Vita-Mix Review

By Gwende1yn

I purchased the Vita-Mix in June 2005, and it is the most valuable “fun” purchase I’ve made.

Pros (or what I use my Vita-Mix for):
With my Vita-Mix, I can liquefy anything, which gives me tremendous flexibility in making tasty, yet healthy, treats. Many shelf products such as soy or nut milks, vegan ice creams, soups, etc. contain unhealthy ingredients like carrageenan (a source of MSG), citric acid (usually a source of MSG), high salt or sugar levels, and more.

If you’re like me and have high standards for taste but also want to avoid unpleasant ingredients such as MSG, sodium, and processed sugars, the Vita-Mix is the way to go. I purchased my Vita-Mix primarily because I wanted a milk-alternative that tasted good and didn’t contain any hidden sources of MSG.

I use my Vita-Mix primarily for nut milks and nut creams, making vegan ice cream and fruit smoothies, thick vegetable soups, hummus, salsa, etc.

I also use my Vita-Mix for course-chopping of grains like whole wheat berries, milling flax seeds, turning whole-wheat flour into whole-wheat pastry flour, etc.

Want something creamy? Use the Vita-Mix to whip up some almonds or cashews with a little water and sweeteners of your choice to make a creamy drink or sauce. Want some deliciously nutritious ice cream (made without dairy, of course)? Add in some frozen strawberries or frozen fruit of your choice and blend 1-2 more minutes. It’s quick, easy, and so good you wouldn’t know it was good for you!

Cons:
I love my Vita-Mix, but it does have a few shortfalls.

• The containers are huge – way bigger than I need 75% of the time. That means more surface area for my goodies pouring out to get stuck to and more scraping I have to do to not be wasteful. (Fortunately, Vita-Mix does now sell smaller containers.)
• It’s loud. If I’m going to blend for more than a short time, I pop in my earplugs. Particularly for small quantities of dry ingredients (they rattle around a lot more).
• You can’t blend super small quantities very effectively. If you have less than a ½ cup, it won’t chop/blend very well at all. Some things (like nut butters) require you to have 1-2 cups before it works effectively.
• You can’t make large (more than 3-cup) batches of thick things, like hummus or nut butter. If it’s liquidy, it’ll work beautifully, but if thick, it won’t suck down and you can actually cook the stuff at the bottom while trying to push down the stuff from the top with the stomper.
• Similarly, coarsely chopping vegetables only works in small to medium quantities or you end up liquefying some of it before you get all the bigger chunks chopped.

In spite of the shortfalls, I highly recommend the Vita-Mix as a great, professional-level blender.