Everything it claims to be, and totally worth the price

After reading an article in a health magazine about how fresh fruit smoothies could help detoxify and energize you, I was thinking about getting a juicer. Then I remembered my mom and dad's Vitamix (they bought one at least 20 years ago). After calling them to ask if it still worked (yes, as good as ever) I shopped online and picked one up new from eBay for $300.

I was very nervous about spending this much for a blender, but was comforted by personally knowing my parents' Vitamix has gone 20 years and never broken. I remember when I was a kid and they first got it, watching peanuts get made into peanut butter. Everything I read about it said you could put chopped fruits and vegetables into it without having to de-seed them or peel them (if you didn't want to). They are correct!

When I use mine, I usually grab a few bananas (peeled, of course), a few apples (all I do is quarter them, no de-seeding), sometimes some frozen or fresh berries, an orange or two (I quarter, then peel and plop the quarters in), and a carrot or two (sliced into about 1-inch chunks) and sometimes a half-stalk of celery. Then either some iced tea or water, as it starts the blend a little better with some liquid at the bottom. The only parts of the ingredients that don't get eaten are the banana and orange peels and the apple stems; there's no waste with this machine.

It takes about 2 minutes to blend, at the MOST, depending upon how chunky the ingredients are. One thing to remember...once you start the blender...if you stop it (to add something or to push the ingredients down with the plunger they provide) MAKE SURE YOU PUT THE LID BACK ON AND COVER THE SPOUT WITH YOUR HAND BEFORE YOU START IT BACK UP!

DO NOT FORGET! :)

They actually designed the lid with a removable center part so you could leave the lid in place, remove the center part, and drop things through the hole while blending. You can also use the plunger they provide to push things down towards the blades if the chunks get hung up a little when there's not enough liquid yet to move things around on their own. They even took care to design the plunger and lid so that you could NOT reach the blades themselves when using the plunger through the hole in the lid. YOU STILL HAVE TO COVER THAT HOLE BACK UP, THOUGH, IF YOU STOP AND RESTART THE BLENDER!! This is because she's so powerful, and comes up to speed so quickly, an air bubble forms under the liquid layer, and a huge 'lava blurp' of blended stuff is likely to blow out the top if there's a lot of liquid already AND a lot of air. It doesn't always happen, but if it does, you'll be glad you had the lid on.

This baby buzzes through everything and when you're done, it does NOT separate if you don't drink it all right away and end up putting some in the fridge for later. I have never come across a seed fragment, or anything of that sort while drinking a smoothie. Everything is so completely blended, you can sneak in things that are good for you, but maybe you wouldn't other wise eat (like the carrots and celery)...you don't really notice them in the end, but you are getting their benefits nonetheless.

The way I look at it, I easily drink a whole pitcher of smoothie in a day. That means I ate (today for example) 3 bananas, 2 apples, a grapefruit, 2 carrots, and an orange. I would NEVER eat that much 'good for me' stuff in a day if I was eating them as plain old fruit and vegetables!

I can't wait until canning season comes this year. I plan to use my Vitamix to smooth out my tomato sauces and possibly some jellies. The book that came with it also suggested such 'sneaks' as pureeing zucchini or other similar vegetables, and using them as nutricious fillers/extenders in sauces...that sounds good to me. I'll probably be updating this review in the fall to let you know how that works out.

I almost forgot the best part! Cleanup! She's all one unit on the pitcher...there aren't pieces to break down after every use. Like it says in the book, you can put a few drops of dish soap in the pitcher, some hot water, blend a few seconds, and she's sparkling clean. There aren't a bunch of buttons all across the front that gather dust and stickiness and food crumbs; there's an on/off and a hi/low. That's all you need, too.

I own a dehydrator, too (the Excalibur...I have a review on it)...I am thinking all our less-than-perfect fruits this year can become excellent fruit rollups with the help of Vitamix. One thing I haven't tried yet, is I've been wondering what would happen to an omelette that was whipped up in the blender before it was poured out? Hmmm...

In summary...expensive, yes. But if mine lasts like my parents' has, the cost is minimal and you definitely get a superior blend. It's very noisy, no way around that. It's also ugly and big, but for $300 I am more concerned about the functionality and longevity. And I enjoy the part about not having to do a lot of food prep before I add the ingredients.