So, I bought a VitaMix at the fair . . .

gretcheninseattle

The VitaMix Day One was September 23.
Today is October 14.
My appetites have changed.

Went to the Puyallup Fair with my daughter and her friend at the end of September and watched the VitaMix guy do his rigamarule. (I'm spelling Puyallup right -- don't know about rigamaroule). I watched, and tasted, through his whole set of recipes. I was impressed. Realized "I can do this." Thought about it, checked the balance from my mom's life insurance, and came to the conclusion that Mother would endorce this. I was shaking by the time I told Elizabeth my idea: I'd buy the juicer, strip down to my sportsbra and get a photo of the moment with the sales guy and my "starting" size. I felt very brave at the moment. Got a "Refurbished" model, saving a hundred dollars or so, but without the dry-grinding container. "I'M GOING TO USE THIS"...

And so, I did it. (Bought it, anyhow, the sales guy was not comfortable with the photo op and I passed on it.)

When I brought it home, my husband was concerned about the cost. I said it was "from Mother" so he needn't be concerned.

I had a good start anyhow, since I don't eat a lot of traditional junk food. I enjoy whole grains and chicken meat, olive oil and balsalmic vinegar on salads. But I also enjoyed LOTS of cheddar cheese and chocolate. And I hadn't been eating much Produce.

The VitaMix Day One was September 23.
Today is October 14.
My appetites have changed.

I have developed a delicious recipe for RICE MILK.
I have taken up the "green smoothie" challenge.
I have eaten more produce in the past 3 weeks than ever, and things "I don't like". I don't know what my problem was with bell peppers and raw tomatoes. They add such a nice component to a blended beverage. I love adding a bit of a beet for color. Have always LOVED carrot juice, but now I am getting the whole carrot.

Today's breakfast beverage:
1/4 c. cooked brown rice
1 cup water ................. blended for 2 min to make rice milk
1/2 banana
1 orange with the "orange" part of the peel removed
1 organic carrot
1/5 red bell pepper
1 T lecithin granules (from Central Market)
1 T coconut blossom sugar (from Central Market)
1 cup Ice

This made the most lovely colored beverage, a soft orange color, from the carrot plus the orange.
It tasted like an Orange Julius SHOULD.
And it was satisfying.

I listened to a great presentation about lifestyle changes and health from Dr. --something-- and it turned my thoughts around about the need for meat in my diet. Cattle do okay for making strong muscle mass without eating meat . . . it's all from the grass, grain mash, etc.

My three tools are the VitaMix, the Rocket Grill and the Pressure Cooker.
Tho, at the moment it is the VitaMix that's getting the most action.

Purchased the Rocket Grill a few years ago and love it! Chicken breasts in 7 minutes. My husband's hamburger cooks in 3 minutes . . . talk about Fast Food!! By the time the rest of his sandwich is prepared, he has his burger patty hot out of the parchment paper, with the grease dripped off.

But that's another topic . . .

So glad to find MyFitnessPal . . . it set a goal for me, I'm not fighting it. I haven't been totally consistent, but I find that I'm awfully darn close to the goal numbers just by doing what I'm doing.

Clew

Great post, thanks for sharing! I'd seen those VitaMix things around but didn't know much. Maybe I'll look into them too.

PJilly

Welcome to MFP. I know you spelled Puyallup correctly, because that's where I live! :laugh:

khskr1

You go girl!! My friend has a Vitamix and LOVES it. That might have to be my after the holiday purchase! Welcome!!!!

piquilter

Welcome to the group! I've only been here a few days & I just can't say enough good things about it already :bigsmile: The people are fantastic! I have a Vitamix too and absolutely LOVE it! It is expensive but is built solid & has a great warranty. I use my Discover card rewards & trade $20 for a $25 gift card at the big home goods retailer (not sure if I can mention names). I use them for things I normally wouldn't spend the money on. Have only had it since beginning of summer & smoothies are my favorite things. I'm looking forward to trying some of the soup recipes as MN gets cooler (we've been spoiled this fall..80's all last week).

gretcheninseattle

I have had a great time coming up with combinations in the VitaMix. Rice milk is so nice. It takes a while (I set the timer for 4 minutes and walk away). It comes out warm and creamy. This is such a great base for hefty beverages - green, pink or orange.
(That's with kale, beets or carrots)

I find that the brown drinks (green plus any other color) are just a little unsightly.

It's funny to me, to find myself "hungry for something green".

Other vitamixers, (piquilter) What combinations do you make? How is that working for you?

piquilter

Hi Gretchen.....I'm not nearly as creative as you so far I've made mostly smoothies. MN is beginning to get colder though & good soup weather. Mine came with an awesome cookbook so I'm going to start studying some of the recipes in there. I'll keep you posted...

gretcheninseattle

So often WHEN SOUP RECIPES CALL FOR CHICKEN BROTH, I just add my own little collection of powders: nutritional yeast, onion powder and salt. It's essentially what Top Raman has in its little packets and I've used this for years as a soup base. With Soup Weather coming on, I'd recommend at least adding the Nutritional Yeast to your soup. Adds a nice piquancy. (I just use that word to mean something that rounds out the flavor -- like the health food version of MSG, perhaps? - but not as intense). A few peanuts also add a nice smooth richness to soups. Mostly I make them in the Pressure Cooker... but that's something for another thread.... Just looked at the last message and thought I'd mention it.