eating healthier with my BLENDTEC BLENDER

[creator]

A few months ago my wife and I decided it was time to invest in a powerful blender (too hard to stomach the chunkiness/texture of smoothies made with our current blender). After doing some research I realized the main choices when it comes to high-end quality blenders are the Vitamix or Blendtec, not much else even compares (for real). We ended up getting the Blendtec blender (will it blend!) for about $360 after tax with our 20% off coupon at Bed Bath and Beyond. I certainly didn't want to spend that much money on a blender, but 2 months later and I have no regrets, it's worth every penny, and I would highly recommend either of those blenders to anyone.

It's not always easy, or convenient, to eat as many fruits and vegetables as I would like to, but I believe the Word of Wisdom has a great deal of wisdom behind it... Now I'm getting plenty of fruits (and a lot more vegetables) every day. I'm having a fresh fruit smoothie for breakfast almost every day, most always with a cup of spinach added as well (sometimes carrots, celery, and other vegetables). I've never eaten so much fruit (and spinach) in my life - pineapple, oranges, apples, strawberries, blueberries, etc. It took a few days to figure out some ideal recipes but I've pretty much go the hang of it now. I'll use this thread to post some of my recommended recipes and answer any questions about the blendtec as well... it's been such a great investment that I couldn't not write about it.

[SAM]

Sweet! We just got our Blendtec a month ago, after wanting one for about a year and a half. I totally agree. It's worth every penny. I am excited to see some recipes on here and tips on making things like milk, breads, etc. I've tried a couple of those and the first time didn't go over well. I am totally in love with the grinding option though. I just had a hand crank grinder before, so my grinding time has gone from about a cup of flour every half hour to a few cups in 50 seconds

[ChelC]

I have a pretty crappy blender, but it does get smooth eventually. I'd like a good one eventually.

My favorite smoothie (well, pretty much my only smoothie) is ice, a handful of strawberries, a peach, an orange, and when I'm feeling little naughty a half a cup of orange sherbet. When I was doing the green smoothies I put kale in it.

I used to work next door to a Zuka Juice and Great Harvest Bread. We would have a once a week carb overload on banana bread day. Mmmm...

[loveoneanother]

Kale has the most vitamin C and stuff of any greens, love it in soup too!!! I love my Blendtec and the company :ymhug: about Vitamix:

OREM, Utah (ABC 4 News) - An Orem company known by millions for blending I-Pads and I-Phones on YouTube won a $24 million lawsuit.

A federal jury in Salt Lake City ordered the Ohio based company Vitamix to pay the Utah based company Blendtec $11 million in June. This month federal judge Tena Campbell increased the damages to $24 million because the jury decided Vitamix willfully took Blendtec's design.

"Here's my two patents," said Blendtec CEO Tom Dickson as he proudly displayed them to ABC 4 News. He says he protected his product with patents issued in 2005, which was three years after he says Vitamix stole his design.
Ouch!!!

[fps.sledge]

Tena Campbell is a crook. I would pay $24m to keep her away from a courtroom.

[Rand]

We have both and love both the Vitamix, and the Blendtec. You can't go wrong with either. My wife loves the smaller size of the Blendtec, because it fits under the counter. She makes flour, etc. Outstanding for using healthy foods. A must have.

[Sariel]

Am I reading that you can use these blenders in place of a wheat grinder? Would there be a reason to need a wheat grinder even if I bought one of these blenders?

[creator]

Am I reading that you can use these blenders in place of a wheat grinder? Would there be a reason to need a wheat grinder even if I bought one of these blenders?

Go to 3:25 in that video to skip right to the wheat blending action...


Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gCYZ7ecKjc" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

These blenders can definitely replace an electric wheat grinder.

[creator]

It seems that to make the perfect fruit smoothies it's best to start with about 8 to 12 ounces of 100% juice. I usually use either orange juice or apple juice. Sometimes I even use coconut milk, rice milk, almond milk. Without that 8 to 12 ounces of liquid the smoothie will be too thick. You could add water, but then you might find yourself wanting to add some sugar, maple syrup, agave, etc, as an extra sweetener, so I just prefer to start with the orange or apple juice. After that I typically add 1 cup of spinach/kale and then decide what other combination of fresh and/or frozen fruits I want to add (apples, oranges, banana, blueberries, strawberries, pineapple, mango, etc). I'll post some specific recipes later.

[braingrunt]

we make our green smoothies like this:
-2 1/2 - 3 cups water
-chia when we can think of it
-Many cups spinach + sometimes some kale. The liquid goes up to the 5 cup line by the time we are done blending in the greens. That's at least two cups of blended greens which is a lot more than 2 cups prior to blend.
-About 3 cups fruit, usually apple, banana, strawberry. We also do one which is apples and pears with cinnamon. Another I've liked quite well is apple, costco mixed berries, dates and a little cinnamon.
-Two packets stevia. It's maybe a little weird at first but now we are totally used to it and the little ones are too. This makes it sweet enough for us without using juice/sugar
Although I created one with orange juice once which I really liked. Using whole (peeled) citrus fruit in smoothies has NOT worked out well for us.

[shadow]

Which blendtec model do you recommend?

[SAM]

I agree with using 100% fruit juice as a base, or sometimes I just use a couple of spoonfuls of juice concentrate to give it sweetness without adding extra sweeteners. I have tried stevia, but still having found the right amount to make it work and taste right. That is one I am still working on. I also usually put in 1 - 2 browning bananas for sweetness. I usually put in whatever greens and fruits we have around, but one of my favorites has lately has been spinach, orange juice, banana, mango and blueberries. Sorry, I have no idea on the amounts. I fill up the blender with spinach to the top and then pour in some orange juice, enough to blend. Blend that together into spinach juice and then throw in the rest of the fruit. If the fruit is fresh, not frozen, I add some ice too.

I also agree that throwing in flax seed, chia seed, kefir or plain yogurt, etc are a great way to boost the nutrition without noticing much, if any, taste difference. braingrunt, I have had the same experience with throwing whole citrus in. I feel like it dilutes the flavor too much.

[Rand]

Which blendtec model do you recommend?

We have the ES3 Total Blender. Great stuff.

[katers]

We got a vitamix about a month ago, and I would recommend it as well. Sometimes drinking your veggies is much easier to do than chomp them down. Also, tidbit for those wanting to save up for an item like this....we bought our vitamix from the spring factory reconditioned sale, (basically all the sales models come in, get reburbished and then resold) with the full 7 year warranty for a LOT cheaper than a brand new model. I'm pretty sure the sale ended in March, but there's a heads up for next year.

Also, from those who have actually used these types of blenders for grains....I hear that if you're grinding a lot of grain, you're still going to want a separate grain mill. These do great in small quantities, but as with everything else, the tool made specifically for the job does it the best and most efficiently. Just what I've heard.

Here is a recipe from the vitamix cookbook that we really enjoyed.
Sweet Lettuce Smoothie:
1 c green grapes
1 c romaine lettuce
1/2 medium apple, halved
1 c ice cubes

Oh....another thing we've enjoyed, fresh homemade no-additive raw peanut butter. MMMMMMmmmmmmm.....

[Sariel]

Nice. I may have to consider a blender then.

[Rand]

If you use it you won't regret it. Whole food was never so easy to eat and enjoyable, even for young ones.

[SAM]

We got a vitamix about a month ago, and I would recommend it as well. Sometimes drinking your veggies is much easier to do than chomp them down. Also, tidbit for those wanting to save up for an item like this....we bought our vitamix from the spring factory reconditioned sale, (basically all the sales models come in, get reburbished and then resold) with the full 7 year warranty for a LOT cheaper than a brand new model. I'm pretty sure the sale ended in March, but there's a heads up for next year.

Blendtec runs a similar promotion and that's how we got ours last month. The Blendtecs usually run you about $400 and if you get the extra wide carafe they are another $50 or so. Yearly, or biannually, they refurbish a number of them and will sell you a refurbished total blender with the normal carafe (2 quarts) and an extra wide carafe (3 quarts) with a 10 year warranty for $250. We saw that deal and decided to jump on it, as we'd been wanting one for a while. With a 10 year warranty, you can feel pretty good about it being refurbished.

Also, to Blendtec's credit, when they offered this deal last month it showed up on a couple of bargain websites like SlickDeals and Blendtec received far more orders than they anticipated. They had failed to advertise that the deal was while supplies last, so, even though the orders exceeded the number of refurbished blenders, Blendtec honored the price and sent new blenders out after they had run out of refurbished ones. We were one of the lucky ones who got a new one I am sure the next time they run this kind of deal they will make sure they are clear that supplies are limited it the price will only last as long as supplies do, but it is still a great deal, refurbished or not.

P.S. I am not trying to one up Vitamix or anything. From what I understand, most anyone who owns with either a Blendtec or Vitamix are equally happy with it and they both seems to perform quite well, so if you're in the market, you'd probably be happy with either.

[singyourwayhome]

A favorite thing to make in my Vitamix is homemade Nutella. WAY more flavor than the stuff in a jar. You can make it using honey instead of sugar, too.

Brian, you just triggered a good way to use up all my 'wild spinach' (lambs quarter) outside....

I had a few plants volunteer last year, and liked it so much I let a few go to seed. That may have been a bad idea- now there's a carpet of it. Smoothies would make mighty quick work of it, though.

[creator]

Here's one of my favorite smoothies:

12oz - Orange Juice
2 - Oranges
1 - Lemon
1 cup - Spinach
1 cup - blueberries (frozen)
1½ cup - Strawberries (frozen)
1 tbsp - flax seed (optional)

[ronronnie]

A few months ago my wife and I decided it was time to invest in a powerful ice crusher blender (too hard to stomach the chunkiness/texture of smoothies made with our current blender). After doing some research I realized the main choices when it comes to high-end quality blenders are the Vitamix or Blendtec, not much else even compares (for real). We ended up getting the Blendtec blender (will it blend!) for about $360 after tax with our 20% off coupon at Bed Bath and Beyond. I certainly didn't want to spend that much money on a blender, but 2 months later and I have no regrets, it's worth every penny, and I would highly recommend either of those blenders to anyone.

It's not always easy, or convenient, to eat as many fruits and vegetables as I would like to, but I believe the Word of Wisdom has a great deal of wisdom behind it... Now I'm getting plenty of fruits (and a lot more vegetables) every day. I'm having a fresh fruit smoothie for breakfast almost every day, most always with a cup of spinach added as well (sometimes carrots, celery, and other vegetables). I've never eaten so much fruit (and spinach) in my life - pineapple, oranges, apples, strawberries, blueberries, etc. It took a few days to figure out some ideal recipes but I've pretty much go the hang of it now. I'll use this thread to post some of my recommended recipes and answer any questions about the blendtec as well... it's been such a great investment that I couldn't not write about it.

I also have a Blendtec blender, and I like to use it for smoothies and meals, and my wife uses it to make thick and delicious pumpkin soup. Its power is high enough that it can crush all food in one minute. It also has a self-cleaning program that makes cleaning very easy.

[coacheverywh]

I'm looking forward to seeing some recipes and advice on how to make items like milk and breads. I've tried a number of them and they didn't go over well the first time. However, I am very enamored with the grinding option. I used to only have a hand crank grinder, so I went from grinding roughly a cup of flour every half hour to a few cups in 40 seconds. Ice, a handful of strawberries, a peach, an orange, and, if I'm feeling particularly naughty, a half cup of orange sherbet are the ingredients in my favorite smoothie. I included kale to my green smoothies as I was making them.

[creator]

It's been 11 years and we're still using that Blendtec blender.

[coacheverywh]

We just acquired a Vitamix a month ago, and I highly suggest it. It's sometimes easier to drink your vegetables than it is to eat them. Also, for anyone looking to save up for something like this, we purchased our Vitamix from the spring factory-reconditioned sale (essentially, all the sales models come in, are refurbished, and then resold) with the full 10-year warranty for a LOT less than a brand new model. I believe the sale ended in March, but it's worth noting for next year.

[OCDMOM]

I never heard of the blendtec. Seems more affordable than the vitamix. I have to hide my mom's pills in a smoothie.

[scottja]

Wheat pulverized in a blender is not as fine as ground. Its all about texture. For some things it's ok. For some things not ok. If in survival mode, and that is all I have access to, we can make do with rougher breads. Otherwise s good grinder is nice to have.