Does anyone else have one? DH bought one for me a few weeks back as Costco had them for a good price, and I have to say I'm really liking it!!
I made DH a smoothie just now that consisted of OJ, banana and frozen strawberries only, and it whizzed up as thick as a milkshake - the seeds from the strawberries were completely pulverized, too, so it was really smooth and creamy. It didn't separate, either, like fruit smoothies usually do after a while.
Apparently you can even grind grain in it - has anyone tried doing this before?
I have one and love it too! I haven't tried anything fancy, like grinding grain., but it's worked beautifully for everything I've used it for. DH likes to say that its motor is as powerful as a lawn mower engine -- maybe it is!
How much did you have to pay for it at Costco? Our blender is horribly inadequate and the vitamixes do look awesome, but they are so expensive I just can't stomach the cost.
I *think* it was $399, with all the extra bits and pieces included. Pricey, yes - but my old blender was a KitchenAid that was $169, and it wasn't anywhere near as powerful and ultimately wore through the little teeth in the base of the machine.
I think whether it's worth it or not all depends on how often you would use it. I use a blender a LOT, for everything from soups to smoothies to yorkshire pudding batter (only occasionally! ) to pureeing fruits and veggies to add to my son's meals, so it was worthwhile to invest in a really good one. If I add up what I've paid out in cheaper blenders over the years, I would have been further ahead to just buy a Vita-Mix from the beginning! Everyone I know who has one has had it for years and years....some have even had them passed down through the family!
Meg - it is a bit like having a power tool in the kitchen!! One of these days I'll get brave enough to try some grain!!
Yeah, that's probably too pricey for me. I have issues with spending money on kitchen gadgets, which is odd given how much I cook. $100 is probably my limit.
I also don't really use my blender that much, although I'd probably find more uses for it if it were a better blender. I have a good food processor that I inherited (I'm familiar with the passing appliances down through the family concept, it's how I got my KitchenAid mixer and my Cuisenart food processor ), so I can use that for a lot things that I would use blender for. I wonder if I could use the food processor to make smoothies?
Wow that brings back memories. Yeah, I grew up with one also - we loved how loud it was as kids!! Maybe my Mom still has it, I'll have to check. (Although, I vaguely remember that 1 of my 6 sisters has it.) Anyways, I know she ground her own grains for making bread, as well as making oat flour from oats. I also remember that she would put frozen peaches (maybe some water?) into it and we would have the best, freshest sorbet!
I don't think they are in the $500-$700 price range unless you buy a lot of accessories. I bought mine at Costco last year and I love it. I think it was $349.
After I burned out 3 blenders within 2 years and the fact that I was using a blender multiple times per day, I figured a vitamix was a good investment. It is really awesome.
Amazon carries VitaMix for anywhere from $330 to $550, depending on the power of the unit.
Consumer Reports rated the VitaMix 5000 ($400) as the best blender, with the Blendtec just under that at the same price. Coming in third was the Breville Ikon BBL600XL for $199. Breville has a newer more powerful version out which is $299.
Vita-Mix
DH bought one for me a few weeks back as Costco had them for a good price, and I have to say I'm really liking it!!
I haven't tried anything fancy, like grinding grain., but it's worked beautifully for everything I've used it for. DH likes to say that its motor is as powerful as a lawn mower engine -- maybe it is! 
) to pureeing fruits and veggies to add to my son's meals, so it was worthwhile to invest in a really good one. If I add up what I've paid out in cheaper blenders over the years, I would have been further ahead to just buy a Vita-Mix from the beginning! Everyone I know who has one has had it for years and years....some have even had them passed down through the family! 
One of these days I'll get brave enough to try some grain!!
), so I can use that for a lot things that I would use blender for. I wonder if I could use the food processor to make smoothies?
