Vitamix - Tips, tricks, and recipes

[Calliegirl]

I have literally wanted a Vitamix for over 25 years, but things like my daughter, rent and utilities always came first. Then, the other day someone local had won one on a TV show and was selling it for 40% off the price. Far too good of a deal to resist, and even though I couldn't afford it, I bought it. Who needs car insurance anyway.

I noticed there are tons of recipes and videos out there, but it seems to be hit and miss as to how good they are. So, I thought maybe you Vitamix veterans out there could share some of your tried and true recipes, tips to get the best use out of it, and tricks us newbies don't know about.

 

[shyvas]

I gather that it is a food processor ? I don't have the same brand as I use a Magimix. I use it for grating, chopping and blending. I also like to use the mini bowl for making cauliflower mash.

It is great for making 'ice cream' with frozen berries and smoothies.

What kind of recipes are you planning to make with it ?

 

[Nightshade]

I have wanted a Vitamix for the longest but I just can't get over the price on them. There's a couple of outlet stores in Ohio where they're supposedly less money but, still, I doubt even the cheapest model at the outlet would go for under $350.

 

[Calliegirl]

I have wanted a Vitamix for the longest but I just can't get over the price on them. There's a couple of outlet stores in Ohio where they're supposedly less money but, still, I doubt even the cheapest model at the outlet would go for under $350.

Vitamix sells pretty nice reconditioned models for $329 and they come with a warranty. Recently they were on sale for $300. They usually have free shipping as well. That's what I had planned to get, but then this one unexpectedly became available.
https://secure.vitamix.com/Certified-Reconditioned-Products.aspx

I gather that it is a food processor ? I don't have the same brand as I use a Magimix. I use it for grating, chopping and blending. I also like to use the mini bowl for making cauliflower mash.

It is great for making 'ice cream' with frozen berries and smoothies.

What kind of recipes are you planning to make with it ?

I had never heard of a Magimix, it looks very handy and stylish (thanks Google).

The Vitamix is a high powered blender, but can also be used as a food processor. So far I've made a delicious smoothie, crappy salsa ( I over processed it) and an incredibly rich hot chocolate. I plan to make lots of soup once I can get to the store to get the ingredients.

I was hoping others would have some yummy vegan recipes to share. It came with a cookbook, but I would like to try recipes from real people.

 

[shyvas]

Vitamix sells pretty nice reconditioned models for $329 and they come with a warranty. Recently they were on sale for $300. They usually have free shipping as well. That's what I had planned to get, but then this one unexpectedly became available.
https://secure.vitamix.com/Certified-Reconditioned-Products.aspx



I had never heard of a Magimix, it looks very handy and stylish (thanks Google).

The Vitamix is a high powered blender, but can also be used as a food processor. So far I've made a delicious smoothie, crappy salsa ( I over processed it) and an incredibly rich hot chocolate. I plan to make lots of soup once I can get to the store to get the ingredients.

I was hoping others would have some yummy vegan recipes to share. It came with a cookbook, but I would like to try recipes from real people.

I saw a Vitamix sale on QVC this morning. It does seem like a fabulous product and is used in most cafés and restaurants according to the sales person. The only demonstrations that were down were with the blender funtion.
Soups, sauces, smoothies, ice creams and nut butters.
The person used both raw vegetables and berries to make strawberry ice cream.

You should be able to grind coffee beans, flaxseed/linseed, chia seeds. Also grind rice or barley to make flour.

You could also make pancake/waffle batter in a jiffy.

I didn't see the chopper function but if you do have a different blade you could make tofu and seitan burgers. Chop onions, garlic and herbs.

I can also make cake batters, pastry and vegetable mash in mine. I have 3 seperate bowls and different blades. I'm not too sure what blades come with the Vitamix. Prehaps you could tell us more.

What kind of recipes were you after Calliegirl?

 

[Calliegirl]

To chop, you have to pulse the food. There isn't a special blade for chopping. They come with a 'wet' container for blending/chopping wet foods. There is a 'dry' container you can buy for grinding wheat, coffee beans, etc. You can use the wet container to grind, but it sometimes dulls the inside of the container if you grind a lot. You really only need the dry container if you are planning to do a lot of grinding.

Just recipes others have found that they like. Plus any tips on things/shortcuts you can do with it, and things you shouldn't do. Just like I found out when you make salad dressing with oil, you need to blend everything except the oil first. Then drizzle in the oil at the end and only blend for a very short time, otherwise the oil can get really hot and damage the blender.

 

[shyvas]

Have you managed to use your new 'toy' Callie ? Have you found any new tips or recipes since you last posted ?

I have seen a video on QVC where they show you how to make lemonade using the Vitamix. I must try and find it and post the link for you.

 

[Calliegirl]

Yes I have.
I've been making smoothies using whole fruit instead of just the juice, super rich hot chocolate using pieces of dark chocolate instead of just cocoa powder, salad dressing and to mix cookie dough. The other night I made yummy cheesy potato broccoli soup, and I've blended oatmeal flakes into flour to use in place of wheat flour.

 

[shyvas]

Yes I have.
I've been making smoothies using whole fruit instead of just the juice, super rich hot chocolate using pieces of dark chocolate instead of just cocoa powder, salad dressing and to mix cookie dough. The other night I made yummy cheesy potato broccoli soup, and I've blended oatmeal flakes into flour to use in place of wheat flour.

I also use my Magimix for making smoothies and ice cream.
I have found a video showing you how to make vegan ice cream. I often use berries and or bananas for everyday ice cream however you can use virtually any frozen fruit. I also like the idea of making cocktails and lemonade as it is shown in the video - minus the egg.

http://www.qvcuk.com/Vitamix-Creati...th-Accessories.product.802305.html?cookie=set

 

[Calliegirl]

Putting an egg in lemonade is pretty gross, but I definitely want to make that ice cream. I think I actually have all the ingredients on hand.

 

[shyvas]

 

[Andy_T]

Sorry for bringing up this very old thread, but I thought it might be helpful to more people. Have only just now seen it.

For starters - I was overjoyed when I traveled to the US in 2012 and could get a Vitamix 5200 for about 350 USD (add to that about 80 $ for a heavy duty 220V-110V transformer).

In Germany, a Vitamix (220 V version) retailed for about 800 USD at that time, it is a bit cheaper now, also to USD exchange rate.

I had to replace the jar after about 4 years of home use - first the plastic part of the jar broke when blending frozen spinach in my smoothie, then (a few weeks later) the bearings in the blade assembly turned bad.
Other than that, I have been very happy with it.

It is actually my second unit - got the first one in 2008 via an American friend living in Germany who had it shipped to his German APO address. When I went to the US to get the second one, we handed the first one to my wifes family, who is using it not so often.

One tip - always make sure to never move or bump the jar when the blender is running.

That happed to us once with the first model - somebody bumped the jar when it was running and that resulted immediately in a horrible, grinding noise, when the gear of the jar "ate" into the drive socket of the blender base. Luckily, it was not really damaged, although the traces are very visible. In such cases, you would in the worst case have to replace the drive socket kit (luckily one of the cheaper spare parts).

 

[Andy_T]

BTW, I also got a BlendTec Total Blender, which I originally got to use at the office / second home. As the BlendTec does have a blend cycle counter, it made sense to buy that one used, as it meant I could search online for one with a low number of usages (about 2500 blending cycles when I bought it).

I like both a lot, and the blending performance (and noise level) is very similar, but the operation concept is different.

The Blendtec does have fixed "programs", so you push a button on the blender, and the blender does a complete program (e.g., if first starte slowly and runs 10 seconds on setting "3", then 20 sconds on setting "5" or similar, depending on your requirements, and you can select from about 30 pre-set programs).

Great if you work in a bar and want the blender to prepare a smoothie while you are serving another customer, not as practical as the Vitamix if you want to use it for cooking and need the flexibility.

As I only really needed one blender at home (and my office colleagues made it very clear to me after the first time I tried to use it in the office what they thought about the noise level of operating such a blender in the office), I gave that one to my sister and kept the Vitamix for myself.

 

[Calliegirl]

I love my Vitamix and still use it often. I really wish I could afford a smaller container though, as I mostly make things for just myself and have to make more than I need in the large container.