- Why I'm Ready for a Vitamix by drpr
18 y
2,722 12 Messages Shown
Blog: Raw Odyssey
Photo by tofu666. Since
January I have steadily increased the variety of foods that I consume
as a raw foodist. Along with this increase in variety has come an
increase in the complexity of food preparation. In the beginning I went
with simple fare that required chopping and mixing- easy stuff I could
do by hand using my cutting board and a knife. I made taboule, salsa,
and guacamole. I put together salads, cabbage wraps and living-bread
hummus sandwiches. I made delicious smoothies in the blender. All
pretty simple.
As my interest in new flavors and textures
grew, I acquired a dehydrator, allowing me to try crackers, living
breads and dried fruits. Felicia joined me in my raw odyssey, prompting
us to try new bread and cracker recipes, desserts, sauces, etc. But
already I had discovered that food prepping for raw food meals is time
consuming for a full time grad student. To save time, I was using the
blender and food processor for chopping up my taboule and salsa
ingredients along with the smoothies and other recipes. The poor
blender couldn't hack it.
We're now on our third blender. One of
them started smoking, another's motor wore out leaving us with slower
speeds. The current one shakes and would probably whip itself off the
counter if we didn't hold onto it. We've also been unhappy with the
food processor's inability to make smooth nut pates and its too-small
size.
So now we've come to a point where we want to buy
something that is going to last through years of heavy use. It needs to
be versatile and handle both our blending and food processing needs.
After all, we want to add vegetable juices, raw warm soups and raw "ice
cream" to our repertoire. Enter the Vitamix.
We attended a
demonstration of the Vitamix at a local Costco and were impressed with
what we saw and tasted, as well as with the answers provided by the guy
doing the demonstration. Making nut butter was easy and very quick!
Salsa came out perfectly, with visible chunks of vegetables that
weren't too big or too small. Carrot juice tasted great- it was thicker
than juiced carrots because the fiber is retained, which is fine by me
as I want all the nutrients I can get (you can add water to thin it).
Felicia asked him to do celery so she could see if it came out stringy.
Nope- no strings whatsoever! The motor is so powerful that anything the
guy made took half the time it takes us at home. Clean up was simple,
although cleaning up after nut butter takes a bit longer.
I'm
sure there's a learning curve before we are making all the things we
imagine creating this summer, but we are so tired of weak blenders and
burned out motors that we are willing to spend the money it'll cost for
a Vitamix. If it lives up to its reputation, it'll be the last such
product we buy for years to come.
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drpr
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- Just so you know... by JeSuisButterfly
18 y
1,124
- Re: Just so you know... by ren
18 y
1,058
I use a Kitchen Aid blender.
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ren
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- Re: Just so you know... by drpr
18 y
1,079
Thanks for the info! I asked Vitamix what their containers are made out of when I observed their demonstration. They use fiberglass. Fiberglass is recommended by food safety expert for long-term food storage, so I believe it'll be safe enough for short-term food mixing.
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drpr
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- Vitamix Uses Polycarbonate by Lapis
18 y
1,170
The containers for the vitamix units are actually polycarbonate with bysphenol A (known to be toxic). If the were glass I would be using one.
From the main vitamix site where they refer to the polycorbonate containers....
Vitamix Home Page
~Lapis~
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Lapis
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- Re: Vitamix Uses Polycarbonate by drpr
18 y
1,083
What? That demo guy lied to me? Heh- can't trust anyone... :-)
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drpr
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- Re: Vitamix Uses Polycarbonate by drpr
18 y
1,127
OK, I looked up polycarbonate at some food safety sites. From what they say, food that is STORED in polycarbonate may absorb TRACE amounts of chemicals. There is disagreement about whether the amount of chemical leached is at a level harmful to humans (isn't there always a disagreement?) The fact that any unnatural chemical leaches out at all is a bad thing, though. :-( But I'll probably buy a Vitamix anyway- I live life on the edge! (haha). I just won't store anything in the container.
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drpr
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- Toxicity Norm In Concensus Reality by Lapis
18 y
1,051
The disagreement is between scientists who have no axe to grind and industry paid scientists ( who engage in what is akin to tobacco science if you catch my drift). ;-)
Rember the Teflon scandal where scientists under corporate influence downplayed evidence showing it was toxic to humans? It cost DOW millions in fines(they made billions so big deal). Teflon cooking pans are being "phased out." This is business as usual in a science for hire, globalistic, "for profit" world. The onis is on us to become informed. Follow the money and beware of the bias (for profit).
Back to the blender itself...
Friction (like blending) accelerates the process of leeching from the plastic blender walls, as does certian foods like citrus and tomatos, etc.
Convenience has a price (like microwave ovens, etc). Consumerism is a disease that lets one's guard down.
Most people are conditioned to accept toxicity as the norm.
~Lapis~
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Lapis
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- Vita mix by finalquest
18 y
1,359
I have the model 4000 with stainless steel container, bought in on ebay and really like it.
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finalquest
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- Re: Vita mix by Lapis
18 y
1,114
Keep in mind that metal kills some enzymes. This is why ceramic knives are marketed amongst living food circles.
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Lapis
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- Re: Vita mix by drpr
18 y
1,108
I think that's why you are supposed to avoid metal when you use acidic ingredients, right? I remember when I was a kid being told to not make jello in a metal container if we were putting pineapple in it, or the jello wouldn't set.
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drpr
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