Vita-Mix - Must Have Gadget for Every Healthy Kitchen

I have been using the Vita-Mix blender for several years now. I actually use it every single day in some capacity. I even take it on vacation! I have made hundreds of smoothies, green juices, sorbets, ice cream, soup, salsa, cookie dough, tomato sauce, almond milk, hemp seed milk, cobbler, key lime pie filling, and even pie crust. I could never go back to using a regular blender after having this machine. I have found that I don't even need a food processor or a juicer anymore. I use my Vita-Mix so much that it rarely gets put away because I always need it for something!

Because healthy foods are so easy to make it is just plain easy to eat healthier in general. Instead of baking an elaborate and not so healthy meal you whip up a veggie soup (the Vita-Mix warms it for you) or a green smoothie with dark leafy greens and fresh fruit. Veggies and greens can be disguised easily as you blend with other foods so getting your children to eat their veggies becomes a snap too. If I had to recommend one thing to a person who was ill, malnourished, overweight, or generally in poor health the Vita-Mix, would be it.

If my house were on fire and all my loved ones were out, I would grab my camera and my Vita-Mix!

So how versatile is the Vita-Mix? Is it JUST a blender?

The right equipment can make healthy eating a breeze. In fact the Vita-Mix performs such a wide variety of kitchen tasks that it is one of the only appliances you'll need to prepare the most delicious and nutritious meals in your kitchen!

Hot or Cold Soup, Sorbet, Ice Cream, Smoothies, Alcoholic Beverages, Pudding, Pesto, Tomato Sauce, Fruit Preserve, Fruit and Veggie Juices, Dough, Ground Flour, Nut Butter, Salsa, Guacamole, Fondue,Frozen Coffee Drinks, Hummus, Coleslaw, Tahini, Syrups, Nut and Seed Milks, Gravy, Salad Dressing, Pureed Baby Food, Homemade Popsicle Filler, Scrambled Eggs, Batter, Hot Cereal, Natural Facial Products, Spreads, Dips, and Pates, Mayonnaise, Chopped Veggies Marinade, Whipped Cream, Homemade Butter, Marzipan, And more....

Smoothies can be a mom's best friend. Why? There are several reasons why this is so. For one, smoothies taste great and kids love them. They can be customized with the ingredients your child likes to eat.

Two, smoothies are quick and easy to whip up in the morning or for a snack anytime with little fuss. And the only thing you have to clean up is the blender!

Third, smoothies can hide all kinds of healthy ingredients that your child may turn their nose up at otherwise. As an example, greens, nutritional supplements, flax seed, hemp powder - even cod liver oil!

Four, smoothies are a great way to use up the last bit of whatever's lying around the kitchen that might otherwise be thrown out. That last spoonful of peanut butter, that half of a banana your toddler discarded, etc. You can save money and avoid waste by throwing everything into the blender and whipping it up into a tasty drink.

Here is a green smoothie recipe that are sure to everyone, including kids.

**** Blue Green Delight ****

(This is a great way to get greens into a child who doesn't like them.)

2 C organic vanilla yogurt (preferably full fat)
2 C blueberries (fresh or frozen is fine)
1 c. fresh spinach
1 T. raw honey (optional)

Place all ingredients in the blender. Blend until the consistency you like.

Check out the Green Smoothie Recipes Book for more tasty and healthy smoothie ideas.

I am not a big fan of pasteurized milk, even organic and raw is hard to get in my state. Regular milk just seems like milk flavored water with much of the nutrition and all of the enzymes being killed during the pasteurization process. For several years now we have opted to buy raw milk or make homemade almond milk instead. Both are much healthier and easier on the stomach. Conventional milk is not an option for me in fact as the moment I drinkit, I get dehibilitating stomach aches. To me this means I just shouldn't be drinking it.

Making almond milk is incredibly easy once you get your system down and my kids think it is incredibly delicious. They will drink it straight, add it to cereal, or use it to make chocolate milk or banana milk smoothies. Since I use raw organic almonds, I get to rest easy knowing that their milk, or "mylk" as many refer to it, is healthier for their little bodies and healthier for the planet. Nuts are an essential fuel for the body too. To make it I just follow these simple steps:

First I soak the almonds overnight in water. I do this because I want to deactivate the naturally occurring enzyme inhibitors that prevent the nut from sprouting until conditions are right for growth. By deactivating the inhibitors we have access to the beneficial enzymes that make the nut a living food.

After soaking I rinse the nuts and put them in my Vita-Mix. Blend until smooth and creamy and then strain the milk through a cheesecloth to get rid of the brown almond skins and any leftover chunks. I end up having to really squeeze the cheesecloth to get the milk out. Then I pour the milk into a glass milk jug and put it in the refrigerator and we try to use it up within 4-5 days. We usually never have a problem drinking it all!

I also take the leftover pulp from the cheesecloth and spread it out on a dehydrator sheet and I dehydrate for several hours until it is dry and flaky. Then it goes back into the blender to be crushed into almond flour for other menu items.

Raw, healthy, and delicious!

Just use your Vita-Mix to blend up some tasty ingredients and pour in do-it-yourself popsicle molds. You end up with low cost, tasty, and healthy popsicles you and your children will enjoy all sumemr long. We even put spinach in ours!

Here is a popsicle recipe you ight want to try:

Almond-Banana Pops

Ingredients:

1 cup raw almonds

3 just ripe bananas

2 tsp raw honey

3 cups water

Blend up the almonds and the water to make almond milk. Strain the milk through a nut milk bag. Blend the almond milk together with the rest of the ingredients and either drink or pour into popsicle molds. Enjoy!!

Pictured: Tovolo Green Shooting Star Pop Molds

We're all looking for ways to save a few pennies while still feeding our families healthful, nutritious food. One of the ways you can do that is by learning how to prepare your own smoothies.

How can smoothies save you money? In my home, smoothies are a great way to use up those last small bits of food that would otherwise go to waste.

That half eaten banana discarded by your toddler?
That half a serving of yogurt the baby couldn't finish?
The last bit of oatmeal that got cold and congealed in the pan?
The jelly left in the "empty" jar?

All these make great additions to a smoothie. Here are a few ideas:

- Add a little milk to an "empty" jelly or peanut butter jar and shake vigorously. Place in the blender with a little ice, frozen fruit and perhaps a banana to make a fab PB&J smoothie.

- Use cold, leftover cooked grains to thicken smoothies. Rice, oatmeal, cream of wheat - use up to a cup in the blender to thicken a smoothie and add additional nutrition. You may want to add the grains and liquid first and blend for awhile until smooth before adding the other ingredients.

- When your children leave half eaten fruit lying around, chop it and place into a container in the freezer. When full, dump in the blender with a little vanilla yogurt or milk - enough to get the blender blades rotating and maybe a little honey for sweetness. Blend to make a delicious shake.

- Did your child turn up his nose at his spinach or other greens? Throw them into the blender with frozen berries and make a "supergreen" shake. I've noticed that I can add a LOT of leafy greens before my children even notice their flavor. It's a great way to sneak in more veggies to a picky kid's diet.

Smoothies are easy to experiment with. Some of my kid's favorites were recipes we created on the fly with whatever we had lying around. Familiarize yourself with the basic smoothie "formula" and then get busy trying new creations.