We have been test driving the. Labelled a Total Nutrition Centre, it has created a buzz. Hot soups, Freshly made ice creams, Bread dough, Cake Mix, Chopping, let alone smoothies as smooth as you like. The blade is sharp, the blade goes round super fast and the way it works makes it incredibly versatile. There are two blade types. One for wet ingredients (which we were using) one for dry (which even allows you to grind your own flour).
One of the things we found the most useful is that it blends so efficiently that there is no need to peel or chop most vegetables. In addition to being more healthy it is so easy to use up any languishing fruit and vegetables. It prepares food so quickly that it almost encourages you to explore flavour combinations since the effort is small.
Take a look at this –
the leftover potatoes and vegetables from a Sunday roast made for a delicious soup we topped with spring onion and a cheese crout0n. A simple monday night supper prepared in 5 minutes. We used water and no cream yet the speed of blending incorporates air and this has an emulsifying effect that gives the soup an incredibly creamy and rich texture.
There were other less successful combinations (take it from us that pak choi, leek and celery taste a little too much of chlorophyll!) as well as a great roast chicken and chickpea soup that made for a substantial but healthy meal.
We enjoyed some lovely ice creams and smoothies – wild strawberry and mango using some frozen fruit purees and fresh cream were highlights. A tropical fruit smoothie cleared up our fruit bowl and gave an energy burst before our 6am departure to Belgium last week.
The most interesting thing we made was some Cauliflower Couscous. This is something we have seen magazines. You chop up some cauliflower (in the vitamix it took 5 seconds) to make ‘couscous’ sized grains that can be used raw or cooked as a side dish. Perfect if you are trying to reduce carbs, the nutty texture and delicious taste of cauliflower makes for a great healthy recipe.
We used a herby, sweet and sour combination using maple syrup, lemon, coriander and cumin.
Here is how we made it –
Recipe:
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 head of cauliflower
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin
juice of half a lemon
Handful of chopped coriander
1 tablespoon maple syrup
Methods
If you have a vitamix, place pieces of cauliflower in the vitamix. Add water to fill the jug up to the maximum volume and process it on slow to medium speed for 5 to 10 seconds until you have reached the desired size.
If you don’t have a vitamix you can grate the cauliflower or chop it or use a food processor.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Add the cauliflower and warm it through then add the lemon juice, cumin and maple syrup. Top with the coriander then remove from heat and serve.
So we like the vitamix and have enjoyed testing it out. We can think of many uses and particularly like the way it reduced our food waste significantly. It is expensive and on full power the motor is loud. However it is an investment that would be worthwhile if you want to increase your fruit and vegetable intake effortlessly and to try healthy ways of cooking and preparing food. We did not find the noise of the machine so loud that it deterred us from using it extensively at all times of day, and our children and neighbours did not seem to be troubled by it since the time that you need to use it during food prep is minutes at most.
Disclosure.
We were provided with a Vitamix Total Nutrition Centre Blender to review. However we were free to try our own recipes and to form our own opinions. This review expresses our own unbiased opinion.
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