Premium Blend

I think that I've told you about my father being a health nut. Well, several years ago, when we lived together, he would make protein shakes/smoothies about 3 times a day. (Talk about a liquid diet.) The problem we had was that his constant use of the product burned the motor out within the year. A burned motor smells similar to burnt hair with burnt plastic mixed in. I can still remember the smell as it seems he went through about 3 of them before we re-thought our process. We both go to Costco and the last one of those we decided to get there because they have a great return policy. During the return, they had someone in the store showing off the Vita-mix and it was a no-brainer purchase.



Sure it is a bit more costly. Feel free to go to the above link to see the video samples they have up there. Essentially, it's industrial grade as it is used in TCBYs, Dairy Queens, Applebees... actually there is a long list but I don't remember them all. The 2 HP motor creates enough friction to pulverize almost anything that gets put in there (and has a variable rate for chopping, shredding, etc.) as well as boil water. (really) Ever had something in the blender sticking to the sides and you couldn't push some of the stuff toward the blades? I tried to fix that with a spoon or two and regretted every attempt. The tamper they give you reaches close to the blades but not far enough to interfere allowing you to push ice and other solids toward the bottom to be mixed when necessary. You could even purchase an add-on to allow you to make bread dough (from whole grain.) Dad got pretty creative with his concoctions as he would put his protein powder, juice, peanut butter, berries, flax seed oil and many other things in. And they didn't taste bad at all. So I vowed to purchase one for myself when I got my own house.



Those blenders have been on my mind for years now. They tend to be cheaper during these sales events at the store ($350 as opposed to $449 on the site) so I've been on the lookout for the last few years. Heck, I think I even stared at one that Teri and Lloyd had. I told my friend T.J. that if he saw one on sale when he goes to Costco to call me and let me know. So last week, I had to run to the store with Kerry and after turning the corner from frozen foods... there they were. David drank one sample there quickly and we both wound up having one of the berry ice cream samples (cabbage and carrots were hidden in the mix but tasted great.) I looked at this as a sign that this was the time to purchase it (as a pre-wedding gift to ourselves.) It is sitting at Kerry's house right now and has been through one experiment already. Frozen strawberries, a banana and broccoli (which was David's idea). From the first test, a whole banana is too much. I expect we will have a lot of time to create a favorite or two. Thankfully it comes with some starter recipes.