A Vitamix is the best investment you can make for your health. It took me a while to think that a $500 blender was actually necessary in my life, but after two years of it in my life, I honestly don’t know what I’d do without it. This has paid for itself 10-fold. In fact, it’s really priceless because you can’t put a dollar value on good health. Everyone I’ve talked into getting it (including Tina) has thanked me profusely and declared it to be the best thing they’ve ever done for their health. Really, Vitamix should be sharing their profits with me, but I’ll let them off the hook. Blender isn’t even the right word for this – it has an industrial strength motor that is much, much stronger than your average blender’s. This machine will take anything and liquefy it to the finest particle. I know that makes it sound like a juicer, but you’re not extracting juice – you’re using whole veggies and fruits, skin (aka fiber) and all! So that’s where the health benefits are far superior because with juice you are only getting the sugar and water.
There are an endless number of recipes, but I’ll share my favorites. The best are made from fruits and vegetables that are high in fiber. You know the kind that are difficult to eat a lot of if you place them on a plate and make into something like a salad. The Vitamix is great if you have tots (or a husband) who are anti-veggie! It’s good to get kids in the habit of eating well and knowing how delicious that can be. This’ll get them a high dose of nutrition in just a glass. That’s the most amazing aspect of all – everything ends up tasting incredible! A million times better than it would on its own. I prefer this Professional Series version with its variable speed so that you can mix coarse things. Start it off slow, at say 3, to get everything chopped up, then gradually amp it up to 10. Keep it at high for a minute to make sure all of your ingredients are completely pulverized. You can mix frozen goodies like fruit, too, but if you get the Vitamix with only two speeds (low and high), you could burn out the motor on tough jobs like this. When you get as attached to your machine as I am (and you will), you want to take great care of it, so just go for the Professional one. And don’t mess around with the smaller container. Even if you don’t plan on making smoothies for a crowd of people, get the larger 64 oz. When you’re blending, all of the ingredients get pushed up to the side, so if you fill up the container halfway, the strength of the motor will end up filling it up to the top. Plus, you can do more with more space, like make soup. On Amazon for $498.95.
Green Smoothie Recipe
The best thing for you to start your morning off with is a green smoothie.
• Spinach: For starters, I would use spinach (then you graduate to chard then kale), which is mild and gives you a smooth consistency.
• Granny Smith apple: Or a red apple like gala, or Fuji if you prefer a sweeter taste but the Granny Smith gives it a refreshing and crisp taste
• Carrots: Washed but NOT peeled (that would defeat the whole purpose of getting a Vitamix over a basic blender)
• Dates: I love adding dates to my smoothies to make them sweeter – that way I can use water instead of juice to the mix (you need some sort of liquid) and dates are full of fiber
• Water
Variations: Sometimes I’ll add one small Persian cucumber, and if you want a super delicious smoothie, toss in some berries. This will make it into a real treat! It’s hard to keep berries fresh for long, so frozen organic ones will do almost as well. You can also add Chia seeds, I can go on about the health benefits of that as well but suffice to say it too is full of fiber as well as Omegas.
Almond Cashew Shake
This is the best liquid meal replacement you’ll ever have. It’s great for lunch -really delicious, satisfying, and chock-full of protein. I prefer to use cashews instead of almonds because they become completely smooth but also the mix of the nutty flavors are rich and decadent.
• Almond Milk: Get an unflavored, unsweetened one from the refrigerated section – these are better
• Raw Cashews: Trader Joe’s has a pack that’s inexpensive, organic, and good quality.
• Dates
• A dash of Cinnamon (has countless health benefits and will increase your metabolism)
Fresh Healthy Ice Cream
This is especially wonderful in the summer when there’s an abundance of fruit ripening all at once, like mangos.
• Mango: Cut up in small pieces and frozen
• Milk
And that’s it! You mix these up, adding more milk as needed (but not so much that it turns into a smoothie). The Vitamix will be able to blend a very thick mixture of the frozen fruit and turn it into ice cream. If you prefer a harder consistency, keep it in the back of the freezer.
Soup Base
Even for a vegetarian, using this ensures that your soup will be bursting with flavor. Instead of having all your ingredients floating around, they’re incorporated into the stock and give it a nice thickness.
• Garlic
• Cilantro
• Onion
• Green Onions
• Carrot
• Water
You can add these to any soup you’re making, but my favorite veggie soup has:
• Chicken
• Zucchini
• Carrots
• Tomato
• Potato
• Kale
Everyone is making new years resolutions but this one is one that you will actually stick to. Even if you changed nothing else in your diet, just having a green smoothie everyday gives you all the nutrients your body needs and more importantly, you’ll be digesting lots of fiber. This is the one thing missing from a busy life – natural fiber. Vitamin supplements are just not the same. Once you include all this good natural fiber into your diet, you’ll immediately notice a change. When you go few days without a smoothie, you’ll crave it – this is your body telling you what it needs. Once you start making these simple drinks, you’ll get your own ideas and create recipes to fit your individual tastes. And you will definitely find yourself sharing them with other Vitamix families!
I ordered mine from QVC and I love it! QVC offers several models and some models give you the option to break the payment up into 4 or 5 smaller payments! Hope this helps some of you that might be on the fence about splurging just after the holidays! xxoo