Vitamix blenders

[Hot Flatus]

Mrs Flaatuus's aunt and uncle were extolling the virtues of their Vitamix blender last time we saw them.

I don't really know much about them, other than they are blenders with truck engines in them.

Are they worth it? What are they for anyway? Any decent alternatives?

[hellymedic]

If this is some sort of juicer, beware there is a health backlash against juicing.

This [Daily Mail, sorry] link was posted by a friend on Facebook yesterday. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2912353/Is-juicing-making-fat-Not-mention-rotting-teeth-starving-body-nutrients-new-fad-not-healthy-all.html

[Hot Flatus]

Aaaaaah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  My eyes!!!!!   My eyes!!!!!!!!

[ian]

I'm pretty sure that if you're not living entirely out of smoothies, they're perfectly fine. Yes, there's sugar in fruit, but there's lots of other stuff. Usual proviso about eating a balanced diet with a blend of fruit and veg applies. As a former biochemist, I'm convinced that 99% of what is written about human nutrition and subsequent metabolism is BS and bear in mind that 'nutritionist' is an entirely made-up title. Comparing the sugar from a couple of oranges with a chocolate bar is simplistic and erroneous.

You can get decent blenders for less than a Vitamix, I have a £60 quid Sainsbury's one that still runs fine after a year of nearly daily use. Cheaper ones blow up quickly. I'd use the ones we had the lab until I saw the price.

[Dibdib]

I think there's going to be a lot of these on eBay in a couple of months.

[hellymedic]

Indeed.
It's just rather easier to drink 20 carrots' worth of carrot juice than to eat 20 carrots, something most people are unlikely to do.

I don't think I'll juice much fruit or veg as:
1) The Magimix is a PITA to clean.
2) I enjoy having food in my mouth, tasting and chewing it before I swallow it.

My teeth and health are such that I can chew my food.
Long may this last!

Losing weight is easier if I can eat and enjoy my food slowly.

[geraldc]

Vitamix is good. Although after 4 months of ownership,  it's mainly used to make our own nut butters, and soups. The juicing element went by the wayside after the first week.
The by product of the blades moving so fast is the friction, so it can boil water, just through the action of the blades. So  things like mushroom soup are a doddle

[geraldc]

They are very very noisy though

[hellymedic]

Does make nut butters make cleaning machines a pain?
I vaguely remember using a Moulinex grinder to make peanut butter and never repeated this.

[Cudzoziemiec]

I'd never heard of Vitamix, so I got googling and found this: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-12-19/how-vitamix-sells-pricey-blenders-to-affluent-health-conscious-foodies
I've found that:

• It emulsifies food at molecular level
• It is the new Tupperware
• The company founder also brought us the TV infomercial
• All-American, supplied to the White House
• Used to be for "to mystical, earth-worshiping hippies and New Age seekers of life extension techniques"
• A Vitamix smoothie has a “silkier mouthfeel” and “thinner viscosity” than you’re likely to experience elsewhere.
• Some demonstrators share their cell phone number and develop loyal followers who show up each time they come to town, as if they were the Eagles
• Costco sounds like Poundland but apparently is more like Waitrose
• the hot trend in blending is “whole-fruit” juicing
• they copy competitors' designs
• a Vitamix can be ground into rubberized dust in a Blendtec blender
• and maybe vice versa?
• probably pretty inedible, either way
• they mostly sell to men
• a Vitamix is like a Mustang for your kitchen
• a Vitamix is tailor-made for the semi-enlightened male vaguely inclined toward better nutrition yet still rooted in his natural state of couch-bound torpor

In other words, it's probably perfect for you if you wear Rapha but never actually ride a bike!

[Moleman76]

Vitamix, here in USA, comes out with new and improved models every year.  Some users feel a need to upgrade, end up with several of them in the house (ask me how I know).

Best to run at high speed if the load on the motor is heavy.  If operated slow, will eventually burn up the motor.  Over here, the warranty coverage is pretty good; we've had a few repaired for only the postage cost.

Good to have a mix of liquid and solid stuff in the container.  Solids only will tend to not blend well.

[geraldc]

The vitamix has an automatic cut off to save the motor if something is going wrong. It just stops working for a few minutes. I overloaded it once, and ran it at too low a speed, so the safety tripped.

Cleaning after making nut butter's not too bad. The butter is warm, so flows out easily. So after you've scraped out what you want, just add water, blitz it on high for a second, and you get nut milk. When you want to clean it, just add washing up liquid, and hot water, and run it high for a few seconds. Hot water and detergent moving at high speed cleans the insides very quickly.

[pcolbeck]

Wow they aren't cheap are they ?

[geraldc]

I think I've got a 5 yr guarantee, with an extra 2 years (for registering online) so a 7 yr guarantee for a kitchen appliance.

[spesh]

Mrs Flaatuus's aunt and uncle were extolling the virtues of their Vitamix blender last time we saw them.

I don't really know much about them, other than they are blenders with truck engines in them.

I'd never heard of Vitamix, so I got googling and found this: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-12-19/how-vitamix-sells-pricey-blenders-to-affluent-health-conscious-foodies
I've found that:

• It emulsifies food at molecular level

...

• All-American, supplied to the White House

...

• a Vitamix can be ground into rubberized dust in a Blendtec blender
• and maybe vice versa?
• probably pretty inedible, either way
• they mostly sell to men
• a Vitamix is like a Mustang for your kitchen

Jeremy Clarkson's V8-powered blender springs to mind. Anyone for a beef, brick and Bovril smoothie? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDlMLqdvHzI

[Notsototalnewbie]

I've got a Nutribullet instead, which is a cheaper, less powerful (but still more powerful than a regular blender) version. It has two blades, one for fruit & veg and one for milling seeds/coffee beans etc.

Am currently having a green & fruit smoothie at breakfast and a different veg/fruit smoothie in the afternoon at work (it comes with screw-on lids so you can easily take concoctions out with you) has probably doubled my fruit & veg intake and (slightly) reduced the chocolate/biscuit intake by way of being so filling. I use the Deliciously Ella blog for smoothie ideas; she's rather evangelical/over-enthusiastic, but I mostly ignore that and just steal the recipes. Before I found it hard to incorporate much veg into my packed lunch at work (which tends to be a bagel or some leftover pasta).

I'm not using them as meal replacements or anything (apart from the breakfast one, which has oats and stuff in so it's no hardship). I do still like actual solid food very much.

[Ham]

Much more to the forum taste ....


http://www.willitblend.com/

ETA - one of the better ones? http://www.willitblend.com/videos/bic-lighters