Do I want a Vitamix?

[rikki]

We saw a demonstration at Costco that made soup and ice cream and juice (we stood there for a loooong time and tried all 3).  I really want one now.  Is it worth it?  Do you use it?  Can I grind nuts to make butters and almond milk with it?  If you have one, how often do you use it?  My husband almost bought it on the spot, but I was the sensible one.

[imojoebunny]

I want one. One of my friends has one, she uses it all the time, but she is kind of a health nut (over the top, not just regular). My son has a lot of texture aversion. I think it would help to make it were I could add more foods to his diet. I also like smooth and creamy soups.

[orangeblossom]

Yes, yes you do want one.

I love mine, and it's seriously one of the best purchases I've made.

I'll be honest, outside of peanut butter, I haven't been all that successful with the nut butters, but posters on here tell me I have to be more patient, and it takes a little longer than what the book says, and the motor isn't going to burn out.

I make green smoothies/juices with it regularly. I've made carrot juice, apple sauce, frozen lemonade with it.

I make soup in it all of the time.

One of my favorite things to make is hot chocolate in it. So frothy.

I've pretty much made at least one thing, from every section of the cookbook that comes with it. You won't regret purchasing it.

[orangeblossom]

Nov 15, 2014 19:03:35 GMT -5 imojoebunny said:

I want one. One of my friends has one, she uses it all the time, but she is kind of a health nut (over the top, not just regular). My son has a lot of texture aversion. I think it would help to make it were I could add more foods to his diet. I also like smooth and creamy soups.

It is very smooth.  I had to get used to it, and sometimes I'll save a little bit of whatever I'm pureeing to bulk it up some.

[Deleted]

I have one. I originally bought it when I had a tonsillectomy but I use it every day. I love it!!

[orangeblossom]

Oh, and I have made almond milk with it. Their website has a lot of recipes, as does their YouTube site.

[panicked]

Nov 15, 2014 19:06:10 GMT -5 orangeblossom said:

Yes, yes you do want one.

I love mine, and it's seriously one of the best purchases I've made.

I'll be honest, outside of peanut butter, I haven't been all that successful with the nut butters, but posters on here tell me I have to be more patient, and it takes a little longer than what the book says, and the motor isn't going to burn out.

I make green smoothies/juices with it regularly. I've made carrot juice, apple sauce, frozen lemonade with it.

I make soup in it all of the time.

One of my favorite things to make is hot chocolate in it. So frothy.

I've pretty much made at least one thing, from every section of the cookbook that comes with it. You won't regret purchasing it.

Hot chocolate?! How have I never thought of this before?! I must make that. 

I was gifted mine (thank you, amazing SIL). I use mine daily. 

[orangeblossom]

Nov 15, 2014 19:18:49 GMT -5 panicked said:

Nov 15, 2014 19:06:10 GMT -5 orangeblossom said:

Yes, yes you do want one.

I love mine, and it's seriously one of the best purchases I've made.

I'll be honest, outside of peanut butter, I haven't been all that successful with the nut butters, but posters on here tell me I have to be more patient, and it takes a little longer than what the book says, and the motor isn't going to burn out.

I make green smoothies/juices with it regularly. I've made carrot juice, apple sauce, frozen lemonade with it.

I make soup in it all of the time.

One of my favorite things to make is hot chocolate in it. So frothy.

I've pretty much made at least one thing, from every section of the cookbook that comes with it. You won't regret purchasing it.

Hot chocolate?! How have I never thought of this before?! I must make that. 

I was gifted mine (thank you, amazing SIL). I use mine daily. 

So good.  I have the one with the hot soup settings, and was like hmm, I wonder how that would work.  I googled, and someone else suggested.

I especially like to do white hot chocolate.  I normally just use baking chips, or those land o'lake packets.

[nessness]

I love mine. I mostly use it for smoothies though I have made some other things, including hot soups. You can make soup in it even without the "hot soup" setting, you just blend it for several minutes and it heats up.

I bought mine refurbished from Vitamix's website; it was quite a bit cheaper than from Costco, and I've used it regularly for 2 years with no issues.

[wavepool]

Yes! I don't have one at home, but I love using it at work. If I had a few extra bucks to spend on myself, I'd buy one and it would even earn the right to stay out on the counter all the time next to the mixer because I think I'd use it that much at home.

[orangeblossom]

Nov 15, 2014 19:30:34 GMT -5 nessness said:

I love mine. I mostly use it for smoothies though I have made some other things, including hot soups. You can make soup in it even without the "hot soup" setting, you just blend it for several minutes and it heats up.

I bought mine refurbished from Vitamix's website; it was quite a bit cheaper than from Costco, and I've used it regularly for 2 years with no issues.

The hot soup settings is interesting, because it's just a timer at the highest speed.  It's nice, but not necessary, and some of their own soup recipes don't use it.

The only thing I'm not a fan of with their soups, that start from raw ingredients, is that not sauteeing the onions, even a little bit, makes the soup taste funny, IMO.  Sometimes I just brown them in water, to take the edge off.

[wannabe]

Cream of asparagus soup in the vitamix is so damn good. I just love knowing I can grind pretty much anything up in that bitch. Smoothies are so...smooth, LOL.

[orangeblossom]

Nov 15, 2014 19:55:16 GMT -5 wannabe said:

Cream of asparagus soup in the vitamix is so damn good. I just love knowing I can grind pretty much anything up in that bitch. Smoothies are so...smooth, LOL.

Have you tried the Harvest Cheddar soup.  I made that last week.  So tasty, especially after it sat and absorbed the flavors after a day or two.

[dexteroni]

Yes, you want one. They're great. If you don't want to shell out for a new one, check out the refurbished ones on their website. They have the same warranty as new ones, and they're a lot less expensive.

Re: the smoothness, I also save a bit to add in at the end so soups and smoothies aren't *quite* so smooth. Or I'll toss a couple ice cubes into a smoothie at the end to give it some texture.

The one accessory I'd like to get is the dry grains container, for making flours, almond meal, etc. They say it can also knead dough!

[rikki]

Thanks for the tip on refurbished! I just checked and it is $200 cheaper than Costco! I am going to order one for my husband for his Christmas present. It's a win/win, since we both liked it and he is so hard to shop for!

[dexteroni]

Awesome! He'll love it. And you can splurge on some accessories if you want, since you saved so much.

[isabel]

I haven't made nut butters, but I have made almond milk and gotten a very fine almond meal from the remaining pulp.

I make green smoothies pretty often and love how smooth the texture is. I also use it pretty frequently for various marinades because I do a lot of marinades with whole pieces of fruit, onion, herbs, etc. It's very convenient.

I always clean it by rinsing it well, adding hot water and some soap, and then blending again. Works great.

I really like my vitamix.

[fryjack2]

They were selling them on Groupon last week for $350. I almost bought one. Check there?

[rikki]

Nov 15, 2014 20:53:55 GMT -5 fryjack2 said:

They were selling them on Groupon last week for $350. I almost bought one. Check there?

Looks like they're sold out.  Thanks though!!

[Deleted]

Will you actually use it enough to justify it? It's a lovely machine, but unless you make a ton of smoothies or have some other blender heavy cooking repertoire - it's an awful lot to spend on something you'll likely use a handful of times a year.

[fusion]

I use our Blendtec (same idea and price point) several times a week. Best appliance, hands down.

[doctorsbaby]

Yes you want it

We use ours daily, everything from smoothies (hello hidden kale or spinach for my 4 yo DD) to the soups. I *love* their Tortilla Soup recipe, the simple version is quick and yummy.

[panicked]

Nov 15, 2014 22:12:28 GMT -5 @bonsoirlune said:

Will you actually use it enough to justify it? It's a lovely machine, but unless you make a ton of smoothies or have some other blender heavy cooking repertoire - it's an awful lot to spend on something you'll likely use a handful of times a year.

I think it's more the idea that once you have it, you'll use it more than you have with anything else previously. I know I do.

[panicked]

Nov 16, 2014 10:39:48 GMT -5 @bluesky said:

This might be a silly question... but you all are mentioning how smooth it makes everything. DH and I love chunky stuff such as soups. Is there settings for chunkier things? Even our "smoothies" we like thicker.

Of course, just don't blend it as long. :-)

[rikki]

Nov 16, 2014 10:40:41 GMT -5 carrotsmakemefat said:

Yes, we love ours. Costco sucked us in too. How much was it? We got ours in the $300 range. I wouldn't spend more honestly. Wait for it to be in that price point (usually a couple times a year I see it)

$549, but it came with some attachments (I am not really sure what they did).  They said it was the special roadshow package.

[mrsukyankee]

I love mine. I made smoothies at least once a week (more in the summer), frozen yogurt regularly, use it to make soup bases and other bits and pieces.

[smilee1079]

QVC often has it as a special value but they recently had it for the last time for the year.

[molliemae]

I love mine... seriously use it about once a day. I've made smoothies, soups, nut butters, nut milks, etc. and have never been disappointed. It's an incredible machine.
They can be pricey... but you can save quite a bit if you know where to look. I've skip costco and buy directly from the manufacturer. If money's really tight, you can even get a factory reconditioned model for $260 right now. Still comes with a 5 year warranty too. If you order directly from Vitamix you can also get free shipping using a "promotion code" from an affiliate like 
<admin removed link>
It might also be worth looking into Blendtec. I've heard good things about them as well. They're very similar to Vitamix but styled a little differently (more tech-y touch screen controls etc) and I think a little bit cheaper. I've seen promo codes for those as well. For example, a quick google search brought up <admin removed link>

[chia]

There was an Amazon lightning deal last year, too. It sold out in a few seconds.