After making raw peanut butter before in our Blendtec blender, we were anxious to try our own homemade almond butter.

Raw nut butters add healthy fat and omega-3′s to your diet. We like to smear small amounts on celery.

Raw Almond Butter Ingredients:

2 cups raw almonds
1/2 tablespoon olive oil (or your favorite oil)

Directions:

You can make almond butter in either a high-speed blender (we use a Blendtec) or a food processor with the “S” blade. Less than high-end blenders may be problematic with making a smooth nut butter.

I find that it is easiest to make nut butter in a food processor, but it takes some time – about 12 minutes. There is, however, a way you can make almond butter in less than a minute using your Blendtec blender, and I’ll show you how below.

Step one is to add the almonds and 1/2 tablespoon of oil to your food processor or high-speed blender. You can skip the oil if you are using a food processor, but I find that a little oil helps when making it in a blender.

If you are using a food processor (use the “S” blade), it’ll take about 12 minutes. You’ll have nut crumbs after about 4 minutes, thick and chunky nut butter(ish) by about 8 minutes and by 12 minutes, you’ll have thick and smooth nut butter. You will have to stop the food processor every few minutes to scrape stuff stuck on the sides.

If you are using a Blendtec or Vitamix blender, use a low speed. With my Blendtec, I start with #3. Once the almonds become a fine powder and begin sticking to the sides of the jar, stop the blend and scrape the mixture from the sides back into the blades. Resume your blend. Repeat as necessary. You will be stopping more frequently to scrape and stir the ingredients than you would in a food processor.

Make sure you don’t blend for too long. If the machine is getting warm, turn it off and wait for it to cool down. This is especially important if you are using a lower end blender.

Homemade almond butter is highly perishable (because it’s raw), so store it in a cool place out of direct sunlight and use it up within a week. We keep ours in the refrigerator.

Now, here is the easy way to make almond butter in less than one minute!

Make Almond Butter In Less Than One Minute With Blendtec’s New Twister Jar!

Almond butter takes up to 12 minutes to make in a food processor or high-speed blender. And you have to stop and scrape, stop and scrape, stop and scrape some more!

But there’s now a fantastic solution that allows you to make creamy, raw almond butter in less than one minute using your Blendtec blender! The new Blendtec Twister Jar is a compact pitcher and lid that is specially designed to prevent ingredients from sticking to the sides of the jar while blending.

You simply blend as you normally would and then twist the lid to move the special blades along the edges of the jar while blending. With the Blendtec Twister Jar, you no longer have to stop blending, scrape the sides and resume – over and over again.

We were sent a test pitcher and we’ve made almond butter in less than one minute! It’s so much easier than any other way I know of making it. If you make a lot of nut butters, hummus or small recipes like fresh baby food, raw ice cream, salsa, sauces, etc, then the Blendtec Twister Jar will save you a ton of time.

Just think, you’ll save about 11 minutes every single time you make nut butter!

You can get the Blendtec Twister jar starting on September 15, 2011. This jar is compatible with Blendtec Home blender models. Check it out here!

Another great thing the Blendtec Twister Jar does is make creamy, soft-serve-like banana ice cream! Because of the twister blades, it keeps the blended fruit from sticking to the sides and into the blades. Raw ice cream comes out much better and smoother in the Twister Jar than it does in the full size jars.

Find out more about the Blendtec Twister Jar and get your own today!

Thriving On Raw Foods

In order to thrive on the raw food diet, you need more than just nut butters, avocados and coconuts. While they might fill you up and satisfy your appetite, they can throw your diet (and health) off balance if over used. Many raw foodists eat too much fat, many eating up to 80% of their calories from fat!

Instead, base your diet on fresh fruits and vegetables and incorporate smaller amounts of healthy fats like fresh almond butter. My Thriving On Raw Foods program shows you how to get the right proportion of fats, fruits and vegetables. It’s a 21-day transition plan that provides a ton of recipes, daily meal plans and expert advice for planning a raw food diet that can work long term. Find out how to avoid health problems on the raw food diet and start thriving today!

A new Blendtec Total Blender starts at $434.95 retail. I consider that a small price to pay when it comes to quality, enhanced nutrition, time savings and expanded culinary horizons when it comes to green smoothies and raw foods. (You can use your Blendtec blender for far more than just smoothies!)

Now there are a few things you can do to get this blender cheaper.

One option is to take advantage of Blendtec’s 3-pay plan. Basically, you buy the blender using your credit card and pay one third up front with the other two payments automatically billing 30 days and 60 days later. This allows you to get a brand new, high quality blender with a full 7-year warranty for smaller monthly payments.

Another option is to consider purchasing one of their factory reconditioned models. These blenders are factory reconditioned by Blendtec and are guaranteed to work like new. They are also covered under warranty and the price starts at $384.95. That’s a $50 savings.

Don’t be afraid of refurbished or factory reconditioned items. I routinely buy factory reconditioned for the significant cost savings. In fact, the laptop I am typing on right now is factory reconditioned and it has worked splendidly with heavy use over the past 9 months! It also cost a lot less than the full retail price.

I strongly recommend purchasing your new Blendtec blender directly through Blendtec or an authorized retailer. Of course, you can check out deals on used blenders on Ebay, but keep in mind that you are purchasing a used blender without a warranty. Not every manufacture allows warranties to be transferred so be wary of warranty purchases on Ebay, especially if they are third-party contracts.

Also, Blendtec recently increased their warranty coverage to 7 years, so older blenders may not qualify for the new 7 year warranty.

Older models of the Blendtec Home blender can also be found on various retail websites on the web. These usually start at $399, which is just slightly cheaper than purchasing the very latest model directly from Blendtec. The newest Blendtec Total Blenders (FourSide and WildSide) have upgraded features and smarter touchpad settings that I feel provide a better user experience than an older, outdated model.

Find out more about the why we love and recommend Blendtec Total Blenders or go ahead and get your own today.

Still cant afford a Blendtec? Find out why we recommend the less expensive, but very powerful JTC OmniBlend V 3 HP blender.

“I bought a $20 blender from Target and began blending green smoothies. I really enjoy them but I am wondering how do I reduce the foam (bubbles) that forms on top? I’m not sure if the reason I get the foam is because it is a cheaper blender, fruit/veggie choice, or something else. I can easily pour or scoop the foam out but wanted to know if there was a way to prevent this?” – Jazmine

Jazmine, I’m afraid your foamy green smoothies might be caused by your $20 blender. It sounds like what is happening is that your blender is somehow sucking air into your smoothie and these air bubbles are causing the foam to appear.

Another possible cause might be that you have too much liquid in your blender and it’s whipping the ingredients with the air in the pitcher to make a frothy drink.

What I would do is this:

In your next smoothie, be sure to use a good base fruit like banana or mango. Add no more than 4-6 ounces of water (if using two bananas) and steer clear of watery fruit like citrus, watermelon and grapes. If your smoothie turns out frothy, it’s probably your blender design.

If your smoothie comes out normal, then you were probably adding too much liquid.

My only concern about using a blender that makes foamy smoothies that are filled with air bubbles is that you are oxidizing your fruit and greens during the blending cycle. Of course, oxidation is inevitable when you chop fruit and even chew it, but a blender that sucks too much air into the pitcher to create bubbles is, in my view, over-oxidizing the food. This can lead to a slight decrease in nutrient content, but I wouldn’t say it’s detrimental to your health.

If you can swing it, I highly recommend getting a high-end blender, especially if you are committed to making green smoothies a daily part of your life. Even though they are a bit pricy, they are worth it and then some.

I use the Blendtec Total Blender and it’s my main kitchen appliance.

Do you have a question about green smoothies, raw foods, health and nutrition? Just ask using our contact form!

Find more answers.

We couldn’t imagine our life without this blender. We thought we knew how great a green smoothie was when we made it with our old department store blender. Our first blend with the Blendtec proved to us just how good a green smoothie can be when it’s made in a high-end blender.

The Blendtec Total Blender has some pretty AMAZING features:

• POWERFUL 1560 watt, 3 peak horsepower motor for rich, creamy green smoothies!
• One-touch buttons with pre-programmed blend cycles (it’s got one for smoothies!)
• 64 or 96-ounce BPA-free pitcher made from a durable, break-resistant copolyester (plastic).
• Weighs just 7 pounds. 7″ wide, 15″ tall and 8″ deep” (will fit under most cabinets on kitchen counters or in a suitcase!)
• Available in black, white and red.
• Seven-year warranty.

Some of the AMAZING smoothies we’ve made with our Blendtec blender!

5 Reasons Why We Love Can’t Live Without Our Blendtec Blender

Better Quality Smoothies: You’ve all heard the saying, “you get what you pay for.” Blenders are no exception. Our Blendtec Total Blender whips up the creamiest, richest and smoothest green smoothies day after day after day.

Davy and I EACH make one or two green smoothies each day. In our old blender, the leafy greens didn’t blend up as well and we had to finely chop our fruit and greens. Needless to say, our smoothies were not very creamy – we had to sip and chew them!

We were both amazed at how creamy our smoothies were in the Blendtec! We could even blend up frozen berries, tough pineapple core and kale greens with no problem.

Besides green smoothies, we make sun-dried tomato marinara sauce, salsa, warm vegetable soups, ice cream, nut butters and more!

Time Savings: We noticed very quickly that it wasn’t taking as long to make our smoothies in the Blendtec Total Blender. Davy, being very analytical, added up the amount of time we usually spent making green smoothies and timed that by a year. He figured out that we actually saved 182.5 hours per year making green smoothies with our easy to use, easy to clean Blendtec than we did in a cheaper blender!

When we first bought our Blendtec blender, I was working full time and my mornings were already planned to the minute. Saving even 5 minutes would have been nice! Clean-up is also a lot easier and quicker. I don’t have five pieces I have to take apart and wash. All I have to do is take the top off, add some warm water and a drop of dish soap, push one of the pre-set blend cycle buttons and wait for it to finish. It’s great!

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 the Blendtec Total Blender.

Less Waste: The Blendtec has a high-speed motor, so it can puree things you might not be able to blend in a regular blender. I regularly blend pineapple cores and seeds in my smoothies now. The Blendtec blendes it all up into a creamy smoothie.

Longer Life: We use our Blendtec extensively on a daily basis. Not only do we enjoy a dependable, durable blender that will last us many years (perhaps a lifetime), we also get a 7-year warranty that outlasts our old blender’s total expected operation life.

We’ve put 3200 blends on it in just 18 months. That’s equivalent to a smoothie per day for 8.7 years!

Incredible Smoothies would not be possible without our Blendtec blender!

Are you tired of being frustrated by fighting with your current blender every time you make a green smoothie?

Do you want richer, thicker, creamier green smoothies that don’t have bits of unblended fruit or greens?

Do what we did and make an investment in your health and give a Blendtec blender a prominent place in your kitchen!

In the past nine months, I’ve put this powerful blender to work on a lot of tasty creations.

• Daily green smoothies
• Soups
• Salsas
• Nut butters
• Sauces
• Raw, vegan 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 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.
• You’ll get 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!

Does Blendtec blend well without a tamper tool?

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.

If you get the WildSide or upgrade to the WildSide pitcher, you won’t need a tamper. Not even for green smoothies made with lots of greens. I simply stuff my pitcher full, hit the “Smoothie” button and watch in amazement as my smoothie makes itself. No tamper needed.

The basic FourSide pitcher does a great job too. It’s doesn’t handle green smoothies with the same ease as the WildSide pitcher does, but it certainly does the job and you won’t feel the need to use a tamper. Simply hit the “Pulse” button a couple times, then hit the “Smoothie” button.

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?

YES!! 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.

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!

Vitamix vs. Blendtec

Price: Vitamix and Blendtec are expensive blenders. Vita-Mix starts at $449 retail while Blendtec starts at $435. Street prices are slightly lower and I frequently see Vita-Mix machines just under $400. Blendtec has a price advantage over Vitamix in that $435 pays for everything you need to blend and grind wet and dry ingredients. Vita-Mix has a separate dry pitcher for grinding grains into flour and blending other dry ingredients which is sold separately, or included in an upgraded Vitamix package on their website.

Power/Speed: The Vitamix blender features a 2 peak horsepower motor that spins its blade at variable speeds from 11 mph (miles per hour) to 240 mph. The Blendtec blender boasts more power with a 3 peak horsepower, 1560 watt motor that spins its 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, Vitamix 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: Vitamix has a solid 7-year warranty that covers the “entire machine”. Blendtec also comes with a 7-year warranty with the option to extend it to 10 years! When I purchased my Blendtec at Costco several years ago, 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. Blendtec now offers a full 7-year warranty which puts it on even ground with Vitamix in this category.

Durability: Both Blendtec and Vitamix 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 Vitamix 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.

Vitamix 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. Vitamix at 10 pounds.

Pitcher: Both blenders feature a 64-ounce pitcher made from a durable, break-resistant copolyester (plastic). Unlike the Vitamix, 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 (WildSide) for sale as well which will come in handy if you’re making smoothies for a whole family.

Interface – Buttons vs. Dials: The Vitamix 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 new Blendtec Designer Series blenders features a “touch user interface”. There are no buttons to press. Simply touch the lighted icons on the interface to activate the pulse and blending cycles, or to turn off and on. A wicked cool slider bar allows you to speed up or slow down your blend by simply sliding your finger left or right. The control is precise and responsive. It is pretty cool!

The Tamper: Vitamix 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.

The larger Blendtec WildSide pitcher (3 quart with 4 inch blade) renders a tamper tool unnecessary. I’m amazed at how I can pack the pitcher full of fruit and greens, then hit the smoothie button and in 30 seconds have a rich, creamy smoothie. Nothing gets stuck. I don’t have to stop and push it down or give it a shake. I don’t even have to hit the “Pulse” button first. It is absolutely worth it to get the WildSide pitcher for green smoothie making.

When I use the standard Blendtec pitcher (FourSide), I usually need to hit the “pulse” button a couple times before running the smoothie cycle. Depending on how full I fill the pitcher or what my greens to fruit ratio is, I might have to push the greens down with a spoon or give the pitcher a shake after I hit “pulse” a couple times and before I run the smoothie cycle but not always. Keep in mind that I regularly stuff an entire head of romaine lettuce or up to 4-5 cups of kale (large, whole leaves).

Again, if you are serious about making a daily green smoothie, I would recommend getting the WildSide pitcher.

Noise: The Vitamix 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 old Cuisinart blender, and it takes a lot less time to make a smoothie than the Cuisinart. The new Blendtec Designer Series blender is slightly quieter than the standard Blendtec Classic Series.

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 Vitamix 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 Vitamix is that it can be difficult to remove ingredients caught beneath or around the blades in its narrowing, rounded pitcher design.

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

Color/Design: The Vitamix 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 Vitamix, but my wife loves the sleek, modern design of the Blendtec Total Blender which is available in black, white and red.

The Blendtec Designer Series blender has a very sleek, modern design with a lighted “touch user interface”. It looks and feels modern and high-tech.

Overall Online Support: While Blendtec has a wildly popular and entertaining “Will It Blend” marketing campaign on YouTube, Vitamix 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 Vitamix 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 Vitamix 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 Vitamix and the Blendtec can make smoothies, nut butters, hot soup, frozen ice cream, crush ice and grind grains.

Made In The USA: Both Blendtec and Vitamix are made in the USA.

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 Vitamix 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 Vitamix. Aesthetically, Tracy preferred the Blendtec. Whether you choose the Vitamix or the Blendtec, I don’t think you will be disappointed at all.

What’s Your Vote?

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

Okay, You’ve Chosen A Blender – Now What?

It’s time to put that blender to good use! I’d like to show you how I lost up to 40 pounds with green smoothies. I’d like to show you how you can increase your energy, detox and actually look forward to getting your 5+ servings of fruit and vegetables every single day – without having to eat boring salads or chomping on celery sticks.

Our Green Smoothie Health program features over 100 delicious smoothie recipes that target specific health goals you might have. Whether you want to lose weight, recover from a head cold faster (or not get one to begin with), improve your love life, boost your workout performance, enhance your creativity and more, we’ve got a recipe for you. You’ll also get expert tips and advice as well as answers to over 100 questions about green smoothies, health and nutrition.

The Green Smoothie Health program helps you kickstart a new, healthier lifestyle. Try it today!.

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 Vitamix 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 Vitamix 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 Vitamix 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 Vitamix 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.

Are you thinking about upgrading to a Blendtec? Check out my Frequently Asked Questions About My Blendtec Total Blender post.