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So, Google throws up almost 4.5 million results for "Pinterest Vitamix recipes".
What's unusual about the Vitamix is that the heat generated by the blades can actually *cook* foods – so you can make a pasta sauce from scratch in the blender, or a soup – and serve direct from the jug.
And this Taco Soup recipe from Blender Happy is known as a ~ conversion recipe ~ ie – one that makes people go 'woah, I'm going to buy this blender!'
The most important thing is to add items in the right order – so I began by putting carrots, tomatoes, celery and stock in the blender, then turning it onto the "soup" setting for five minutes.
It's souper (sorry!) noisy, and really powerful – play this video to hear it go.
Once the soup base was cooked, I threw in a can of beans and some corn, then pulsed once or twice to give it some texture. (There's no need to blend it though, if you like a chunky soup!)
The end result was easy as pie and so so delicious.
Next I tried to make some homemade Peanut Butter.
I decided to try the peanut butter recipe that came with the blender – and chose cashew nuts and almonds. The success of the taco soup had me chasing a powerful blender high.
The end result was a little grainy, but super-spreadable. I'd recommend adding in some oil – or really upping your quantities.
I wanted to see how the blender would hold up for more textured recipes, and happened upon this recipe for falafel.
Things did not go to plan.
So, I added a small amount of water (in retrospect I should have just doubled the ingredients), and accidentally made a falaffel smoothie.
I tried to salvage it, but even after 20 minutes of cooking it was An Absolute Disaster.
A recipe that I kept seeing on Pinterest was Blender Guacamole.
I love the taste of coriander, but hate chewing the stalks – so making an initial paste with onion, garlic and coriander appealed to me.
The mixture didn't go as paste-like as I wanted, but I figured that with the creamy avocado blended, it would all mush together better.
But it tasted pretty good – there was a strong flavour base and it was perfect for dipping.
Final thoughts:
– OK, this blender is expensive, it's almost £500. But's very very easy to clean, and comes with excellent customer service – think of it like a Kitchenaid. The Vitamix rep who lent me the machine for this piece tells me that some people have their blenders for over ten years.
– This blender is also powerful enough that I can see it being useful for anyone who has food intolerences – you can easily make your own oat flour, or cashew milk etc. It seems particularly good if you're vegan or considering going vegan.
– Overall this blender isn't right for my lifestyle – I seldomly cook for more than two people at a time, and counter space is at a premium in my home. But if you're someone who has chronic pain issues (for example), then it's a quicker, easier way to make a swift meal than a slow cooker (it's cool to say 'make a chilli! but that involves planning a meal 12 hours in advance). If you're also catering for a large group regularly, then it's a solid investment.