Cheri-- Green Smoothies

[holliejjj]

Do you like your Blendtec blender? Is it better than a Vitamix?

I am loving my juicer but it would be nice to throw a banana into my mixtures. And it would be nice to use up all parts of the veggies/fruits.

They are just sooooo expensive. I thought if I got enough swagbucks I could buy it but that would take forever lol. And I don't know, does Amazon sell them?

I've been buying a new green leafy vegetable each week that I would have never consumed on my own. This week has been Kale.

[Stephanie]

Not Cheri, but popping in to say that I spent half of the day playing with my new Blendtec. I love it!!! I did extensive research and decided that it was the way to go over the vitamix. There is a great comparison video, I'll come back and post the link...hubby is waiting on me to watch Food Inc.

I have been using my Bosch blender (combo with my bread mixer) for the past year and the Blendtec leaves it in the dust. Our smoothie this morning was FAB-O!! Spinach, carrot, apple, strawberry, raspberry blackberry and blueberry along with a little kefir, yogurt and milk. Ground up the berry seeds way better than the old mixer. Also made whole grain waffles and they were also better than with the other mixer (which was more powerful than an average mixer). Also made steaming hot strawberry syrup for the waffles and whipped cream in literally less than 10 seconds!! Unbelievable!!

Worth every penny and will likely be used on a near daily basis. Will return with a few of the links that were helpful this week as I made my decision.

[cherir]

Hey Hollie, yes, IMO, the Blendtec is better, BUT the Vitamix is the old standard and certainly nothing really wrong with it. To me, though, the Vitamix is much more complicated, several dials you must deal with. The Blendtec? Does the work for you. Just pick a button (like Whole Juice, or Smoothie, etc. and it slows down, speeds up, changes gears on it's own. You literally just push one button and wait.)

We bought ours last June and as of yesterday, had over 327 uses!! We make the smoothies, of course, but also soup (it does come out steaming hot - push of one button!), ice cream, nut butters, batters, I could go on and on.

Have you watched the Will It Blend videos? That will give you an idea of it's power.

Another cool thing about it is that it sucks everything DOWN, which with almost all other blenders including the Vitamix, they PUSH things up, thereby requiring the plunger. The BlendTec sucks the food downward, which is what makes it so powerful from what I understand.

But finally, my engineer husband compared all the specs, saw the videos and demonstrations and chose Blendtec hands down.

Here's some demo videos -

http://www.blendtec.com/demos.aspx

And here are the Will It Blend Videos -

http://www.blendtec.com/willitblend/

We paid $379 at Costco and got a total of 7 years of warranty (had extra 3 added due to Costco). You can look on the site to see where the next live demos are if you want to see it in person. I believe the Vitamix is very similar to that price, and we had been saving our money to buy the Vitamix until we ran across the Blendtec. Even one of the authors of a big Green Smoothie book recommends the Blendtec for its ease of use. It also comes with a large recipe book, full of ideas. There a few recipes online, but nothing like what you get with the unit.

We made a Mango Banana Pie the other day - here is that info/photos:

http://cheriquitecontrary.blogspot.com/2010/01/bliss-mango-banana-pie.html

And I made a Broccoli soup the other day that had almonds as the base. When done, it had a cheesy flavor, but no cheese at all. 100% healthy! I am LOVING the book by Alyssa Cohen - Living on Live Food (only available at her website, but I found mine at a half price book store in Dallas and about peed my pants I was so excited! lol )

http://www.alissacohen.com/

While visiting the inlaws of Christmas, we of course took our Blendtec with us and made all kinds of treats since FIL is flirting with Diabetes. We were teaching him about the power of our diets and how to eat "sweet" goodness without sugar. Here is what we made him:

Chocolate Cheesecake (Raw style)

Raw Chocolate Cheesecake

http://www.celebritydietdoctor.com/raw-chocolate-cheesecake-recipe/

Crust
1 cup dried coconut
1 cup walnuts or pecans
pinch of stevia
pinch of salt
pinch of cayenne

Powder the coconut first in the food processor or blender
Add everything else and process to a sticky consistency.
Press into the bottom of a 6 or a 9 inch spring form pan.
Put into the freezer to set up while you are making the filling.
The nuts need to soaked over night and dried before using to make them more digestible and lower the acid levels.

Filling
1 cup walnut or almond milk (we purchased this instead of making our own)
2 cups cashews
1 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup carob or cacao powder
2 tbs lemon juice
2 tbs soy lecithin
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup agave nectar
pinch of salt

To make the nut milk soak the nuts over night. Blend with water in a 1:2 ratio. Strain through a mesh cloth or cheese cloth. (We purchased almond milk - did not do this homemade.)

Blend all ingredients in a blender, except the coconut oil.
Once the batter is completely smooth add the coconut oil and blend again.
Pour into the crust and smooth the surface with a spatula.

Let the cheesecake set up overnight in the refrigerator or freeze for one hour if serving that day.

This was so yummy, you have no idea!! And look at those ingredients!! Healthy! Agave nectar has a far lower glycemic index than honey or sugar.


The Blendtec has changed our life, and I never thought a blender like this could do that. lol We have the Champion Juicer as well, and it is just so involved to use and keep clean. With the Blendtec, I fill the container up entirely with greens. Hit the Whole Juice Button. When done, I have 21 oz. of green liquid. Then I add in all the fruit and other veggies I want, and push the "Smoothie" button. I then have tons of yummy goodness that lasts me 2 days, but I drink a ton each day. Here is a link to my latest invention, with photos:

http://cheriquitecontrary.blogspot.com/search/label/Green%20Smoothie

Either one you choose, you will be in heaven. Blendtec is far easier to use, though. Have fun!

[holliejjj]

thanks!