Club Vitamix!!!!
Here's a thread to post vitamix recipes, success stories, and even things you don't like about the Vitamix. If you don't have one, feel free to lurk and maybe you'll be convinced to get one.
So far, I my favorite thing I have made is Orange Sorbet. (oranges, sugar, ice). It made so much and I put leftovers in the fridge. In the morning it was liquid and tasted like Orange Julius!
Here's something I don't like: I made hummus and it was really hard to get it all out from under the blades. Am i missing something here? It seriously took me like 10 minutes and I still didn't get all of it. I just gave up.
The hummus was very creamy like peanut butter but not like in real Mediterranean Restaurants. My sister said try removing the skin from the chic peas first!
I do not have the dry grinder blades. Do any of you? Is it worth getting?
Tonight its chocolate peanut butter icecream using coconut milk.
I just wanted to add that I love making things with raw cashews. It is so much creamier in the Vitamix. Yum. I've mostly been making smoothies though. I've just about emptied the freezer. Lol.
Nothing fancy, put I just threw in a couple peeled oranges and some frozen strawberries. It was no yummy with no sweetener added, surprisingly creamy.
Last night I tried 1/3 block of silken soft tofu, a smidge vegan sugar (cuz I love sweet smoothies) about a cup of black berries and a few ice cubes.
The tofu made it super creamy. Delicioso and a protein smoothie!
mmmmm.... Dang. Now I wanna go home and smootherize something.
I don't have a vitamix, but am thinking of getting one...does it replace a food processor and blender? What do you use it for the most??
Thanks! :)
You can use it as a food processor, sort of. Depending on what you use the food processor for, it may do the trick. When living with my parents I used to make smoothies in the food processor. They were good, but somewhat chunky. When I was out on my own I got a blender, and the smoothies were more consistent. With the vitamix, they are slikly smooth. For example, I have been putting whole pealed citrus fruits in smoothies and end up with no stringyness like my old blender. Strangely the membranes of the orange make the mixture creamy. All the seeds are gone from berries as well. You can also use so little liquid that it comes out the consistency of soft ice cream. The plundger thingie is really handy too. No constant starts and stops. Also, the creamy recipes with nut bases are so much creamier in the vitamix. It is also very easy to clean, and with no need to take it appart, I can't misplace the peices.
I wrote this on your Facebook, Tess, but I'll write it again here just for anyone else wondering. :)
It's totally worth the money. I hemmed & hawed about dropping that much money on a blender, but once I started using it, I didn't regret my decision for a second! I absolutely love it for smoothies (especially green smoothies!!!), and it makes great nut butters, hummus, nut-based salad dressings, etc. I don't think it replaces a food processor... (It won't chop or shred anything, for instance), but it's a great addition to the kitchen.
I wouldn't, however, say that you need to spring for the separate dry container. I don't have it, and I have never once wished I had it! I know people who like theirs, but it's an extra expense that I haven't missed.
Last thing - I bought a reconditioned VitaMix 5200, and it works perfectly. This saved me about $100. All reconditioned means is that it was either returned (unused) by someone or used by a VitaMix rep for in-store demos. I love my VitaMix!
With the vitamix, they are slikly smooth. For example, I have been putting whole pealed citrus fruits in smoothies and end up with no stringyness like my old blender. Strangely the membranes of the orange make the mixture creamy. All the seeds are gone from berries as well. You can also use so little liquid that it comes out the consistency of soft ice cream. The plundger thingie is really handy too. No constant starts and stops. Also, the creamy recipes with nut bases are so much creamier in the vitamix. It is also very easy to clean, and with no need to take it appart, I can't misplace the peices.
Oh sweet lord, you just convinced me.
p.s. Thanks so much, JessaCita!! That was so sweet of you to repeat the info. :)
You won't regret it. I bought a refurbished one too. My budget is really, really tight, but I don't regret the purchase at all. I atually have been using it more often than my stove stately, and definately more than I use my oven (no AC). The only draw back to it I've noticed is that it gets smooties so smooth and creamy that flax seed doesn't seem to work as well in them. I don't really understand why but it seems to detract from the smoothness.
This probably isn't a revolutionary idea, but it sure has increased the amount of greens I go through in a week, allowed me to take advantage of greens on sale, and minimizes waste from the greens too.
Green Cubes
Put your greens into the Vitamix. Fill it as full as you want. Add enough water so that the end result will be just watery enough to be pourable. Blend on high for a few seconds until well pulverized. Pour into ice cube trays, being sure the scrape the sides of the Vitamix for the little bits. Freeze. When frozen, pop out of the trays and put in an air-tight container. You can add the cubes to whatever recipe you want, from frozen. One or many, many more depending on the recipe. Soups, chilies, smoothies, curries....whatever. Sometimes, if the recipe is water sensitive and you add a lot of cubes, you may want to reduce the amount of water the recipe calls for.
My family went from eating maybe 1 bunch of greens/week (and usually composting some of that bunch) to eating 4 + bunches per week this way because I add the cubes to nearly everything. If you only add a few cubes, you can't taste the greens, particularly in a strongly-flavored recipe, but even using 3 or so per recipe you can go through an astonishing amount of cubes per week.
That is a fabulous idea, hopfrog! It's revolutionary in my mind! :)>>>
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