My Blender Can Beat Up Your Blender

Unless, of course, you have a Vitamix. Or this thing.

In January, feeling a desperate need to clean up my act, I started researching juicers. I figured it would be an easy way for my husband and I to sneak more fruits and vegetables into our diets. Did you know when they say “Eat 5 servings of fruit and vegetables every day” they mean 5 servings of fruit AND 5 servings of vegetables? They do.

I had seen Breville juicers a few times on Martha Stewart, and knew it was a good brand. The one I had my eye on was around $150. Since I had that part narrowed down, I started reading reviews on several different sites. More and more, I read about how the juicer was great and all, but the Vitamix was where it’s at. A juicer separates the skin and pulp from the juice. A Vitamix just liquefies everything. It’s basically eating whole fruits and vegetables through a straw. Awesome, huh?

Plus, you can make nut butters, ice cream, sorbet, dips, sauces, and somehow, magically, hot soup! WITHOUT EVEN USING THE STOVE. The blender heats it up. Seriously. This thing is powerful.

The problem is that a Vitamix costs around $500, nearly 3x what I had budgeted. Switch to bargain hunting mode! I found it cheaper on QVC, which seemed to have it’s own special model. Fine by me!  I got the 64oz size, but they recently came out with a 48oz size which is cheaper and probably fits under your cabinets.

Oh yes, mine stays out all the time. My husband was not into that at all at first, but A.) He barely uses the kitchen and B.) I win. I promised him if I didn’t use it all the time, we’d put it in the closet. But I use it ALL THE TIME.

Mostly, I make smoothies. When I first got my Vitamix, I actually said smoothie so many times that I started to hate the word. I couldn’t break the habit though, and calling it a shake didn’t seem fair to shakes, so I just still call them smoothies and try not to think about it. Smmoooottthhhiiieee.

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day,  (which I secretly don’t care about) here is the recipe for my favorite green smoothie:

¾ c. kale
1 sm. stalk celery
½ banana
½ c. apple juice
½ c. ice

Chop up the kale and celery as small as necessary, or not at all, based on how much your blender rocks. Put the soft stuff in first, and the ice last. (When the soft stuff gets liquefied it will help suck the harder stuff into the blades.) Blend or BLEND!!! Again, depending on your machine. This recipe makes one serving. I usually double it and save one for later. It’s fine overnight in the fridge, you just have to stir it up a little if it separates. It sounds like it might not be delicious, but I assure you, it is.

Sláinte! (Or whatever.)