so our blender broke this past fall. I was only trying to make a smoothie, but the frozen banana chunks seemed to be too much for the thing. smelly blender motor (worse than usual) followed by a very loud clunk, and it was a goner. aren't blenders supposed to be able to handle these things? there was an ice crushing setting, after all! so we lived a blender-free existence for the fall and winter months and then recently I started really wanting to make smoothies again (it's these 50 and 60 degree days we have sometimes now, I'm sure) and debated what to get. well, in the end I bit the bullet and ordered a vitamix. I got it online when they were having a sale (and free shipping) on the factory-reconditioned ones. so I feel like I got a pretty good deal, considering.
yesterday we christened it with our first smoothie. just a quick bananas, berries, oj and yogurt concoction. I can see lots of smoothies in our future. what I need now is some inspiration for other kinds of things so that I can feel like I didn't spend two weeks' grocery money on a smoothie-maker. I got the little booklet with it showing me all about things like hummus and pesto and even soup..... but.... do you have one of these? what do you make with yours?
also- yesterday I came home to find a box on my front steps. I got my swap box! I knew, of course, who was sending a package my way, but I promise I didn't peek at her post about it. What a lovely and rather generous mix of goodies inside:
Amanda (from The Life and Times of Julian and Amanda) sent me a sweet card, fire starters, an herb bundle, a mix of bee-approved wildflower seeds for our bee yard, loose tea, an herbal foot soak, some of her favorite recipes, a homemade flock-block for the chickens, two cactus starts and two bars of soap! I'll admit, I've been seeing all these homemade bars of soap being swapped around the country (and beyond) and was kinda sorta maybe wishing I'd gotten my hands on some of them. And it turns out, I did. If you have not received your box yet, hang tight- I've had a few folks email me recently to let me know their packages have just gone out. And in the (hopefully very unlikely) event that another week or so passes and you've still not received it? well then, please let me know!
if you haven't posted pictures yet of your swap boxes to'ing and fro'ing, please consider doing so if you are so inclined~ it's been so much fun to see what everyone has come up with!
and don't forget to send those vitamix suggestions my way! ;)
I have had a Vitamix for nearly 6 years, and I am in love with it! We purchased a reconditioned one when my daughter was about a year old, and I used it for making baby food. Such a breeze. We use it for smoothies and the occasional milkshake, hummus of all varieties, salsa, soup (though I generally still use my immersion blender for this task), pesto, breadcrumbs. It's great for turning chunks of Parmesan cheese into fluffy sprinkles. ALMOND MILK is a big one - you won't believe how easy it is. I am dying to try peanut butter with it - I have a good friend who makes it all of the time and has said that it's a cinch - you just put dry peanuts in and crank it until it turns to butter! You don't even need to add oil!
ReplyDeleteI plan to make hummus with it soon. bread crumbs and parmesan- great ideas! I've never made almond milk, but am intrigued. ooooh- almond butter......
DeleteI do not have a Vitamix, but I want one. I have juicer that I make my juices with and a blender for smoothies, milks, ect.
ReplyDeleteLove your swap gifts.
I don't own a juicer, not aside from a citrus hand-juicer anyway ;)
DeleteI figured by the time I go through another two blenders that break and with the money I can save on buying smoothies and almond butter, etc.... it just may pay itself off sooner than I think.
me too! my chickens devoured the flock block in a matter of hours, I've been sipping the tea, and am excited to dig into the rest soon.
Hi Amanda!! Congratulations on the Vitamix!!. I had been coveting one for the past 15 years. We finally bought one 2 years ago. I was always breaking blenders so we took the plunge. I have to tell you, it is my favorite appliance in the kitchen. We make smoothies all the time as well as banana icecream. Which is just blended frozen bananas with a little bit of liquid. But the best of all ....I make Rosemary Gladstar's Perfect Hand Cream in it.! It works up so quick. and cleanup is not a problem at all, even though you might think so. Enjoy!!! PS. You must name her now. Christina
ReplyDeleteHa ha. I see that it looks like I said to name her Christina!! I meant to write love, christina not to name her that!!!! Haha.
ReplyDeletejust now, coming back to read these comments and reply, I am realizing that last night I had a dream about the banana 'ice cream' you mentioned. how funny. just a blip- me in the kitchen blending frozen bananas.
Deleteso...... then your hummus and smoothies and such don't end up tasting like your hand cream? what a good idea, I'd not have thought of that. I've got her books, I'll have to try that out!
ha! I knew it was your name, and didn't think you were trying to persuade me to name it after you ;) pretty funny.
Love my Vitamix. We use it to make smoothies, nut milks, seed milks, hummus, pesto, blending soups, blending pasta sauces, making nut based sauces (such as my vegan cheese sauce), and so much more. There are days I use two or three times for different things. Enjoy!
ReplyDeletevegan cheese sauce? is that like one of those cashew and nutritional yeast based sauces I see now and again? mmmmmm. happen to have a recipe you'd like to share?
Deletethanks!
yay! (about the vitamix and the swap box) i saw amanda's post with her goodies and thought they looked just amazing! everyone is so creative... it is so inspiring :) i finally put up a post with my finished swap stuff (and my package just went out too) but here is the link if you or anyone else wants to see... http://phishybee.blogspot.com/2014/02/blogger-swap-gifts-finished.html :) this has been such fun.... thanks again for hosting :)
ReplyDeleteI didn't peek at her post because I knew it was for me, and what a sweet box to receive! I agree, so much creativity and inspiration. your stamps are so beautiful!
Deleteyou are most welcome. thanks again for the idea!
That blender is life altering. Truly. My husband gifted me with a refurbished one for Christmas and we *love* it!!
ReplyDeletewhat have your favorite uses for it been so far, Stephinie?
DeleteSadly I shipped my goodies before a photo, I got caught up in being excited to mail it :) congrats in the new blender!!
ReplyDeleteooooh- we'll just have to hope the recipient shares a photo, then, won't we? I'm sure it was lovely, your package.
DeleteI love that your swapper sent along something for Frodo!
So glad you liked it! It was fun to put together, though I must admit Julian was sorely disappointed that the baking flock block was not cookies or bread for him!
ReplyDeletethe hens devoured that block in a few hours- I mean, it smelled really good, but I didn't try it myself ;)
DeleteOh - and the bee seeds are lemon balm, coneflower, cosmos, zinnia and black eyed susan.
ReplyDeletethank you so much! for everything! I recognized a couple of them, but was wondering about others- what a nice mix!
DeleteCheck out the site healthyblenderrecipes.com, lots of wonderful vitamix recipes. I don't have a Vitamix but love reading the recipes.
ReplyDeletethanks, I will!
DeleteI received my package this week, too. I hope to take pictures today!
ReplyDeleteoooh! what a nice box of goodies~ Stephinie is very talented!
DeleteCongrats on the Vitamix, everyone raves about them. Wonderful gifts, love the cactus starts (what a great idea!) and foot soak, ahhhh!
ReplyDeletethanks! I'm excited about the starts, too. just need to mix up a little soil and sand and plop them in!
DeleteOne day I, too, will own a vitamix...I hope. :) Thanks, again, for the blog swap, Amanda! Glad you got that soap you'd been wishing for! I blogged about the package I received, but sadly, I forgot to snap pics of my gift before sending it off. Blessings, ~Lisa :)
ReplyDeletethe one I bought was a reconditioned one - about $150 (or more) less than new and it looks like new and still has a five year warranty. they go on sale from time to time~
Deleteyou are most welcome, Lisa~ I'm so glad it has been fun and successful. I know there are still a couple packages floating around out there, but we're nearing the end of it.
yes, I love the soap! Kym blogged about your package here: http://motherhoodwithoutchildbirth.blogspot.com, but so far no picture. looks like she tried to upload one, though- so maybe soon.
Nice! We got our Vitamiz off Craigslist for about half the price, it had been used three times. We got a dry blender too, for nuts, etc....
ReplyDeleteYou will LOOOOOOVVVE this machine.
P.S. I will send my package out today! I've lagged!
xo
oh nice find! what do you use the dry blender for the most? I'd love to hear some of your favorite ways of using it and the regular cup.
Deleteno worries- life gets busy sometimes, doesn't it?
I'm sure your swap recipient will LOVE it!
xo
I love my Vitamix. I use it mostly for smoothies of all kinds but occasionally also use it to make bread crumbs (small batches at a time). I used to use it to puree soups but now I use an immersion blender for that. I always use it to make up batches of my home made mayo and other homemade salad dressings. When I make caesar dressing, I make enough in my Vitamix so we can have a few caesar salads during the week.
ReplyDeleteI've never made my own mayo, but now that we're rolling in eggs again I'll have to give it a try!
DeleteOoooh...your package looks divine! I've finally posted about the swap if you'd like to take a peek :) Thanks so much for hosting. I'm sending you and your mom well wishes. xoxo
ReplyDelete