Thread: Vitamix Blender

Thanks for the reminder Lynn - my blender has been inactive for too long now but I have dug it out to start my day with tomorrow. My recipe (a highly impressionistic formula that changes constantly but usually has the same kinds of ingredients in varying quantities. Plenty of scope for experimentation here!):

- Frozen fruit/berries. Strawberry, mango, and blueberry is a favourite, but exact fruits vary depending on what I have on hand. I keep an eye out for frozen fruits at the store and stock up when they're on sale. There are some great berry mixes out there and I've yet to find one that doesn't work well.
- Almond milk - enough to almost cover the frozen fruit
- some kind of fruit juice - enough to take the liquid level just above the fruit. I find orange or cranberry works really well
- cacao powder - not a lot but enough to taste
- goji berries - grab a small bunch of them and add them in
- sometimes I'll add a dash of maple syrup, but it's usually not really needed as the fruit is plenty sweet
- a little squirt of hemp or flax oil (not much though as if you put too much in it's all you'll taste)
- and my piece de resistance: a touch of chili powder. Some folks hate this, but I like the subtle kick it gives.
- a bit of peanut butter can be good too.

As I said, impressionistic...

Bon appetit!

Kris

My go to energy smoothie is a fairly simple recipe:

1/2 - 3/4 cup blueberries
1-2 cups unsweetened coconut milk (add more milk/water for more runny shake)
1 scoop protein powder
1 heaping cup of spinach
1 tablespoon of ground flax seed
1 handful of ice cubes

You can also add two large scoops of plain greek yogurt instead of the protein powder if you want as well.
My blender struggles mightily at fully blending up the spinach but your vitamix will have no issues! Don't let the spinach throw you off the flavor is barely noticeable and really adds a lot of nutrients. Good luck with your journey!

Sam

One nice thing about doing smoothies is that any leftover fruit that we can't eat fast enough you just throw into the freezer. And when fruit is in season (although you can get stuff almost anytime now) we buy a bunch and freeze it.
We also like coconut milk in there, and instead of keeping cans on hand, you can freeze a bunch in ice cube trays and just throw a couple in each time.
No need for ice when you freeze the fruit.

I've tried to move away from dairy and definitely concur with almond or coconut milk. If you do still use dairy products, plain yogurt is a great addition to the blender.

Originally Posted by Lynn

Are there any recipes from the book that you like the best?

This isn't from the book, but I made it this morning and it was amazing:

3/4 c cold filtered water
1/2 pear
1 green apple
2 med. tangerines
1 frozen banana

Blend until smooth (high for 45 secs is what I did). but change the color to an orange julius.

I have a bunch of protein powder, I can bring with to the meet if you want some.
I have a blendtec, it's the competitor.
Glad to see this. I want some more juicing recipes. I've tried several but I can't find any I really like. Especially when you add in something green such as kale or celery. Cukes make me burp when those are juicing.
I have lost about 30 lbs this year. Removing sodas and snacks made a huge difference.

So far from using my son's machine, I have found that Spinach doesn't have the bitter taste that Kale does. You can definitely tell when you add cucumbers though.

Now I'm jonesin' for my machine to get here!!

Originally Posted by Utopian

Uncooked oatmeal can easily be hidden in a smoothie.

I really like the oatmeal and it can be added to just about any smoothie to make a "thickie" which is more filling. I like this recipe:

Banana Berry Blast
Serves 2
2 cups fresh spinach
2 cups almond milk, unsweetened
1 cup blueberries
1 cup raspberries
2 bananas

Go to this website and sign up. They will send you 4 or 5 new recipes every week for four weeks, four times a year. They just started a new one this month.

The 30-Day Green Smoothie Challenge : Guide - Simple Green Smoothies

I used to make a smoothie in the morning with mine which was lowfat milk, rolled oats uncooked and a banana along with some honey...zip zam good stuff ! Like a DA though I sold mine after years of no use. Soooo, saving up for a new one and this time ,no selling it. Live and learn. Also if you put dried chile pods,some fresh garlic and some Mexican oregano and cumin along with some water or beer in the Vita mix,30 seconds and you got instant chile sauce for whatever. Vitamix rules....years of enjoyment to you Lynn and don't be like me....hold on to that sucker !

Smoothies with lime are better than smoothies without and bags of frozen mixed berries are your friend!