Five Finger Discounts

I’ve got to be honest with you. I hate infomercials. I also don’t care much for sales Kiosks where fast-talking snake oil salesmen wearing headset microphones attempt to mesmerize you with their clever words and trivial knowledge. In fact, the Vita Mix blender Kiosk at our local Costco had been up and running for several months before we finally approached it during one of our latest visits. Prior to that we would simply pass by the Kiosk paying little to no attention to it, waving-off invitations from the guy on the mic to try some of their “sweet cups of goodness”.

But something different happened on our last trip to Costco. Elena and I had recently purchased the Breville BJE510XL Ikon 900-Watt Variable-Speed Juice Extractor and were quite content with it. It was a superbly built machine with a fantastic industrial design. Built in Australia I believe. We were very much in love with this new machine and how it had started to change our lives by allowing us to create delicious raw vegetable and fruit juice smoothies.

Getting the daily recommended amount of fruits and vegetables in our system has always been something of a challenge for us. One that we consistently failed at achieving. The Breville changed that by allowing us to extract the juice from carrots, peppers, celery, apples, etc. and make great-tasting drinks in the process.

In any event, for all its goodness the Breville had its weaknesses. Being a centrifugal juicer it was unable to extract juice from leafy greens like wheatgrass (which normally need to be squeezed through a press). It’s just not made for that. There was also a bit of waste created as nutrient rich skins and such get thrown into a waste bin during processing. You could compost or trash this material but either way your body does not get those nutrients. Lastly, clean-up is a bitch. The machine breaks-down nicely but there are several big pieces that have to be washed, rinsed and scrubbed, including the shredding disk that has multiple titanium blades sticking out of it.

Despite this, we still loved and used this machine and would have kept it if not for the Vita Mix blender demonstration we saw at Costco three weeks ago. You know, the one we had been passing by and ignoring for months. Well this time we stopped. Not because we were at all interested in a new juicer, but because we were looking for some recipe ideas to take home. During the demonstration one thing stood out as the lady with the  headset microphone combined ingredients and blended its contents into a smooth delicious treat. There was NO WASTE. Zero, nada, zilch! The apple (skin, pits and all), the lime (with skin), spinach, kale, parsley, grapes, pineapple (along with its core), banana, ice was all effortlessly obliterated by the swirling blades that rotate at an astounding 249 MPH (That’s right Miles Per Hour). Needless to say we were impressed.

She then proceeded to make an ice cream sorbet with mint followed by a strawberry yogurt. Each sample as delicious as the last! When we told her that we loved our new blender but it didn’t do wheatgrass, she emulsified a handful of wheatgrass in the Vita Mix 5200 right before our eyes in 5 seconds flat. Once she demonstrated how quick and easy cleanup was we were sold. You essentially fill the main container half-way with water, add 1-2 drops of dish soap and blend for 30 seconds.

I am a germaphobe and never think things are really clean unless they go through a scalding hot wash cycle in my dishwasher, but when you see the lather that those blades create from 2 drops of soap you become a believer quick. Did I mention they spin at 249 MPH? Oh yeah.

Now this lady wasn’t the one that demonstrated the unit at our store, but she does an awesome job at showing you how this thing works. The video is a bit grainy for my taste but her presentation was so good I had to include it so you can see the power of this bad boy.

Since our purchase of the Vita Mix blender, Elena and I use it between 2 and 3 times a day. Considering we only used our Breville once a day that says a lot. That means our family is consuming 2-3 times more nutrient rich food daily! So what could we possibly be making that would require a turbo-charged blender? Good questions. We make a fruit/vegetable smoothie in the morning, a soup for lunch. Then at night we might make another smoothie or ice cream sorbet.

That’s right, you heard me correct, soup! All in the blender. For our creamy spinach soup we nuke about three potatoes in the microwave and then place that, with the rest of the cold ingredients like chicken broth, spinach, milk and some seasoning into our Vita Mix blender. Flip the switch and walk away for 4-5 minutes. When we come back steam is pouring out of the top of the container. The blades spin so fast that the friction they create can make a hot soup. Not warm, HOT. Not only that but you can create the creamy consistency found in restaurants. Want to make a creamy onion Walkabout soup from Outback? Now you can. The cool thing about that is I like soup, but usually we buy pre-made soups that are laden with sodium which acts as a preservative to increase shelf-life. When you make your own soup at home you control exactly what ingredients go into it. No more eating things you can’t pronounce and your body can’t digest.  It’s back to basics with simple fresh ingredients.

The range of things you can create with this thing is astonishing. It’s fast, easy, and best of all, opens up a whole new world of dining possibilities. Household staples in my house like white rice and pasta noodles have been replaced by vegetables that I rarely, if ever eat. Kale, ginger, spinach, carrots, parsley, wheatgrass, beets, etc. The interesting thing is that if I ate any of these things for dinner I would have to cook them and then slather them in oil or butter to make them palatable. With the Vita Mix blender the vegetables go in raw and when combined taste delicious. Of course I wouldn’t throw random stuff in the blender without consulting a recipe book first. At least not in the beginning. It’s better to try combinations that are known to work then to create your own monsterpiece and then drink something dreadful. The Vita Mix blender comes with a great cookbook to get you started.

In short, I love the Vita Mix 5200 blender. My only regret is that I didn’t discover it 20 years ago. It’s pricey, make no mistake about it. But considering that eating is something we do several times each and every day, getting quality foods into our bodies is clearly the most important thing you could possibly do for you and your family. If  you struggle with weight issues, find it difficult to get the 3-5 servings of vegetables each day, or the 2-4 servings of fruits your body needs, the Vita Mix blender WILL help you in achieving your nutritional goals. Why? Because it is quick, simple to use, easy to clean, and creates deliciously healthy foods that everyone in the family will enjoy. How do I know? Because when the most finicky person in the house (our 4 year old daughter who hates vegetables) is cheerfully drinking her raw spinach and kale smoothie and asking for seconds, you know you have something good.

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