Does anyone own a VitaMix blender?

[Symarip]

I love mine.



I started feeling a little sick so I made some tortilla-pepper-tomato soup. MMM MMM MMM.

LettuceHeads, look into one of these. I know I'm not one of your kind but it seems that most sites I get recipes off of are vegan-oriented.

[KitchenWitch]

1. What distinguishes the VitaMix from say, a Cuisinart or even a Hamilton Beach?

[Symarip]

2. I am so glad you asked

Basically, speed and durability. It'll chop anything and can handle boiling temperatures. It's less blender, more food processor. These are the deals you see running at Jamba Juice. They cost anywhere from 500 to 1500 dollars and are well worth it because they last forever. My mom gave me hers because she wasn't using it and it was collecting dust.

[KitchenWitch]

5. I guess my Cuisinart suits me just fine.

I have a food processor as well.

[AwakeAtLast]

7. My husband always watches "How It's Made"

There was an episode showing how they made those. They tested unimaginable things in them: wood, metal, plastic, you name it - they chopped it! Very interesting to watch. Definitely proved the part about lasting forever!

[Symarip]

8. When I do my fruit stuff in the morning

I don't chop anything. I peel the oranges - that's it. Seeds, skin, everything goes right in and it's completely obliterated.

[redqueen]

12. Oooh neat...

there's good stuff in the seeds and skin. Nutritious stuff I mean.

[buzzycrumbhunger]

10. Even more fun: Will it Blend?

I originally saw one of these when they were auctioning off a blendered iPhone (ugh) and they apparently will chop up anything upon request, including garden implements, baseball bats, and countless other goodies--I guess to sell you on their badarse blender. (Though there are several clips promising a crowbar, they never actually get around to blending one of those.) I see now the pitcher looks like plastic, which is much less convincing.

I thought the big deal about the VitaMix was that it also has a heat option so you can dispense soup ready to drink. I know a lot of people who swear by theirs. I'm afraid I went the Champion juicer route, which is a lot more versatile for the kinds of crap I make (not just juice, but veggies, refritos, sno-cones, flour, corn grits, nut butters, and sprouts for my dehydrator breads).

[ACTION BASTARD]

13. I have a Blendtec and the differance is HUGH!!

Seriously, my Blendtec is so powerful that I can make hot soup or ice cream straight from the blender. I got mine from Costco for less than $400 and it's totally worth it.

Check out some of these sick videos of how insanely powerful it is. http://www.willitblend.com/


EDIT: Shit beaten!

[LeftyMom]

3. Nah, I have a KitchenAid.

More than powerful enough for anything I need to do with it, waaaaaaaaaaaaaay cheaper (though still fairly spendy,) and it matches my other kitchen gear.

[Symarip]

4. Yeah, if you just want a blender that blends then it's pretty useless

But for quick meals (especially if you're single), it's pretty badass. I suck down a blend of fruits in the morning on the way out the door for work.

Plus, who can argue with a Cuisinart that matches the decor?

[LeftyMom]

6. Yeah, I love cooking so I hardly ever make quick anything.

When I do it's usually warming up some ornate dinner I froze in reasonable portions, because for some reason I feel the need to cook enough food for a small army of hungry vegans, instead of just me and leftykid.

Then again, I wind up cooking for a small army of hungry vegans more often than one might expect, so it's a useful skill to keep up.

[quakerboy]

9. Ive never Owned one, but I have Killed one.

Yup. Killed her dead.

[crim son]

11. I did for years.

I liked it but eventually I found I used the cuisinart for more stuff because of the ease of cleaning it. I finally gave it to the STBE husband. You're right about being able to blend heated foods with it, but I was always leery about splashing hot mixtures so I rarely used that feature.

It made GREAT smoothies for my kids when they were little... just whole fruit, milk and ice.