only thing that has been less than fabulous is getting my mouth used to the acidity of the smoothie. Because there are so many fruits in the drink itself, my mouth took some time to adjust and so I had a few tender taste buds at first. Not really that big of a deal.
So if you can’t tell, I absolutely love the Vitamix. I really can’t recommend it enough. If anyone still has specific questions that I didn’t answer let me know. I would love to help you out.
Thanks for reading!
PS – Wheat germ is great! I use Mother’s Natural. I buy it in the organic (frufru section) near the different flours and oats.
