Bit the bullet

As you know, one of the main reasons I love the state fair so much is because I love to walk through the Expo Center and check out all the new gadgets. And every year I stand in front of the VitaMix demonstrator in longing, nudging Derrick to just let me buy it already. And every year we walk away, Dixie cup of tortilla soup and smoothie in hand, to see the dryer balls and steam mops (which I also long for!) and drink my misery away.

When our Costco opened last year VitaMix was there, doing a road show. Two of my friends have bought VitaMixes in the past couple of months and have been praising its glory, as if all the Amazon reviews weren’t enough for me. And yet my kitchen remained VitaMix-less.

I wanted to whip up delicious soups, smoothies, green drinks, ice cream, sauces and more. I wanted the high power of commercial blenders. I wanted high quality appliances. And so I put it on every wish list I had. Christmas, birthday, whatever. I was going to get my VitaMix one way or another.

And then I went to Costco last Monday.

Blendtec was doing a weeklong demonstration this time. I’d heard of the Blendtec before and my favorite food blogs use it but I’d never seen it in action and besides, what could possibly be better than my beloved coveted VitaMix? One 10 minute demo from Jim and I was totally sold. VitaWho?

I went home to do a little research. Seems like everything Jim told me was pretty much true. VitaMix and Blendtec are probably the top 2 high end blenders out there, and I don’t really think you can go wrong with either, (shoot, if someone gave me a VitaMix, I’d sure as heck take it!) but for me, the Blendtec just seemed like a better fit, and I’ll tell you why.

• It’s shorter. Sitting at 15.5’, it sits well underneath upper cabinets, which are usually 17” from the counter. The VitaMix is 20.5”. This was probably my #1 convincing factor. If it’s not going to fit on my counter, I will never use it.
• It will grind grains such as wheat, oats, rice in the same pitcher. VitaMix requires a separate dry blade container to grind grains, which means an extra $100+. Since I do not already own a wheat grinder yet have pounds of wheat stored in my basement, this was a definite bonus. As a side note, my SIL who is a wheat grinding extraordinaire, said the Blendtec grinds wheat faster than her electric wheat grinder.
• The blade is two-pronged as opposed to 4-pronged. This means that if you are blending sticky or pasty foods you can get it out easier. No more wasted product stuck to the bottom of the blender that you can’t get out.
• The pitcher has square sides with no indentations for food to get stuck on, again reducing waste.
• Preset functions. There are 6 preset buttons with 14 different types of foods that have been preprogrammed to cycle at different speeds and for different amounts of time. No need to turn a dial or increase speed manually. I literally put everything in and walk away and it does it all for me.
• Those buttons sit flush to the base and are sealed with a membrane. No food to get stuck in between buttons or dials. And since I’m a little anal about cleaning in between cracks and crevices this is perfect for me.
• No plunger/damper to mess with and push my food down. The Blendtec does it all by itself!
• The nifty counter. It tells you how many times you’ve used it! Not super useful, but I love knowing stuff like that. We bought it on Saturday and used it 10 times!
• Cheaper! At only $349 at Costco it was a great deal less than the VitaMix I wanted with the three presets from Williams-Sonoma.

So there you have it. Of course they both do an amazing job at blending, especially frozen foods and whole fruits. I haven’t regretted my decision once, and can’t wait to use it even more!! If you want to try it, just come on over and we’ll have a smoothie party!

Summer has definitely been enjoying her “drinks” in the morning…can you tell??