The answer is no if:
a) You cannot afford it.
b) You do not cook.
The answer is YES if:
a) You can scrape together the money to purchase it.
b) You cook often.
A few months ago we purchased a Vitamix. I had been eyeing them for years but was not wanting to part with my money (they start at $500.00 in Canada). A few months ago our blender (which we use all the time) died. I had received some Costco cash cards as a Christmas gift, and since we needed to replace our blender anyway I decided to take the plunge and purchase a Vitamix at Costco. The 7 year warranty that the blender comes with is what helped me make my final decision.
Now that we have owned the Vitamix for a period and have been using it almost daily, sometimes more than once a day, I can say without a doubt that for our family this purchase was definitely worth it. But why? Well these are the reasons the Vitamix was the right purchase for our family:
a) The Vitamix makes smoothies with ease. We love smoothies. Our old blender did an OK job, but the Vitamix does an amazing job at blending all kinds of ingredients together quickly to produce a smooth and delicious treat. This is particularly important to me because my toddler does not enjoy eating vegetables, but he has been thoroughly enjoying green smoothies made with spinach and other greens using the Vitamix. I hope to soon expand the smoothie repertoire to include other vegetables like carrots and beets.
b) The Vitamix makes pizza dough. We used to spend about $30 - $40 a month getting take-out pizza. My husband and son have started a weekly tradition making pizza together (from scratch) using the Vitamix. They make the dough, use a Tomato Basil Simmer sauce that I can during the summer as their pizza sauce, and top it using large blocks of Mozzarella (purchased at Costco - it is about $11.00 for a 2.2kg block of Saputo mozzarella), and other toppings of their choice. I calculate that the pizzas they are making cost between $3.75 - $4.50 each depending on the toppings they use. The main expense is of course the cheese. This is saving us between $5.00 - 10.00 a week on take-out pizza. Not only is it saving us money - but my son is getting the great experience of cooking with my husband. The pizza takes about 40 minutes to make from start to finish - which is not longer than it would take for us to order a pizza from somewhere and pick it up.
c) The Vitamix will do a dry chop. I have a very small 3 cup food processor. It is amazing and super convenient for whipping up dips and spreads and chopping a small amount of dry ingredients, however it is a huge pain when I am making larger recipes like carrot cake or coleslaw. I have been wanting to get a larger food processor for years but we do not have the food space for it. Enter: Vitamix. Since purchasing our Vitamix I have used it to conveniently dry chop carrots for carrot cake and it can also dry chop cabbage for things such as coleslaw. Essentially I now have 2 appliances in one. Hurray!!!!
d) It is self-cleaning. Parents, you can cheer here. It is so amazing to use the Vitamix, then pour in some warm water with a drop of dish soap, turn it on, and come back in 60 seconds to find it clean and ready to use again. I love this. I really, really love it.
There are many other great things about the Vitamix (you can make nut butters, soups that will heat from the blade friction, ice cream, milkshakes, hummous, etc. etc) but these are the four main reasons why I really feel it was the right purchase for our family. I am sure I will discover more great things about it as I continue to experiment with new recipes. I may even update this post later.
Just to clarify - I have zero affiliation with Vitamix and I am receiving absolutely zero compensation for this post. I just know that I hummed and hawed and researched and debated for a long time before taking the plunge and buying one - so if this information can help someone else make an informed decision then.......happy blending!!!
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