A friend lent us her Vitamix four years ago when our DD got hand foot and mouth disease. DD's mouth was filled with awful blisters and she refused to eat. She was already tiny, so I was willing to try anything and emailed our playgroup for help. My friend put EVERYTHING in a laundry basket and set it on her front porch for me to come get. We borrowed it for two weeks and LOVED it! I made everything I could to get DD to eat and to test it out. We found favorite recipes quickly and I kept a copy to try with our blender later. We had a nice blender with a glass jar/pitcher and it shared a base with the food processor. Nothing came out the same. Not one single recipe. We were so sad.
We saved up for months, intending to get a Vitamix from the county fair, which is where several of our friends got theirs for less than retail. I was AT the fair and knew I wanted to head over to that area, but we totally forgot.
A (different) friend called me one day a couple months later and told me the Vitamix Road Show was at Costco. It wasn't a Costco I could get to easily (an hour away), but I kept my eyes open. I came across it at one of the Costco's we frequent and dragged DH back that very same night. The homemade super smooth peanut butter sealed the sale!
It was less at Costco (brand new) than my friends paid at the fair (refurbished), at least back then. I don't know current day prices.
All that said, what I like about our Vitamix is all the OTHER stuff we do with it... NOT smoothies. I make smoothies in it, but I also use our (old, circa 1998) handheld Braun for smoothies. The Braun is quick and makes just a glassful, but can only handle frozen fruit NOT ice. The Vitamix is amazing, but isn't the end-all, be-all in smoothie-making. What made it so much better for me is I actually USE it because it is far easier and faster to clean up compared to our old blender (too many parts on the blender). I make smoothies just for me or DD (if only one of us wants one) in a glass with the handheld Braun and they are just as good. If more than one person wants a smoothie, though, (or we want to make smoothie popsicles,) I use the Vitamix.
If one ONLY wants to make smoothies, I think the Vitamix is a very pricey way to go. If one has a strong interest in whole foods and is interested in getting one long-lasting high-quality machine, then I think the Vitamix is a serious contender.
I cannot believe how expensive they are. I have a nice Kitchen Aid blender, do you think I could make a green smoothie in that? My only fear is if I add spinach, the blades are too thick and it won't blend well. Thoughts?
