I just got Vitamix and I'm disappointed - Page 2

[sora]

Originally Posted by llp34

I make smoothies with some green in them by first putting the green stuff through the juicer, and then putting the green juice into the Vitamix with a banana, some frozen berries, and soymilk (we are dairy free). The kids never detect the green...even when I juice broccoli stems. I juice the green first because they do not like their smoothies to be pulpy.

My child also does not like pulpy smoothies. She likes thinner juice but I hate juicing. I would not want to juice and vitamix both. That's just too much stuff on the countertop. I bought vitamix to replace the juicer. But I'm still thinking of returning it. I do like the idea of drinking green smoothies but I find that I only put only a few green leaves in smoothies (I eat way more greens through salade). If I put more, I cannot tolerate, not to mention my child does not even try it.

Have any of you tried green smoothie recipes from "Green for Life?" The recipes call for a lot of greens but the recipe does not appeal to me. None of them looks tasty. But I should give it a try.

[Sailor]

The Vitamix won't replace a juicer ... if that is the consistency and taste you like. I have both a juicer and the Vitamix. In the juicer, I can add a whole head of romaine or an entire head of kale or all the broccoli. Add some fruit - and it's delicious. I drink like a quart of that for breakfast.

I can't add a whole head into my Vitamix because I hate the way it tastes. Juicing really makes a difference in texture and taste, IMO.

I use the Vitamix, mainly, for regular smoothies or for things that aren't green, i.e. tomatoes, carrots, etc. I also make dips, sauces, etc. in it.

I do have the Green for Life book, and I enjoy the recipes. But, I juice 98% of the recipes. I know she makes a point in her book that green smoothies are better. But, she's really stuck on the fiber point. Frankly, I get more than enough raw fiber from my other meals. I do green juices for the nutrients/vitamins, not the fiber. So it's a moot point for me. I use her recipes for juicing and like them.

[PGTlatte]

I don't mind using both appliances. And IMO the Vitamix is very justified, because it makes the smoothies WAY smoother and more whipped up than our old blender did. Anything frozen I put into a smoothie in the old blender remained as little chunks. Yuck. Before having both the juicer and the VM, I could never in any way had our kids drinking broccoli juice and saying "yummy" !! The VM makes such great smoothies, whipping the frozen berries into a wonderful texture. I can hide almost anything I've juiced into the banana-berry smoothies.

[organicmidwestmama]

Originally Posted by fjernsyn

When it comes to green smoothies, I know that I wouldn't drink the combinations you mentioned. I've found that smoothies that don't contain banana are fine for me - until I try to add greens. Then the texture is just not pleasant (and this is with a high-speed blender - the Blendtec rather than Vitamix). So no matter what, I always add frozen banana chunks when making green smoothies. It makes the smoothie creamier and somehow the greens completely disappear.

ita. cranberry juice is super sour if its unsweetend, and with kale? sounds yuck to me. my good friend makes the best green smoothies in an "antique" oster blender thats probably 20 years old.

her basic recipe is as follows;
frozen berries, fresh banana, a big scoop of whole milk plain yogurt, a dash of maple syrup, a ton of kale (i personally would not juice or blend lettuce, sounds gross and watery, hense the seperating you experience), an apple, and a little bit of juice or milk. its nice and thick and creamy. if your daughter likes juice it may take some cajoling to encourage smoothie drinking vs. a glass of juice that is basically liquid fructose.

[sunnysandiegan]

Originally Posted by sora

Can a wet blade do a good job of grinding grains or oats? How is it different from a dry blade then?

We got our Vitamix from Costco (road show) and I talked DH into the dry container as well. What we recall is that the wet blade pulls the contents down into the blades to thoroughly grind/mix/etc. whereas the dry blade lifts the contents up to create more space between the molecules. I can see this every time I make flour and powdered sugar. I do not recall if there are any other technical differences.

As for green smoothies, I have never made one myself (have no interest) but a friend makes them nearly every day. Her son gobbles them up and has since he was 2 or 3 (he's 8 now). She never hid the color and she did call it a green machine (based solely on the Naked Juice name). She explained to him that it would help him grow big and strong and healthy. I do not recall right now if she had him help make them or not.

I find it interesting that my own DD will eat smoothies faster and more willingly if she has a hand in making it, even with "gross" ingredients....whereas my DH will more happily drink it if he has NOT seen us make it. I have hidden cabbage and other veggies, but not any significant quantity of large, leafy greens. I do, however, find blueberries to be quite successful in disguising nearly anything.... and we prefer yogurt as our base ingredient (whole milk plain yogurt), but also use rice bran as a base sometimes.

We use our Vitamix for many things and the least of them are smoothies. I have found in almost all cases that following the directions works best as far as steps and timing is concerned. I substitute ingredients all the time. The roasted red pepper alfredo sauce is one of our favorites. The banana oat pancakes are another big time fave! I make my flours -- different ones from recipe in VM book -- the night before and measure all the dry ingredients into a sealed container (usually making several batches for extra pancakes to freeze). I keep the wheat berries in the freezer to keep the heat down while grinding. The key is to use enough volume. I save brown bananas in the freezer in their skins and set them out on the counter during the flour making and put them in the fridge overnight. I cut off the tops in the morning and squeeze the banana into the VM. Everyone loves these pancakes! I make a berry "sauce" to go with them in the morning. I use a lot less sugar than the recipe calls for and that makes it thicker. DH won't touch it, but others love it.

The only recipe I have found thus far that does NOT work as described in the VM book is homemade peanut butter. Forget the directions. I just dump in the roasted peanuts and leave the plastic part out of the lid and have the "stick" (what do they call it?) in the VM ready to go before I turn it on. I pretty much pulse it while jamming the stick down repeatedly until I get the consistency I like (chunky) and remove my portion and the baking portion (one glass jar)...letting the machine rest at this point. Then keep on pulsing until I get a super smooth consistency for DH & DD (second glass jar). DH almost always makes peanut butter cookies immediately after I make pb, if he is home when I do it. They turn out sooooo amazing with homemade peanut butter!!!!!!!!!

[jenniepaige]

What a great thread! I am subbing on and thinking of either a juicer or vitamix for Christmas but leading towards a juicer...

[inkedmamajama]

thanks for the ideas of juices/smoothies in this thread!

[arb]

Our green smoothie recipe is, roughly:

1/2 frozen banana
1/2 c or so plain yogurt
3-4 ice cubes
small handful each of frozen blueberries, cherries, & strawberries (picked regionally & frozen each summer for this very purpose)
dash of vanilla
1-2 tsp honey
1 tsp flax seeds, ground fresh (I use a spare coffee grinder)
big handful of fresh spinach
plain soy milk
sometimes, a small handful of cashews

It makes a nice purple smoothie, 2-3 servings. I agree the color fades with time. I pour leftovers into popsicle molds if I get to them fast enough. I use an inexpensive Oster blender. If your main use for the VitaMix is smoothies, you would do better, money-wise, with a good, solid blender. Check the reviews and look for the ones with best ice-crushing ability. I have to stop and stir frequently to get mine going but so what?

[EdenLove]

We loooove our Vitamix!!! I use it probably 2-5 times per day, seriously. It gets the most use of anything. You know, you can juice in the Vitamix. I do it sometimes when I don't feel like using our juicer - kind of a pain sometimes with all the parts, etc. The Vitamix is easier. Just fill up the container with whatever veggies/fruits you want (I usually do celery, cucumber, apple, lemon, ginger, kale), add some water, and blend. Then strain this through a nut milk bag (I actually use paint straining bags! you can get them very cheaply at Home Depot or similar). Yummy juice! You could then take this juice, add some fresh or frozen fruit, and make a smoothie out of it. Much smoother... But still with lots of nutrients... Also - try making almond mylk instead of cashew mylk - that's definitely our favorite! Just soak about 2 c. of almonds overnight, or at least 5-6 hours. Add to Vitamix with sweetener (dates, honey, agave, etc.), a dash of cinnamon, pinch of cardamom, pinch of sea salt, and maybe some vanilla bean if you have it. Fill the blender up with water, blend, strain through nut mylk bag, and voila! Amazing yummy almond goodness!!!

[Hazelnut]

I make a lot with mine besdies smoothies- some of our favorites are salsa, soups, dips, and hummus. I haven't tried making nut butters yet. I do wonder about mine too though. I got mine in a co op and I don't know if it's how it is supposed to be. Sometimes it seems to be excessively loud and not quite on right.