Vitamix Recommendations & Recipes

I bought an omniblend blender. It is about half the price of a vitamix and reviews online reckoned it was about 95% as good as a vitamix. I'm very pleased with it.

This morning's green smoothie: Spinach, pineapple, banana, chia seeds, peach and almond milk. Was very yummy.

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I also have the 5200, purchased at CostCo, which I highly recommend. I had mine for almost a year and it died the day before Thanksgiving. Threw the whole thing into a bag and took it back to CostCo - they gave me a brand new one, no questions asked.

I use mine just about every day for something. One of my favorite meals is fresh tomato soup with lots of basil, made and heated right in the Vitamix.

3-4 days a week, I drink a green smoothie in place of breakfast. It's not low calorie, but it's super low fat, full of nutrients, and very filling. I find on the days I juice for breakfast, I'm full for 4-5 hours instead of 2-3 hours with something starchy.

I prefer not to put milk in my green smoothies. When I don't use milk or yogurt, a banana is a must. It lends the creamy texture I enjoy. Ice is also optional, depending if you like your smoothie frosty and thick or thinner. I buy whatever fruit is on sale and chip it up and freeze it in small baggies if I'm worried it will go bad. This also adds a nice, frosty texture without diluting the flavor like ice can.

Basically, I found you can combine just about any fruits with leafy greens. Kale is stronger tasting and can be harder to get used to - it also requires more blending than spinach to break up. A good rule of thumb is to pair a leafy green with a strong flavored fruit. I found the strongest fruits to be pineapple, bananas, and oranges.

Favorite recipes:
- 1 apple, 1/2 cucumber, 1 carrot, 1 orange, 2 Cups of spinach, 1/2 banana
- 24 grapes, 2 cups of kale, 1/2 pear, 1/2 banana, 1/4 cup pineapple
- 1 orange, 1 cup spinach, 1/2 cup kale, 1 celery stalk, 1 kiwi, 1/2 cup pineapple
- 1 mango, 1 banana, 1 and 1/2 cups spinach, a splash of OJ

Enjoy!!

We have the pro series 500. I like the settings - smoothie, frozen desserts, etc. It is an awesome machine. My sister owns a blendtech that she really likes as well.

You will definitely be happy you purchased one. I own the 5200 myself and love it. I probably use mine 2-3 times per day and since I bought the Vitamix, my green intake has certainly went way up.

If you're looking for a more detailed review of the model I own (the 5200), I found this one here: http://www.charlottesvineyard.com/vitamix-5200-review/

Hope that helps!

I just bought our Vitamix last week and I LOVE it!! Thanks for the great ideas! I am going to try them out Tomorrow!

I have the 5200, also purchased at Costco. I use it almost every day! It was definitely worth the investment. Before I purchased it I shopped around quite a bit but I knew I wasn't going to be satisfied with anything less than the Vitamix so I just bit the bullet and purchased it. The Costco price with tax was right at $400.

As for recipes I make green smoothies, typically with an apple, cucumber, and kale. Sometimes they have lemon or ginger. I have thrown in a stalk of celery too but that will make the smoothie much thicker. I also use it for all types of soups (potato, broccoli, cauliflower), hummus and bean dip. A few times I have used it for chopping stuff and that worked ok.