The Vita-Mix machine is the #1 commercial blending machine in the world.

It is an 88 year old company that was established in 1921. This machine is the #1 rated machine for one reason. Quality! When you purchase a Vita-Mix you purchase a machine that will last easily more that 20 years.

This one machine can perform the functions of over 10 machines.

• Juices (yet fiber is still maintained)
• Meat Grinder
• Grain Mill
• Nut Butter Grinder
• Food Processor
• Ice Cream / Sorbet Maker
• Blending
• Creates Hundreds of Hot Soup Recipes
• Fondue Maker
• Makes Milks like soy milk, almond milk, rice milk and etc.

Here are just a few data points to help you:

• Vitamix has been rated best in show ’07, ’08, and ’09 at the Gourmet Housewares Show • Vitamix has been rated number by comsumer magazines • Vitamix has been rated number one by its peers in the Food and Beverage industry • Vitamix is in over 62,000 commercial establishments world wide

We sell Vita-Mix machines directly from this site as well as letting you know when and where our next demos will take place.

Also linked to this site is Coach Scott Black's blog. On his blog, he highlights many health postings and details his personal journey towards becoming healthy and maintining financial freedom.

Enjoy and we look forward to working with you!

 

 Over the last 2 years I have been asked many questions from my Vita-Mix customers. I have answered these questions during my seminars but I have decided to compile these questions into one blog posting to help you further understand how to use your Vita-Mix machine.

Tip 1 - Cleaning your machine

Remember you will never need to remove your blades. Simply add about 2 cups of water and 1 drop of dishwashing liquid and spin on high speed for a few seconds. Rinse and dry.

Occasionally you will need to wash your machine with a cloth and disinfectant of your choice. Placing your canister in the dishwasher is not recommended. But if you do, please remember to turn off the "High Heat" dry cycle.

Tip 2 - Placement of fruits / vegetables in your machine

In any blending machine it is best to place liquids and softer items at the bottom of the container. The Vita-Mix is no exception but you do have one advantage over all other blending devices. Your Tamper Device. Because you can push elements into the blades, you can theoretically place fruits / vegetables in any order you like. But it will still be easier if you place softer items towards the bottom.

If you place elements properly you may never need to use your tamper. This trick comes with time and practice.

Tip 3 - Do i have to cut my fruit or vegetables before placing them in my machine

No you do not need to cut your fruits before placing them in the machine but once again your job will be easier if you do cut them. For instance in our demos we place whole apples in the canister to prove the power of the machine. But at home you can cut quarter the apple. This blends much quicker and easier.

Tip 4 - Skins, which ones to leave on and leave off

As a general rule most skins should / could be left on. Why? Well because there are important nutrients in skins. That being stated not all skins taste so good so here is the general guideline I use.

• Banana - NO - NASTY
• Orange - Mostly no - Very bitter
• Lemons / Limes - I leave them on most of the time - pink lemonade, lime sorbet etc.
  • Lemon ice I take off the lemon zest
• Melons - Most are okay, just remember melon rinds can change the flavor.
  • I do not recommend cantaloupe melon rinds as cantaloupes tend to hold fungus and molds more so than other rinds
• Garlic - Yes
• Onion - Yes
• Contact me or add a post for any other skins you may have a question for

Tip 5 - Washing your fruits / vegetables

All your fruits and vegetables should be washed regardless if they are organic or conventional. That being stated it is very important to wash your conventional elements. Most pesticides reside on the outer skins this is good news but was very well.

Note that some fruits and vegetables absorb pesticides. I will cover this in a later posting but know that strawberries definitely absorb pesticides so it is always best to purchase organic strawberries.

The best solution to clean your elements is: water, vinegar, baking soda - use a scrub brush

Tip 6 - Organic / Conventional

Big Subject! But yes it is best to ALWAYS go organic. When you cannot please make sure you WASH, WASH, WASH. Please remember to that not all organic labels are accurate or true. The industry is not highly regulated (which is a good thing) and not all companies are true to their word. This is why it is best to find local farmers and eat items that are local and in season. It is highly likely that out of season elements have been sprayed with something to keep them fresh during transit.

Wholefoods does a good job of keeping their growers honest. The Wholefoods teams go out to test farms on a normal basis.

More to come on this subject later.

Tip 7 -    Getting rid of the froth that appears during high speed blending

Unfortunately froth is going to appear. Not all fruits and veggies froth but those that do, froth because of oxidation.

Here is what  I do. After the high speed blending cycle do the following: turn the machine back on and spin the drink on the variable mode start at 1 and increase the speed until the juice / smoothie forms a whirlpool in the center. This will pull everything from the top down to the bottom and recirculation through the entire drink.

Tip 8 - How long can I store my juice / smoothie

We don't recommend storing any longer than 2 days but we do recommend ingesting your drinks immediately after blending.

The drink nutrient values do start to decline once the blending process occurs. Unfortunately the high speed blending process introduces oxygen and oxygenation into your drink. This starts the decay process almost immediately. I will create a new posting on this subject sometime later.

If you do store your drink, you may find that it will separate it during the storage process. When this happens you likely need to stir it either with a utensil or place it back into your machine and spin on low speed.

Tip 9 - Listening to your machine and understanding the sounds

From time to time you will hear different sounds coming from your Vita-Mix. The machine seems to have a life of its own! Embrace your machine and it will give you great pleasure for many years to come. Here is the breakdown of the sounds:

• High pitch scream - it has an air pocket and an upset stomach, you need to put something in its stomach by pushing the tamper into the machine and pushing the elements towards the blade. When it is filled it will stop screaming at you. Occasionally it reoccur especially when making ice cream or sorbets. No worries just fill the void again and it should not re-occur.
• Low pitch growl - this one usually scares most people but that means something wonderful and delicious is being made. It will growl at you when it has grabbed all of the elements and is doing a great job at churning your elements into ice cream, sorbet, nut butters, fondues, hummus and other frozen or thick mixtures. Let it growl and in usually nor more than 30 to 90 seconds it should be done creating the desired outcome.
• Normal loud whirr. - This is your machine humming along on high speed doing its job with normal elements like juices and smoothies. Life is good.

Tip 10 - How long should I spin my elements

It truly depends on what consistency you are looking for but here are the guidelines I follow.

• Nut butters - usually takes 90 to 120 seconds with a lot of tamper usage
• Hummus - 60 to 120 seconds
• Juice - depends on the fruit or veggies involved - usually anywhere from 60 seconds to 2 minutes. For instance hard elements like carrots take a full 2 minutes but bananas only take about 40 to 60 seconds.
  • Remember heat is being generated as you spin, thus use ice or frozen elements to keep your juice cool during the spinning process
• Smoothies - same guidelines as above while keeping the following in mind.
  • Hard seeds or heavily seeded items such as raspberries, seeded grapes, blackberries, pomegranates need more time to liquefy. Spin these element 90 seconds to 3 minutes.
  • Use your tamper to discover if the seeds have been liquefied.