If you have a daily green smoothie habit and you do not own either a Vita-Mix or Blendtec blender, you most likely are experiencing some frustration with your current machine.
Whether you have a simple $20 blender or a mid-range machine costing around $100, you might be considering upgrading.
However, the price point is hard to justify. Both Vita-Mix and Blendtec retail at around $400 each. Is it worth shelling out the big bucks for a high-end blender? Do these machines really do more than your current $80 blender?
Does a $400 blender really make a better green smoothie?
I recently decided to move up from my trusty $100 name-brand blender and enter the world of professional-level smoothie blenders. I was very reluctant to spend that much money on a Blendtec Total Blender, but now that I own one, I can see how it is completely worth it and pays for itself in so many ways.
Better Quality Smoothies
We’ve all heard that you get what you pay for, and when you invest in a high-end blender, you get high-end smoothies! I was used to the green smoothies I made with my old blender. I accepted the “sip and chew” way of “enjoying” green smoothies made with kale, parsley or other leafy greens. The occasional chunk of unblended fruit was simply a part of the smoothie experience.
Since using a high-end blender, there is no more “sip and chew”. All greens, fruit, nuts and seeds that I add to my green smoothie are thoroughly blended into the richest, creamiest smoothie I’ve ever had. Both the quality of the smoothie and the quality of the experience of making smoothies on a daily basis are much improved with a high-end blender.
Time Savings
With my old blender, I’d have to chop everything up before adding it to the pitcher to make a green smoothie. I’d have to cut up the carrot, slice the tomato, chop the spinach and cut mangoes, apples or pears into small chunks. I’d then have to blend for a few seconds, stop the machine, pack ingredients down with a mixing spoon and then fire up the blender again to blend some more. Sometimes I’d have to lift the pitcher and give it a good shake. I’d repeat this cycle about 4 to 6 times until all of the ingredients were finally blended enough so that they can be pureed into a smoothie. It would take at least 20 minutes to make a Big Blend Smoothie.
After I enjoyed my green smoothie, I’d then have to clean the blender, which was a chore involving removing the blade assembly from the pitcher and cleaning around the blades with a scrubbing brush. I’d have to clean the base, avoid loosing the rubber gasket seal and try (sometimes unsuccessfully) to avoid getting cut while cleaning the sharp blades.
Now that I have a Blendtec blender, I do not need to chop up the fruit as much. I can place larger chunks of food, simply break a carrot in half and toss in handfuls of greens and then blend. Twenty-five seconds later, I have a rich, creamy green smoothie. Cleanup is a breeze too. I add one cup hot water with one drop dish soap to the pitcher, run it through one blend cycle, rinse with water and the blender is clean and ready for it’s next use.
I can now make a Big Blend Smoothie and clean the blender in under 10 minutes. Since I use my blender two to three times each day, this saves about 30-minutes a day. That’s 182.5 extra hours each year! That’s seven and a half whole days each year that I do not need to spend chopping and cleaning!
Maximized Nutrition Benefits
Blenders blend fruits and vegetables so thoroughly that they break down cell walls, unlocking the maximum amount of nutrients, antioxidants and phytonutrients that you can’t get from chewing alone. You will unlock even more nutrition from a high end blender since you won’t have even small bits of greens or other fruits that other blenders might not be powerful enough to handle. Tough leafy greens such as kale, collard greens and parsley blend up thoroughly in a high-speed blender.
Fruits such as pineapples are fully utilized in a high-end blender since they can pulverize and puree the tough core that we usually discard. It is in the pineapple’s core where most of the Bromelain is contained. Bromelain is a powerful anti-inflammatory and digestive aid found in higher concentrations in the pineapples core and only a high-end blender can “unlock” this nutritional powerhouse.
Less Waste
A high-speed, powerful blender can puree entire fruits, seeds and all. When I watched the Blendtec demonstration in the store, the rep added whole strawberries (including the caps with green leaves) to the smoothie. I had always cut the tops off and discarded the leaves. The Blendtec blended it all up in a creamy smoothie where my old blender would have likely had bits of leaf in it. Stems, leaves, the core and seeds can be blended in a rich smoothie with no chunks or bits to chew. And as I mentioned above, I won’t be discarding pineapple core anymore.
Expanded Options For A Healthy Lifestyle
One of the great selling-points for me on a high-end blender is that both Blendtec and Vita-Mix machines can make hot soup in the blender. That’s right, if you want a quick and easy meal using whole foods, you can use the same machine you use to make green smoothies. In my Blendtec, I can simply add a whole carrot, a plum tomato, a slice of onion, a stalk of celery and 2 cups of hot water with some herbs and spices and in 90 seconds, I have hot, steamy soup packed full of nutrients! The blender spins so fast on it’s “soup” setting that it heats the ingredients with friction!
Having the ability to make vegetable soup in my blender gives me more options for eating healthy with an active lifestyle. My blender does double duty, making green smoothies or hot soup when I need a warm, less sweet meal later in the day.
Lasts Longer
Another benefit to investing in a high-end blender is that they are professional-level machines. You will see Vita-Mix and Blendtec machines in popular smoothie bars, restaurants, coffee shops and bars where these machines are used extensively on a daily basis. Not only do you get a dependable, durable blender that will last you many years (perhaps a lifetime), you also get a warranty that outlasts your old blender’s total expected operation life.
Do You Need A High-End Blender?
My experience with the Blendtec Total Blender proved that it was the right purchase from day one. I make green smoothies at least twice each and every day. I use a food processor frequently for many healthy recipes. I now have healthy vegetable soups regularly, and I was never a soup person before! Both the Blendtec and Vita-Mix blenders can do double duty, making the need for a separate blender and food processor obsolete. They can even mix batters, doughs, syrups, salsas, dips, juices and nut butters. Making smoothies and soups are much easier now than they were with my old blender. For me, investing in a high-end blender was worth the cost just in the time savings and ease of cleaning.
If you have adopted a whole foods lifestyle and use your blender on a daily basis, you will see significant improvements in the quality of your smoothies, time and usability by investing in your health and a new, high-end blender.
Tags: blender, Blendtec, Green Smoothies, Vita-Mix
[...] Cheap blenders might save you money in the short term, but they wear out and you will quickly outgrow their capabilities for making smoothies on a regular basis. You will find yourself replacing a $30 blender soon after you purchase it. There are advantages to spending the extra money on a high-end blender. [...]