I’m the go-to person for friends and family when someone is in the market for a small appliance, and out of all of the appliances I get asked about, blenders are at the top of the list. Juicing and smoothies are as popular as ever, and when someone likes those types of drinks, I always recommend a high performance blender like Vitamix.
What’s the difference between a Vitamix blender and a standard blender? If I had to sum it up in a few words, I’d say speed and power. With a Vitamix you get a 2-peak horsepower motor that spins the blades at 240 miles per hour. Anything you put in the container is going to be pulverized at that speeds, so if your blender has ever struggled to blend almonds into your smoothies, you’re going to be blown away by the Vitamix.
What’s the difference between a Vitamix and a standard blender? If I had to sum it up in a few words, I’d say speed and power. With a Vitamix you get a 2-peak horsepower motor that spins the blades at 240 miles per hour. Anything you put in the container is going to be pulverized at that speed. If your blender has ever struggled to blend almonds into your smoothies, you’re going to be blown away by the Vitamix.
Vitamix makes it easy to choose a smoothie
Smoothies are one of the areas where the Vitamix really shines, and there are so many healthy smoothie recipes out there you can whip up in the Vitamix. You’ll find just a few of them on Vitamix fan websites and in the included Vitamix cookbook, and I’ve found several that have been my favourites for a few years now. Instead of having ice cream for a snack a night I opt for a choco-banana smoothie with a scoop of peanut butter powder. It tastes a lot like a peanut butter parfait, and it satisfies any cravings I have for hot fudge and peanuts.
Making healthy smoothies with a Vitamix blender is a great way to pack in essential nutrients and enjoy delicious, nutritious drinks. Here are some tips to create healthy smoothies with your Vitamix.
1. Choose fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables
There’s nothing as delicious as a smoothie made with fresh fruit. I like to pick strawberries from the garden and use them in summer smoothies, and I always enjoy blackberry smoothies in August. While fresh fruit is always delicious, you can also use frozen fruit in your Vitamix. Frozen fruit adds a nice icy texture to the smoothie that makes it even more refreshing on a hot day, and Vitamix is powerful enough to blast through frozen fruit and ice.
2. Don’t forget to drink your greens
If you’d like to give yourself a boost of vitamins and minerals, just add spinach, kale, or other leafy greens to your smoothie. Vitamix will blend the greens so smoothly you won’t even know they are in your drink. It’s a great way to get kids to drink their vegetables, and if you add a handful of strawberries or frozen mango, they won’t be able to taste it either.
3. Make your smoothie more filling by adding nuts
If you drink smoothies as a meal replacement, you can make it more filling by adding a healthy fat to your drink. You can choose peanut butter, almond butter, chia seeds, flax seeds, whole nuts, avocado, or your favourite type of nut powder. I like adding a scoop of peanut butter powder to my smoothie. It’s a lot easier to control the amount of fat you’re adding when you use powder, and it really fills me up when I’m hungry. If you’d like to you can also add whole nuts to a smoothie. I like to add almonds to my banana smoothie. The Vitamix crushes the almonds with such efficiency there are only tiny pieces in the drink.
4. Choose low fat milk or water
If you’d like to control the calories in your Vitamix smoothie you can opt for water, low fat milk, or a milk substitute like almond milk instead of yogurt as your smoothie base. Because it can blend so efficiently, your Vitamix smoothie will be just as substantial and satisfying as if you added yogurt or whole milk.
5. For the coldest smoothie, add ice last
A Vitamix has no problem crushing ice. If you’d like to add a cup of ice to your smoothie for the coldest drink possible, be sure to add it last. You don’t have to pre-crush your ice with a Vitamix. It can blend everything you add to the blender bucket, all at one time.
6. One smoothie or a bucket of smoothies?
Depending on what type of smoothie you like to drink, you can either blend your beverages individually in your Vitamix or make a blender bucket full. Some Vitamix blenders have self-detect containers so you can switch up your bucket size or use an individual blender cup. Just keep in mind that if you’re going to make several servings with fresh ingredients, you’ll want to drink your smoothies within 24 hours. If I make several servings I usually only keep my smoothies in the fridge for the day or until the next morning.
Smoothies are great for breakfast on the go too. I like to blend up a batch of smoothies and give them to my kids in to-go cups so they can take their breakfast with them while commuting to school. My Vitamix makes 3 teenager size drinks so everyone can have one.
What kinds of smoothies will you make in your Vitamix?
With these tips and a Vitamix blender, you’ll be able to make the best smoothies for you or your family. You’ll be surprised how creative you can get with just the ingredients in your fridge, and I love that Vitamix blends so smoothly your kids will be never know how healthy their delicious drink is.
You can find Vitamix right now at Best Buy.
