Author Topic: Vitamix + Vegetable and Fruit Off-Cuts= Mustachian Supplements!  (Read 9441 times)

beav80

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First Post!  I've been reading the blog for a while.

Being the proud and frequent user of a Vitamix blender I always try to find ways to use it/be very cheap.

Highlights include:
One purchase of ice cream in the last eight months (for guests) because you can make it at home
No nut butter purchases (delicious with coconut butter as a starter to keep the blades moving and you can mix nuts)
Coleslaw (no more grating)

Coleslaw results in a carroty-cabbage liquid that you need to do something with.  I always decide to down it because I don't like to waste vegetables and/or nutrients.

Other downable, frugal concoctions include the leftover cuts from a plate of crudites.  I just had celery tops and the ends of carrots, the stalk of a head of cauliflower and added some kelp for good measure.

You can go any way with this but I think I'll keep some fruit rinds and other fruit bits and pieces to try that.

I also will grab a leaf or two of kale, a few bits of broccoli, a handful of spinach, and other things to throw in to a morning witches' brew that I take.

This is the cheap way to "supplement" your diet, though I do include a few other things as well that cost money like Greens powders, etc.

Be cheap, be healthy, buy a Vitamix (if you'll use it... and are out of debt).

reverend

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Re: Vitamix + Vegetable and Fruit Off-Cuts= Mustachian Supplements!
« Reply #1 on: May 21, 2012, 03:06:47 PM »
I had a similar idea and looked into juicers. None of them rate really well and then my mom told me that they were crap and to just throw stuff in the blender and if you don't like chunks, run it through a coffee filter or cheese cloth and you have 'clean' juice.

She was right.

velocistar237

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Re: Vitamix + Vegetable and Fruit Off-Cuts= Mustachian Supplements!
« Reply #2 on: May 21, 2012, 05:47:49 PM »
Can't you just eat the stuff straight? Does a Vitamix really make it more appealing to consume? I've heard people rave about it, and I hear they have a lifetime guarantee, but it's a $400 blender.

AJ

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Re: Vitamix + Vegetable and Fruit Off-Cuts= Mustachian Supplements!
« Reply #3 on: May 21, 2012, 06:06:31 PM »
Can't you just eat the stuff straight? Does a Vitamix really make it more appealing to consume? I've heard people rave about it, and I hear they have a lifetime guarantee, but it's a $400 blender.

Kinda, yeah. The OP mentioned crudites - if they've gone a bit soft they might be unpalatable to eat straight, but could be added to smoothies or "liquid salads". But that really doesn't save enough money to justify the cost. It really depends on your diet. We bought a VitaMix after we burned out the motor on our third blender. Over its lifespan, if we kept ruining blenders at that rate, it will be a wash financially, but I'll get to use a wicked awesome blender in the meantime, and I don't have to deal with the hassle of replacing it if it breaks. The warranty was really the selling point for us. But then, we use it daily. I don't expect most people use their blender that often. I don't think I would actively encourage people to buy a $400 blender. If you are using a blender THAT much, you already know who you are.

I had a similar idea and looked into juicers. None of them rate really well and then my mom told me that they were crap and to just throw stuff in the blender and if you don't like chunks, run it through a coffee filter or cheese cloth and you have 'clean' juice.

She was right.

Really?!? I'll have to try this...

beav80

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Re: Vitamix + Vegetable and Fruit Off-Cuts= Mustachian Supplements!
« Reply #4 on: May 21, 2012, 07:33:59 PM »
Can't you just eat the stuff straight? Does a Vitamix really make it more appealing to consume? I've heard people rave about it, and I hear they have a lifetime guarantee, but it's a $400 blender.

I'll honestly never look back.  This thing's a gold mine and I make a lot of smoothies, bean dips, soups, and chop vegetables in this thing.  Also, I don't know if you saw from the original post but this thing make ICE CREAM.  I made blueberry ginger ice cream and could cut back the sugar a bit because that's how I roll.  I make frozen yogurt with frozen berries and yogurt.  I make almond butter... I need to sell these things.

All kidding aside, the leafy part of celery, the bottoms of carrots, the outside, crappy leaf of a head of cabbage after a week or more in the fridge, wilted lettuce, the stalks of kale, broccoli, and cauliflower, the rinds of citrus, apple skins (on the rare occasion you have to peel them) can be used in vegetable stocks but in the summer I just like to blend them up and down them.  A lot of fibre, vitamins, and beneficial micronutrients we haven't even identified are a welcome addition to almost anyone's diet and it cuts back on waste.

mm1970

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Re: Vitamix + Vegetable and Fruit Off-Cuts= Mustachian Supplements!
« Reply #5 on: May 26, 2012, 11:52:02 AM »
I have a Blendtec (similar to Vitamix).  LOVE it.  My neighbor didn't understand the need for a $400 blender until she borrowed mine.

Do you NEED one?  No.  But if you use it a lot, it's worth its weight in gold.

shedinator

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Re: Vitamix + Vegetable and Fruit Off-Cuts= Mustachian Supplements!
« Reply #6 on: May 26, 2012, 05:29:20 PM »
Can't you just eat the stuff straight? Does a Vitamix really make it more appealing to consume? I've heard people rave about it, and I hear they have a lifetime guarantee, but it's a $400 blender.

We use slightly modified Vitamixes at work. I don't really see a significant difference between them and a regular blender. I guess it's rated for heavier use (after all, we make around 100 drinks/day in it @ work), and the life time warranty is nice, but like anything else, it's not suddenly going to make you blend things more frequently than you already do. My wife and I bought a knock-off version of the Magic Bullet for $20 about 4 years ago, and it's still going strong for those rare occasions when we use it. So if you do a lot of blending, get a quality machine, like a Vitamix, that's going to last a while. If you don't do much blending, just replace the word "vitamix" with "blender" in the recipe, and prepare the food accordingly.

HeidiO

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Re: Vitamix + Vegetable and Fruit Off-Cuts= Mustachian Supplements!
« Reply #7 on: May 28, 2012, 03:45:31 PM »
My vitamix makes perfect frozen margaritas everytime. 
Heidi

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Re: Vitamix + Vegetable and Fruit Off-Cuts= Mustachian Supplements!
« Reply #8 on: July 11, 2012, 09:20:21 PM »
Ahh a subject that is near and dear to me.  Just wanted to chime in and say that the Vitamix is a game changer for healthy cooking.  I like to make soups in mine and also smoothies on most mornings.   One thing though.  The warranty is for 7 years not lifetime.  I just recently sent mine in for service.  After three years of daily use the bearings were shot.  They replaced the thing with no questions asked.  The only problem was that it took about two weeks to get in back causing me to go through Vitamix withdrawal.  I borrowed my inlaw's standard blender and I couldn't believe the difference.  I've heard great things about the blendtec as well.

GW

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Re: Vitamix + Vegetable and Fruit Off-Cuts= Mustachian Supplements!
« Reply #9 on: July 12, 2012, 06:53:20 AM »
Can't you just eat the stuff straight? Does a Vitamix really make it more appealing to consume? I've heard people rave about it, and I hear they have a lifetime guarantee, but it's a $400 blender.

YES!! My Vitamix made an enormous change in my diet for the better. I eat many, many more fruits and green vegetables now by making green smoothies. I don't like eating greens straight on a regular basis, but when they're blended with fruit, I have greens almost every day. A strong blender will make the smoothie perfectly smooth, which is NOT the case with, say, a Magic Bullet. I tried to make a green smoothie in one and it was like drinking lawn clippings. Gag. I've lost weight too, which is always a bonus.

I can't rave enough about my Vitamix. I didn't think I'd use as much as I do -- I rarely used a blender before the Vitamix, but now I blend at least 4-5 times a week.
« Last Edit: July 12, 2012, 06:57:50 AM by GW »

Nephi

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Re: Vitamix + Vegetable and Fruit Off-Cuts= Mustachian Supplements!
« Reply #10 on: July 19, 2012, 04:27:25 PM »
So how do you make icecream with a vitamix? Is it possible to do it the same way, how ever that is, with a regular blender? I've been looking into making homemade ice cream but all the recipes I've seen so far have called for heavy cream, which I have not been able to find cheaply.

Scuba Stache

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Re: Vitamix + Vegetable and Fruit Off-Cuts= Mustachian Supplements!
« Reply #11 on: July 20, 2012, 03:40:52 PM »
Also a great way to add some iPhone to your diet.... "Will it blend?"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qg1ckCkm8YI


watzzupsport

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Re: Vitamix + Vegetable and Fruit Off-Cuts= Mustachian Supplements!
« Reply #12 on: October 06, 2012, 09:18:07 PM »
Yes a $400 price tag is a the ouch point for mustachian ethics of frugality and the concept of  a 4 cylinder as compared to a 6 but you do not buy a Honda civic to haul timber to a job site each day.

 Replace the brand name of the blender with the specific job you need to do and it makes better sense.  There are various arrangements of horsepower/wattage that will do the job as long as you do not want to blend iPhones and sneakers regularly

beav80

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Re: Vitamix + Vegetable and Fruit Off-Cuts= Mustachian Supplements!
« Reply #13 on: October 07, 2012, 07:54:10 AM »
So how do you make icecream with a vitamix? Is it possible to do it the same way, how ever that is, with a regular blender? I've been looking into making homemade ice cream but all the recipes I've seen so far have called for heavy cream, which I have not been able to find cheaply.

I make ice cream with a vitamix.  It's good but you need to eat the ice cream right away.  The vitamix is just better/lasts longer than other blenders.  If you want to buy something that's not as good you might be able to do some of the things for some of the time, but if you get the vitamix you can do quite a bit and resell the thing for a lot more of the total price than a regular blender.  That's why I made the plunge.  I use mine everyday so I feel it's worth it.

TomTX

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Re: Vitamix + Vegetable and Fruit Off-Cuts= Mustachian Supplements!
« Reply #14 on: October 22, 2012, 09:29:36 PM »
The 7 year warranty kills it for me.

Then again, I don't blend THAT much and have had the same $40 blender for 5 years.

kkbmustang

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Re: Vitamix + Vegetable and Fruit Off-Cuts= Mustachian Supplements!
« Reply #15 on: October 23, 2012, 07:31:57 PM »

Coleslaw results in a carroty-cabbage liquid that you need to do something with.  I always decide to down it because I don't like to waste vegetables and/or nutrients.


Put it in carrot bread or carrot muffins. That would be delicious.

twa2w

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Re: Vitamix + Vegetable and Fruit Off-Cuts= Mustachian Supplements!
« Reply #16 on: October 24, 2012, 04:49:45 PM »
Ice Cream in the Vitamix - strawberry - just one of many varieties
put 1 cup of milk in vitamix (I use coconut milk or almond milk- you can use a heavier cream if you like.
Add a 1/4 to 1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 to 1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 pound of frozen straw berries( I often use frozen mango chunks instead and skip the sugar)
put lid on and plunger in.
Turn on and crank up to full speed then flip to high.
Plunge until you hear the motor changing sounds and the ice cream forms mounds - usually less than 1 minute.
Scoop out and serve.
Most blenders are not powerfull enough to blend the frozen berries quickly enough and mix them in.

TomTX

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Re: Vitamix + Vegetable and Fruit Off-Cuts= Mustachian Supplements!
« Reply #17 on: October 24, 2012, 05:22:43 PM »
This is a kinda soft-serve texture, right?

That's why my blender ends up with. Strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, whatever looks good in the frozen fruit area.

offroad

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Re: Vitamix + Vegetable and Fruit Off-Cuts= Mustachian Supplements!
« Reply #18 on: November 20, 2012, 10:34:13 AM »
I had a similar idea and looked into juicers. None of them rate really well and then my mom told me that they were crap and to just throw stuff in the blender and if you don't like chunks, run it through a coffee filter or cheese cloth and you have 'clean' juice.

She was right.

have to agree.  own a juicer, and nevr use it at all.  it just clogs up too easy.