Anyone have a Vitamix?

I have one. They are amazing.

My wife makes smoothies.

I've made soup...with just the blender. I kid you not, the blender alone will make soup steaming hot.

You can fresh grind seasonings and rubs!

We've made fresh fruit margaritas.

It's is a blender - food processor extraordinaire.

Comes with quite a recipe book as well as an instructional DVD.

They knead bread dough with it and make peanut butter from fresh peanuts on the DVD...

gtr said:

I have a Blendtec that I love. From what I can tell, the performance between those and Vitamix are comparable. What sold me on the Blendtec was that it has a lower profile and would fit under my kitchen cabinets while sitting on the counter. Seems to me like the move is to grab one or the other depending on the deal you can get.

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I chose the Blendtec over the Vitamix for the same reason plus the 3hp motor. Not like 2hp Vitamix motor isn't enought but still :biggrin1: . Excellent blender and well worth the money if you ask me. It's not just an expensive blender so google it or you tube it and you'll see the difference compared to a traditional blender. Thing does eveything and a necessary tool in the kitchen with as much cooking I do.

Motley Q said:

Is this a trick question?

Why would anyone spend $500 on a blender?

It's a damn blender.

Buy a $20 blender and take $480 and buy a rice cooker and a banana holder.

Oh, and a omlet maker and salad shooter.........

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I suppose you have the same opinion about a $20 grill being just as good as a $500 one? They're just grills, right?

Never mind the fact a VitaMix can grind a cinderblock to dust in a matter of seconds, has an incredible warranty, and has way more power than your $20 blender.

Nonetheless, so glad you could enlighten us! :clap2:

No sense buying that expensive meat either. Just get the pink slime stuff on sale.:becky:

I was going to buy a WSM, but then I saw that Wal-Mart had a grill for 20 bucks. I can almost fit twenty burgers on it!

If you'll use it, buy it. I bought a freaking food processor that cost a LOT, but I use that thing everyday. I'm seriously considering buying one of these now, as I do enjoy smoother bases for things, and my cheapo blender is only good for making rice milk and milkshakes in at this moment.

If it's going to see use, then do it, with no regrets! Unless like the electric bill is to be sacrificed. Blender, no electricity... bad juju.

Moose said:

I suppose you have the same opinion about a $20 grill being just as good as a $500 one? They're just grills, right?

Never mind the fact a VitaMix can grind a cinderblock to dust in a matter of seconds, has an incredible warranty, and has way more power than your $20 blender.

Nonetheless, so glad you could enlighten us! :clap2:

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And who doesn't love a cinderblock smoothie in the morning? :thumb:

Seriously though, once I started using the Blendtec it was clear there was no going back to regular blenders.

bigabyte said:

No sense buying that expensive meat either. Just get the pink slime stuff on sale.:becky:

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Wow...you really got me thinking here. I could save a TON on meat expenses now! After all, it's meat, and all meat is the same, right?

:twitch:

I'd probably take a ninja over a nutri bullet. I love my ninja, and while its not a vitamix, it does do great stuff.

I want to justify getting one!
Please, owners, give a range of things you do with the things and give me some ammo for the quartermaster!

buccaneer said:

I want to justify getting one!
Please, owners, give a range of things you do with the things and give me some ammo for the quartermaster!

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I mainly use my Blendtec to make green smoothies for breakfast. Anything I put in it comes out with a very smooth consistency in less that 45 seconds. I understand they are amazing for sauces and soups, as well as blending spices. I think you can make bread, grind grains, etc. in it. It's a really simple, easy to clean design as well. It will pulverize just about anything you put in it.

If I didn't spend so damn much money on bbq contests, knives and sharpeners, bbq equipment, etc. I'd probably have one. They are a damn fine product, made right here in the USA.

But I get by with out Ninja and Braun units:decision:

A Vitamix is an awesome unit though. I salivate every time I see a demo at Sams or Costco!

Well, besides the obvious, like smoothies and such (which taste completely different from regular blenders, texture is THAT important), I make homemade nut butters, mostly cashew since the wife and kids love cashews, but I also like almond butter a lot. I can't even get as good of results with a Cuisinart Food Processor making nut butter as what happens in the BlendTec blender.:thumb:

You'd be amazed what you can do to make "liquids" for use in recipes. For example, chili. Most people like to use a flavorful liquid, like beef broth or beer, or whatever. I like to toss onions, garlic, dried and fresh peppers and some beef broth for liquid and blend that up. A regular blender at best makes a sauce, it will still have some pieces in it, so it's not really "liquified". With the BlendTec, it is far more liquified and makes for an excellent liquid to use when making chili in my opinon. I do this for many other similar things as well, from soups, stews, sauces, you name it.

You can grind anything up to a fine powder, be it spices, or even whatever crunchy is on hand like pretzels or whatever to make some nice fine breading. If you like, you can turn thinks like iPads and other crazy stuff to a powder. Check out the videos online by searching YouTube with the term "It Blends". Funny farking stuff, and they really did blend all that stuff up in a BlendTec.

Whipped cream, mayo, hummus, fark...the list goes on and on.

buccaneer said:

I want to justify getting one!
Please, owners, give a range of things you do with the things and give me some ammo for the quartermaster!

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Do you have kids with iPhones? If yes, you can us it as way to discipline them.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qg1ckCkm8YI"]Will It Blend? - iPhone - YouTube[/ame]

On a more serious note:

http://www.blendtec.com/recipes/categories

https://www.vitamix.com/Find-Recipes

Justify??? To Whom??? Take control of your scene, buy the thing and report back to The Brethren

Count me as another happy VitaMix owner. We've had one form7 or 8 years and love it.

I own a Blendtec and love it. Purchase it through Costco and got a longer warranty and better deal.

Motley Q said:

Is this a trick question?

Why would anyone spend $500 on a blender?

It's a damn blender.

Buy a $20 blender and take $480 and buy a rice cooker and a banana holder.

Oh, and a omlet maker and salad shooter.........

Click to expand...

A regular blender does not have the power to do what these machines a capable of. It can take a whole fruit and turn it into juice. It has more power than my gas powered lawn edger.
[ame]http://youtu.be/kgZC0U4mWMc[/ame]

i went and read and asked a lot of questions. i finally bought the vitamix at costco.
both the vitamix and blendtec would be awesome for anyone but the simplicity of the
vitamix was what put me over the edge towards the vitamix. havn't used it yet due to being rather busy and needing to rearrange the kitchen which is small. yes, it can make soups which was one of my criteria but also being able to mix veggies that i would not normally eat into soups or smoothies was another.

I have no doubt that the Vitamix is the best consumer grade blender on the market....but I have a Kitchen Aid 580 blender. Mine is SS, but you can get a plastic one for < $100 on sale. I use it frequently to make smoothies, frozen margaritas, and all things in between. Never met an ice cube nor a seed that it can't crush. I'm not saying that it's every bit as good as a vitamix, but it's good enough for me, and a fraction of the price. I'm a Kitchen Aid snob to a point with a stand mixer, blender, and food processor, and stick blender, but they all work very well.

EDIT: The KitchenAid was Cook's Illustrated (affordable) runner up two reviews ago. Since then there have been complains of leaks, so they dropped in in favour of the Brevill, but mine has been great. It comes with a one year, no questions asked warranty. Just sayin.

dmp