Talk to me about blenders..

[Pinoikoi]

So I killed my blender. It is finished. It makes a little whirring noise and nothing moves. Kind of smells smokey too.

I have had it for a LONG time. Over 10 years at least although I am not a big blender user.

I need a new one. My midwife likes me making smoothies with this veggie mixin stuff that I can't remember the name of. I have a little hand powered blender that I am using in the meantime, but it doesn't work very EVENLY. I honestly don't mind little chunks of frozen strawberries but it is difficult to drink.

So. I need a new blender and I want one that will last. My old one was a SUNBEAM I think, but it mixed really well on the bottom and sometimes I had to stop, stir the stuff from top to bottom and then start again. Was really loud too. Made my teeth hurt.

Any suggestions? I generally don't use a blender for anything besides milk shakes and smoothies, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't use it for other things if I found I could or whatever. We rarely drink alcohol and I can't remember the last time we did at home. Probably won't either, so that isn't a need for us at all.

Thoughts? Recs? I saw some Kitchen AId ones on craigslist, but I think when I hear "kitchen aid!" people are talking about the mixers rather than the blenders. I kind of like the idea of magic bullet that I can mix right in the mugs but I fear they are kind of gimmicky and won't last...

I would like to figure this out soon, my dad usually gets us a gift card somewhere for Christmas.

[olien]

I have a kitchen aid blender & it works well. I've had it for 7+ yrs. IMO do not get a stainless jar (part you put food into). It is so loud when you crush ice. I thought it would be nice bec I wouldnt have to worry about breaking the glass.
Anyway, I never use it for that bec I also have a smoothie maker that I LOVE I would recommend that if you really only use it for smoothies. They come out perfect every time!

[Pinoikoi]

Can you link some smoothie makers? Do they chop everything up super evenly? I am not sure I know what the difference is?

[sunnysandiegan]

If you are interested in doing more than smoothies/milk shakes, then look at the VitaMix. We borrowed a friend's when DD had hand, foot, and mouth disease a few years ago. The blisters in her mouth were so bad she couldn't eat and was losing way too much weight. Friend put EVERYTHING in a laundry basket and set it outside her door for me to pick up. (HFM is HIGHLY contagious.) Everything came out SUPER smooth and DD could eat!!!! In the two weeks we had it, I made tons of things in the recipe book (hot soups, smoothies, pancake batter, flour, peanut butter, etc) and we loved it all. I scanned in recipes to duplicate with our blender (a good one) later. Hmmm.... not nearly the same, even DH noticed. We saved up and bought one at Costco the following year. WORTH EVERY PENNY!!! We love it and use it often and make many different things.

[AnnieNimIty]

Originally Posted by sunnysandiegan

If you are interested in doing more than smoothies/milk shakes, then look at the VitaMix. We borrowed a friend's when DD had hand, foot, and mouth disease a few years ago. The blisters in her mouth were so bad she couldn't eat and was losing way too much weight. Friend put EVERYTHING in a laundry basket and set it outside her door for me to pick up. (HFM is HIGHLY contagious.) Everything came out SUPER smooth and DD could eat!!!! In the two weeks we had it, I made tons of things in the recipe book (hot soups, smoothies, pancake batter, flour, peanut butter, etc) and we loved it all. I scanned in recipes to duplicate with our blender (a good one) later. Hmmm.... not nearly the same, even DH noticed. We saved up and bought one at Costco the following year. WORTH EVERY PENNY!!! We love it and use it often and make many different things.

A vitamix is on my dream appliance list. We are in the poor stage of our marriage lol. My parents and one of my cousins have one. I have blender envy!!!! I second pp, they are soooo worth it!

[Denvergirlie]

Vitamix is on my "list" as well, it's a great high quaility machine. Expensive for sure, but a workhorse that will last a lifetime.

[Pinoikoi]

I found one on craigslist for $170. It says it is the stainless steel model and that the new ones are made from plastic. Is that true? I am wary spending $170 on a used electronic iykwim.

[sunnysandiegan]

I don't know anything about the previous models. I imagine you can go to the VitaMix web site and look for reviews. I believe they have message boards, too, so you could ask questions and get answers from Vitamix geeks....

They all generally last consumers 20-30 years. These are the machines places like Jamba Juice use to make their smoothies a million times a day.

[AnnieNimIty]

Originally Posted by Pinoikoi

I found one on craigslist for $170. It says it is the stainless steel model and that the new ones are made from plastic. Is that true? I am wary spending $170 on a used electronic iykwim.

Yeah, I wouldn't spend that much on an old vitamix. If you happened to have one the company will give you $100 towards the purchase of a new model... But the older ones I don't think have warranty left on them.
You get 7 years warranty on a new model and can buy 3 more years for like $75 bucks.

SOoooooo... Yeah, I would save that $170 and put it towards a new one.

[MtBikeLover]

Just another vote for the Vitamix! I love mine!

[mamadelbosque]

Another vote for the vitamix! I burnt through 2 or 3 $100 kitchenaid blenders before we broke down and bought a vitamix. My mom has one of the old SS ones (~25 yrs old now), and its still going strong Love it.

[marrymeflyfree]

Another VitaMix rec here...ridiculously expensive, but worth every penny!

[BarefootGirl]

I worked at Smoothie King for years in high school and college and they use the Vitamix. It was a totally different machine than a regular home blender. I've never been able to make a smoothie at home that is actually "smooth" the way I could with a Vitamix. Those can even grind up shredded coconut into smoothies. I LOVE pina coladas with real coconut and pineapple (with or without alcohol). I hate coconut flavoring, but my home blender just can NOT process coconut.

I would LOVE to have a Vitamix. I miss having smoothies, but I just refuse to pay Smoothie king prices and I am too "smoothie spoiled" to drink chunky smoothies from my home blender. Plus I still know most of the recipes, so it seems silly to go buy a smoothie ;-) I need to just bite the bullet and get a Vitamix, and then create healthier versions of the SK smoothies at home.