Do You Love Your Blender?

We have had a Vitamix for about 6 years- we LOVE it! We use it almost every day sometimes multiple times. Originally I got it because my youngest hated the bits and pieces of fruits and veg- boy doe it mix it up! I throw a hand full of spinach, flax and quinoa in their daily am smoothie- they love it- they know the spinach is in there, but don't taste it at all ( I have gone a little over board on the spinah, not as good-lol!) and just like Elena said it makes great soup-and ice cream! Super healthy- a must have appliance! Let me know if you have any other questions-looks like I'm in the town over! ____@____.com

I have a Vitamix (the 5200 model) and one of the reasons I love it is because of the long warranty and customer service.

It chops everything. My ds is on his own now and occasionally stops by on his way home from work. I can throw some vegetables in (raw carrots, sweet potato, celery, squash, or whatever's on hand) and some fruits (like apples) in, and in 10 minutes, using only the Vitamix, I have a hot soup for him to enjoy.

I make homemade peanut butter in it using only peanuts. And this past Thanksgiving, I realized I only had fresh whole cranberries on hand. Most of the family loves homemade cranberry sauce made in the traditional way, but my dd has some medical issues and can't handle the whole berry, chunky sauce. So I made the sauce as usual and threw it in the Vitamix and pureed it. I poured it through a sieve just to make sure there were no small stems or anything, and let it set. Actually everyone liked it - the whole berry sauce fans, and my daughter too. It was smooth and perfect.

I know it's expensive, but with such a long guarantee, and since it does so many things, it's been worth it.

I have a Ninja pulse and I love it! It crushes ice and fruits and I slip veggies into the kids smoothies undetected. It also kneads dough(bread, pizza) and has a batter attachment as well. It comes with two travel cups(that are awesome) that you make the smoothies directly in and change out the lid(the blades are on the lid) and also a big processor container and a bigger drink storage container. I got it as a gift and have literally used it for something everyday!

I got a Ninja blender at Target last year for around $140 (?) and it is AWESOME. I don't make smoothies myself but my daughters do, often with frozen fruit and it works great. It came with some extras including Magic Bullet type blades and bottles for individual servings. And it totally crushes ice, the blades are seriously sharp and the motor is powerful.

I do not use my blender very much. I have a simple stainless Oster brand. I use it sometimes to make salad dressings and hubby will occasionally use it for a frozen margarita.

However, my daughter uses hers often and we just bought her one from Bed Bath and Beyond a couple months ago. I don't recall the brand... it was either Kitchen Aid or Brielle. It was about $180 before the 20% coupon.

It is nice, heavy duty and she does make smoothies often so it works well for her. It was stainless.

Hope that helps.

I have a Ninja and I love it.
It works as a blender and a food processor.

I think you would find yourself happy with any high speed blender if you want to pulverize greens and ice. They run about 300-400 dollars. I've had a Vitamix for 10 years and use it almost daily. I know others who have had theirs for 20+. The warranty is insane. They replace any part that breaks including the whole darn thing if need be. I love using frozen fruit in my smoothies. Its better than ice. Look into Blendteck also.

Vitamix is SO worth it. Sometimes Costco has a Vitamix person come in for demonstrations and they have big sales.

I have an Oster. Just a basic model, but it does everything I need it to, including chopping ice..

I hated my old blender because it had a fancy drink dispenser feature which was just a giant pain in the butt. It was totally unnecessary (how hard is it to pour beverages out of a blender pitcher?) Even if you didn't use the dispenser feature you had to take it apart (five or six pieces) and clean it and put it back together after each use or it would grow mold. So stay away from any blender with a drink dispenser!

I have never been able to find any blender that actually has enough power to make a great thick malt. I have to add milk and more milk to get the bottom moved to the top and vice versa.

I think that a drink mixer works much better.

i kind of love my blend-tec. but it's not as good as the vitamix. not sure if i have a wimpy one or not (one of my besties has one that handles frozen fruit just fine) but i have to let frozen fruit sit in the smoothie liquid for a few minutes before it will really pulverize it.
but it's a fairly minor inconvenience. it's a workhorse, and i use it several times a day for everything from smoothies to soups to grinding grain.
khairete
S.