Vitamix Anyone?

So, I broke down and bought a Vitamix last week.  I purchased a refurbished one, which was pricey enough for my wallet.  My impetus was my upcoming dental implant surgery which begins late June. I'll be dealing with missing a top front tooth for a while (I do have a "flipper tooth" to wear at least) and eating the first few days after it's pulled is not going to be easy unless I stick to a soft diet.  I needed a new blender and/or food processor anyway so this will do the duty of 2 appliances (I hope!).

I haven't used it yet because unfortunately, I've been ill for nearly a week and well, even making a smoothie is too energetic for me right now.   But, I'd love to hear from anyone who owns one for tips and tricks and favorite recipe sites.   I've started stocking up on various pantry items which I know will be useful, like almond butter, chia seeds, have been freezing fresh fruit to have on hand, etc.  

Thanks!

I don't have a Vitamix, but I hope you feel better soon.

I hope it all goes well for you!

I don't have one either. We look at them; we also look at the Ninjas. But boy, they're expensive. Sometimes I think I could use a blender and then I look at the price tags and.....well, one hasn't found its way into the kitchen yet. 

Winchester said:

 
I hope it all goes well for you!

I don't have one either. We look at them; we also look at the Ninjas. But boy, they're expensive. Sometimes I think I could use a blender and then I look at the price tags and.....well, one hasn't found its way into the kitchen yet. 

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Thanks, I can use all the good wishes on this one LOL.

Yea, it was crazy money.  Refurb was half price.  Reviews for them are pretty good - full 5 year warranty, new containers, etc.  It is a lot larger than I expected though, I can not keep it under my counter for easy access.  They have a shorter container but I read it wasn't as good at creating the vortex needed for blending. I need to rearrange a lot of my kitchen storage anyway, so this might be the impetus.  I need to purge!

I have a low budget Cuisinart blender that I bought some months back but haven't even used it. Might donate it to a co-worker who needs one.  Problem with a regular blender is it won't have the power to properly work with many fruits and veggies.  It can't pulverize them enough to create the smooth texture I want.

Winchester said:

 
I hope it all goes well for you!

I don't have one either. We look at them; we also look at the Ninjas. But boy, they're expensive. Sometimes I think I could use a blender and then I look at the price tags and.....well, one hasn't found its way into the kitchen yet. 

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I got a Ninja from Kohl's. It's pretty darn good. If you have a Kohl's card, keep an eye on their site. They often go on sale. Kohl's runs sales every month where there are codes for 15, 20  and 30% off depending on the code you get but you have to use a Kohl's card. You also earn the Kohl's cash for future purchases and the Yes to You rewards which build up with each purchase and they give you Kohl's cash for that too. Then of course, you can use Ebates and get cash back from that as well. I always get the 30% code thanks to the fine people at the freebie website I belong to

http://www.freesamplesite.com/ydf/forumdisplay.php/1-Freebies-Discounts-Deals

Kat0121 said:

 
I got a Ninja from Kohl's. It's pretty darn good. If you have a Kohl's card, keep an eye on their site. They often go on sale. Kohl's runs sales every month where there are codes for 15, 20  and 30% off depending on the code you get but you have to use a Kohl's card. You also earn the Kohl's cash for future purchases and the Yes to You rewards which build up with each purchase and they give you Kohl's cash for that too. Then of course, you can use Ebates and get cash back from that as well. I always get the 30% code thanks to the fine people at the freebie website I belong to

http://www.freesamplesite.com/ydf/forumdisplay.php/1-Freebies-Discounts-Deals

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I already bought the Vitamix.  I looked at the Ninja but decided against it.

I love Kohl's - I use their coupons all the time.  They run the BEST sales! 

I also got the Ninja, the Vitamix was too pricey for me.  I got the middle quality Ninja because it had a little more power than the cheaper one.  I have a cheap blender put up somewhere that I hardly ever used.  It wasn't any good for icy drinks and smoothies.

I have a Ninja which I love. I bought it in the States at Khol's.    Vitamix is the KitchenAid of the blender world, and will last you pretty much forever.  But it's really highly priced, way more than even a KitchenAid stand mixer.  Ninja works just fine for smoothies.  Plus the Ninja fits under the upper cupboards, where Vitamix is often too tall.

 

My mom just bought one (on sale at Costco). I don't think she'll get her money's worth out of it; she just doesn't have those kinds of blending needs :tongue2:. She had bought one of the old models a long time ago but rarely used it because she didn't like the stainless steel container. She prefers to be able to see what she's blending I guess. The new ones have clear containers. Maybe she'll actually use it more often. I'll have to ask her if she's even used it yet, lol.

So, over the weekend I finally used it for the first time (I've been ill and my appetite has been shot for the most part).

Made a Kale, Pineapple, Mango and Coconut Water smoothie - with a little bit of plain Greek yogurt in it.  No extra sweeteners used. Was amazing! Tom didn't quite know what to expect from it because it was such a bright green color, but he really enjoyed it and said he could drink that all the time 
 

Consistency was perfect. Took all of 30 seconds on the smoothie setting and cleaning was equally as quick and efficient.  Really pleased with my purchase!

I am glad you liked your purchase.  I hadn't tried kale in a smoothie even though that is the usual veggie put in them.  I need to try that sometime.

Denice said:

 
I am glad you liked your purchase.  I hadn't tried kale in a smoothie even though that is the usual veggie put in them.  I need to try that sometime.

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You couldn't even taste it in there, though, to be fair, I made more than enough for 2 servings and put the rest of it in the fridge. Tasted it later in the day and it does not hold very well at all.  I could taste the undertone of the kale by then.  I think I used about 2 really full, bunched down cups for it so it really was a good way to squeeze in some extra green nutrition, especially since we dislike kale in general.  I wish I had thought to take a photo!

I want to get a Vitamix but the price puts me off.  I remember one smoothie I made for my mom with fresh parsley and pineapple that was very tasty and gave us both energy.  

Oh, I also want to make banana ice cream too. Heard it's really good.  Only one ingredient: frozen bananas.