Add the water or liquid first. Water, juice or coconut water help create a vortex that blends your smoothie ingredients and pulls fruit and leafy greens into the blades. Depending on your blender and the types of fruit you add, I recommend using anywhere from 6 to 8 ounces of liquid for a smoothie recipe.

Add fruit next. When making a green smoothie, always add the fruit before adding the greens. Greens just love to get bottle-necked into the middle of your blender’s pitcher just out of reach of the blades. By adding the fruit first, you’ll have a much larger and more powerful vortex as the fruit puree will pull the greens into the blades.

Chop/shred, then add to the pitcher. Chop your fruit first and shred your greens with a knife before adding to the blender. The more powerful the blender, the better it will handle larger chunks of fruit. If your blender isn’t top-of-the-line, then dice up the fruit and shred the greens adding a little at a time.

Use the pulse button to get things started. The pulse feature gives the ingredients in the pitcher a powerful nudge to get things going. It helps crush ice, break up large pieces, boost the speed and dislodge pieces of fruit that get stuck. Even the high-end Blendtec Total Blender uses variable speed presets for smoothies. Varying the blending speed helps deal with all of the shifting fruit and greens in a green smoothie. With my old blender, I’d hit the pulse button a few times to start, then run it on high. Sometimes I’d need to stop it half way through and pulse it a few times before running it on high again to finish blending.

Find a blender with a “tamper” tool. A “tamper” is tool specifically designed for (and should come with) your blender that allows you to push ingredients into the blades while the blender is running. It’s a wonderful thing to have if you make a lot of green smoothies. Unfortunately, very few department store blenders will come with one. Also, resist the temptation to use a kitchen utensil as a tamper. I once blended a fine mixing spoon that way!

You can, of course, stop your blender and push ingredients down with a kitchen spoon. Adding a little extra water is also helpful when blending becomes tough.

If upgrading your blender is not an option but you’re going nuts with the one you’ve got, then try these tips for smoother, stress-free smoothie making.

In the past nine months, I’ve put this powerful blender to work on daily green smoothies, soups, salsas, nut butters, sauces, raw ice creams and more. The counter indicates that it’s made 1588 blends since I purchased it. That’s about six blends per day!

I get a lot of questions about my Blendtec blender, so here’s a list of some top questions that I will answer with over nine months of experience using this product extensively.

Which is better, Vita-Mix or Blendtec?

I’ve written an extensive article on this a while ago that compares these two blenders in detail. I have used the Vita-Mix before and I have to say that I prefer the user experience of a Blendtec. I’m not a fan of the switch and dial interface on the Vita-Mix.

I almost purchased a Vita-Mix, but ended up with a Blendtec after watching a demo at Costco. After using a Vita-Mix a couple months later, I was so glad that I purchased the Blendtec.

Some of the things I really like about the Total Blender is it’s size, design and simplicity. The preset buttons are handy for blending up perfectly rich smoothies, soups or whatever you want with just one touch of a button. The blender runs it’s cycle and then it stops when the cycle is over. You can walk away and prepare something else. You can’t really do that on a Vita-Mix.

The manual “Pulse” button and the speed controls on the Blendtec Total Blender are responsive and precise. I’ve never had a problem getting what I want out of this blender and I’m a big control freak when it comes to manual settings.

Does Blendtec blend well without a tamper tool?

One of the greatest selling points with the Vita-Mix is their tamper tool which is used to safely push ingredients into the blades while the blender is running. It’s a great tool when you’re making a very leafy green smoothie or not adding any water. The Blendtec Total Blender does not come with a tamper tool, although you can purchase an aftermarket one on eBay for about $10.

In my experience, I haven’t wished I had a tamper tool for my Blendtec. The large blade and square pitcher design does, for the most part, just what the sales literature says. It pulls the ingredients into the blades with a powerful vortex. Occasionally, I will make a green smoothie with four or more large handfuls of greens and I’ll need to hit the “Pulse” button a few times before pressing the “Smoothie” button. On rare occasions, I’ll need to stop the blender and push the greens down into the blades or pick up the pitcher and give it a good shake. However, this is usually due to my laziness and over-cramming the blender.

The larger, 3-quart pitcher that is available through Blendec has a larger, 4-inch blade and handles more capacity. It out-blends a Vita-Mix and even a Blendtec with the standard sized jar. If you think you’ll be making a lot of smoothies with entire bunches or heads of greens (or you’re making smoothies for more than 2 people), I highly recommend opting for the larger pitcher. The standard pitcher, however, is definitely adequate and will get the job done well.

All in all, I’ve never wished Blendtec made a tamper tool and I never felt the need to get an aftermarket one on eBay…even though it’s just $10 and I use the standard sized pitcher.

Does it really make hot soup?

The Blendtec Total Blender heats soup with friction from blades that spin up to 300 miles per hour. There is no heating element in the blender. You should add warm water to the blender as it will heat it up further to a satisfactory, steamy soup by the end of the 90-second “Soup” cycle. If you put cold water in, you’ll have to run the “Soup” cycle twice to get hot soup. Based on the superior motor power and speed of the blade, I would say the Blendtec does a better job at heating soup.

Would you buy another Blendtec after using this one?

I would definitely purchase another Blendtec blender. In fact, I’d probably get the Tom Dickson Extreme Blender by Blendtec. It’s a blender with a ridiculously, delightfully powerful 20-amp, 2400 watt motor (the Total Blender has a 1500 watt motor, which is still super powerful). It costs a lot more but I’d be comfortable putting just about anything in that blender and knowing for sure that yes, it will blend!

Is the Blendtec Total Blender worth the cost?

At just under $400, the Blendtec Total Blender isn’t cheap, but it’s designed to be a professional-level blender that you will use regularly for a long, long time. It’s worth the price because it will make better smoothies, which leads to better nutrition and health. It also saves you a lot of time. You won’t spend so much time chopping fruit and greens before adding them (just throw large chunks in) and you won’t be “fighting” with it like you will with a cheap blender.

Cleanup is a breeze too. Just add some hot water and a drop of soap or a piece of fresh lemon and run the smoothie cycle. Thirty seconds later you have a clean, fresh-smelling blender pitcher with no disassembly required. On time savings alone, the cost of a Blendtec blender is worth it for me. I calculated that I save 182.5 hours a year using a Blendtec blender over my old blender.

Read more about the advantages to owning a high-powered blender.

Does The Blendtec Total Blender Really Make Better Smoothies?

Yes it does! An average blender that you get at a department store will have a 500-watt motor at best. The Blendtec Total Blender has a 1500-watt motor and a blade that spins much, much faster. This translates to richer, creamier smoothies with no chunks of fruit or bits of greens to get stuck in your teeth. You can blend pineapples, core and all. Add whole fruit, seeds and all. I can toss in whole flax or sesame seeds and even cacao nibs or beans and have them pulverized and thoroughly blended in a single 30-second smoothie blend cycle!

You won’t get a smoother, creamier green smoothie from any department store blender. Check out the Blendtec Total Blender for yourself and experience better green smoothies plus so much more.

Vita-Mix vs. Blendtec

Price: Vita-Mix and Blendtec are expensive blenders. Vita-Mix starts at $449 retail while Blendtec starts at $399. Street prices are slightly lower and I frequently see Vita-Mix machines just under $400. Blendtec has a price advantage over Vita-Mix in that $399 pays for everything you need to blend and grind wet and dry ingredients. Vita-Mix has a separate dry pitcher for grinding grains into flower and blending other dry ingredients which is sold separately, or included in an upgraded Vita-Mix package on their website.

Power/Speed: The Vita-Mix blender features a 2 peak horsepower motor that spins it’s blade at variable speeds from 11 mph (miles per hour) to 240 mph. The Blendtec blender boasts more power with a 3 peak horsepower, 1500 watt motor that spins it’s blade up to 300 mph according to the product video. While many people cite Blendtec’s greater horsepower as a sign of a better blender, Vita-Mix is no less capable of achieving the same results as the Blendtec. Basically, there’s no real difference between a 3 horsepower motor or a 2 horsepower motor when you’re blending up food items.

Warranty: Vita-Mix has a solid 7-year warranty that covers the “entire machine”. Blendtec comes with a 3 year warranty on the base and a lifetime warranty on the blade and coupling. When I purchased my Blendtec at Costco, I was given a free 4-year extended warranty card which I had to fill out and mail to Blendtec to extend my warranty to 7 years on the base only. So, as long as you get that warranty extension card, you’ll get a 7-year warranty on either blender, but it looks like Vita-Mix edges out Blendtec on total warranty coverage. However, your blade assembly on the Blendtec is covered for life.

Durability: Both Blendtec and Vita-Mix are high-end blenders designed to perform a variety of kitchen tasks. They are quite a step up from a $100 name-brand blender you’d pick up at a department store. Both blenders feature break-resistant, BPA-free copolyester pitchers, stainless steel blades and durably-built base. Both blenders will pulverize hard materials such as ice, frozen fruits, nuts, seeds, grains and coffee beans.

Dimensions: Blendtec has an advantage over Vita-Mix on size. Blendtec is shorter at 15-and-a-half inches tall with pitcher, which means that it can fit under most cabinets when placed on your kitchen counter. Blendtec machines are about the same size as a standard blender so you don’t need to make extra room for it, and it fits neatly into a small apartment kitchen, RV or other small space.

Vita-Mix is taller at 20-and-a-half inches with pitcher, so it will take up a little more space in your kitchen and might not be able to fit neatly under your cupboards. The width and depth dimensions on both blenders are pretty similar, but the Blendtec weighs 12 pounds vs. Vita-Mix at 10 pounds.

Pitcher: Both blenders feature a 64-ounce pitcher made from a durable, break-resistant copolyester (plastic). Unlike the Vita-Mix, the Blendtec blade is fused to the pitcher, so if the pitcher should need replacing, you’re also replacing the blade. Fortunately, a new Blendtec pitcher is fairly inexpensive and I have seen it on sale for under $60. Blendtec also has a 96-ounce pitcher for sale as well which will come in handy if you’re making smoothies for a whole family.

Interface – Buttons vs. Dials: The Vita-Mix features a switch and dial interface giving you precise, manual control of your blending. Unfortunately, one of the drawbacks to dials and switches is that they can be hard to clean. In contrast, Blendtec features a push-button interface which wipes clean easily. You can set speeds manually by pressing the “up” or “down” buttons. I find these buttons responsive and easy to use. Blendtec also features pre-programed buttons for smoothies, whole juices, soups, ice creams, milk shakes, etc.

The Tamper: Vita-Mix includes a tamper, which is like a plunger that pushes the ingredients down into the blades of the blender. It’s a great tool, especially when making green smoothies as large handfuls of leafy greens love to get caught in the pitcher, unreachable by the blades. Blendtec does not have a tamper attachment but instead boasts a square-pitcher and unique straight-blade design which they say makes a tamper unnecessary.

From my experience, fruit-only smoothies blend up in the Blendtec just fine without the need for a tamper. It does pull ingredients into the blades. However, green smoothies are a little more challenging. You can’t fill the pitcher halfway with greens, hit the “smoothie” preset button and walk away. Instead, I hit the “pulse” button a couple times before running the smoothie cycle on my Blendtec. Depending on how full I fill the pitcher or what my greens to fruit ratio is, I’ll have to push the greens down with a spoon after I hit “pulse” a couple times and before I run the smoothie cycle but not always. I can certaintly live without a tamper and I don’t feel that the Blendtec necessarily needs one for most green smoothies. But it would be nice if Blendtec made this attachment available to green smoothie addicts like myself. You can find a custom, aftermarket tamper for your Blendtec selling on eBay for under $10 including shipping.

Noise: The Vita-Mix appears to be slightly less noisy than the Blendtec, but I don’t think the Blendtec is unreasonably loud. It’s as loud if not maybe slightly quieter than my Cuisinart blender, and it takes a lot less time to make a smoothie than the Cuisinart.

Clean-Up: Both blenders are easy to clean. Simply add a little hot water and a drop of dish soap and run a blend cycle and you’re done. You can take the Vita-Mix pitcher apart since it has a removable blade. The Blendtec does not have a removable blade. Their straight-blade design makes it much easier to clean the pitcher, and the blade won’t be cut your fingers either. I love not having to take my blender apart to clean it!

The Blendtec’s square pitcher design also makes it easy to pour smoothies and scrape out thick, gloppy nut-butters or puddings. The pitcher is easy to wipe clean. One complaint I hear frequently about the Vita-Mix is that it can be difficult to remove ingredients caught beneath or around the blades in it’s narrowing, rounded pitcher design.

Blade: The Vita-Mix features a familiar, four-tipped blade. Blendtec has a single prong, wingtip straight blade.

Color/Design: The Vita-Mix 5200 (the most recent version) is a stylish blender that has an upscale appearance. It looks like serious business! It comes in black, white and red. The Blendtec Total Blender has a sleek, modern design. It’s not as retro-cool looking to me as the Vita-Mix, but my wife loves the sleek, modern design of the Blendtec Total Blender which is available in black, white, red and coffee.

Overall Online Support: While Blendtec has a wildly popular and entertaining “Will It Blend” marketing campaign on YouTube, Vita-Mix has an amazingly information-packed website that contains a forum, recipes, nutrition information and specific content catering to raw foodists, vegetarians and even babyboomers. The Vita-Mix website and recipe book features more healthy recipes than the Blendtec. However, I don’t feel that this is a reason to choose one machine over another. I just wish that Blendtec had more of a community feel like the Vita-Mix brand.

Performance: When it comes to making silky, rich smoothies, both blenders do a fantastic job. I can’t say that one outperforms the other when it comes to green smoothies. Both blenders break up cell walls, which unlocks the nutrition in fruit, vegetables and greens better than any other lower-powered blenders can. Both the Vita-Mix and the Blendtec can make smoothies, nut butters, hot soup, frozen ice cream, crush ice and grind grains.

So, Which Is The Best Blender?

Well, this is a subject of debate online. You might as well ask if a Mac is better than a PC or a Nikon camera better than a Canon camera. Basically, those who have a Blendtec love their blender, and those who have a Vita-Mix swear by it as well. I recommend that you look at the subtle differences between the two and see which one feels the best to you.

Personally, I have a Blendtec Total Blender and I love it. For Tracy and I, size was an issue and we liked the smaller form-factor of the Blendtec over the Vita-Mix. Aesthetically, Tracy preferred the Blendtec. Whether you choose the Vita-Mix or the Blendtec, I don’t think you will be disappointed at all.

What’s Your Vote?

Do you own a Vita-Mix or Blendtec blender? Post a comment below and let us know what you like or dislike about your blender!

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.

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.

Mid-range blenders in the $50-$120-plus range are generally well-equipped for making great smoothies. There are some features that high-end blenders have that make smoothie-making easier, but you can manage quite well with any of the name brand blenders in this dollar range provided they have the features described below.

The best blenders are high-end units from Vita-Mix or Blendtec and are amazing machines designed for heavy duty, daily use. These are professional appliances and you will enjoy using them as much as you enjoy making your healthy green smoothies! Unfortunately, a new Vita-Mix will cost around $400 or so, but it will likely be the very last blender you will ever need to purchase. Here is an in-depth comparison between Vita-Mix and Blendtec.

When it comes to choosing the best blender for your needs (smoothie making!), here are some suggestions for what to look for:

• Look for blenders with a wide, metal base for stability.
• The best blenders to use for smoothie-making should have a high powered motor with 500 watts or more. Ideally, you want way more than 500 watts. You are going to want a blender that can easily handle frozen fruit, berries and ice. You also want a high-powered blender to puree and liquefy a variety of ingredients to make a creamy, flavorful smoothie.
• I recommend finding a blender with a large, glass pitcher for scratch-resistant durability and easy cleaning. Plastic pitchers are prone to scratching and are not usually dishwasher-safe. (High-end blenders do come with plastic pitchers, however.)
• Touch pads are easier to clean than push buttons. My blender has touch pads on the base which make the buttons much easier to wipe off spilled residue.
• Some blenders come with a tamper attachment which is indispensable for pushing down leafy greens and larger chunks of fruit that can get caught in the pitcher above the blades. Trust me, if you spring a little extra for a blender with a tamper, you’ll have a much happier time making green smoothies!

In addition to a high speed blender, you might want to pick up an inexpensive coffee grinder to use for grinding flax or sesame seeds, fresh spices such as cinnamon or cacao beans and nibs for healthy, antioxidant-rich chocolate smoothies.

Purchase the best blender you can afford and enjoy the results – yummy, nutritious and health-enhancing green smoothies every day!

What Blender I Use

I use a Blendtec Total Blender. It has a powerful 1500 watt, 3 peak horsepower motor that blends the smoothies and also makes ice cream, salsas, sauces nut butters and so much more. I use it five or more times each and every day. I cannot say enough great things about my Blendtec. Find out more about the Blendtec Total Blender.