The Vitamix has Arrived - Smoothies of Glory

[Fullcrum]

The Vitamix arrived a few days ago - I urged my mother to get this thing so we could make smoothies.

As I write this I'm drinking the first.

Here's what went into it initially -

• 2 Mangoes (no skin)
  
• 2 Bananas (very ripe)
  
• 1 Cup Ice
  
• 1 Cup Orange Juice (squeezed at home from a previous occasion)

I had my first sip - Damn! This thing tastes awesome. We apportioned 1 cup per person in the house. After all this though, we still had about 2 1/2 cups. And I wasn't done with it yet.

Enter the Green Smoothie of Desire.

With these 2 1/2 cups, I decided to experiment with just how many greens I could put into this thing without negatively affecting taste. I have organic Kale, which gets sweeter around this time of year (it's sweetest in March here in NE America).

So, you may ask: How much did I put in? I weighed the sprigs. I put in not 1, not 2, and not 3 but FOUR sprigs of kale into this thing. By the time I'd put in the fourth the amount of smoothie had been reduced to 1 1/2 cups due to taste-testing.

I also weighed the sprigs. They added up to about 135 grams of kale. Apparently, according to whfoods.com, that's a little over a cup. And I couldn't even taste it.

NO LIE! You can't taste the kale, all that happens is that the smoothie becomes a little thicker and grainer (in a positive way - this stuff tasted wholesome), and turns green. The very first spring turned it green. The others just made it darker.

If any of you have a Vitamix, you start on variable speed 1, turn it up to 10 in the course of about 10 seconds, and then up to high for another 10-15 seconds (depending on the size and amount of kale you're adding). It's positively wholesome!

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[gettingskinny]

I love my vita mix!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[beel]

vitamix is the holy grail of the kitchen

[BamBam]

no protein powder?

[gettingskinny]

Originally Posted by BamBam

no protein powder?

we do all fruit and veggies, no protein powder. the vita mix just whips it into a smoothie...whole fruit and all w/no water or juice. i love it! we like to use grapes and/or oranges for juicier fruits.

[Fullcrum]

I may use protein powder when I start working out again. I may have to finish up my whey protein powder but then switch over to a more natural styled raw hemp protein powder. Or just make my own hemp milk.

But the BEST smoothies have no processed ingredients at all - as in RAW and ALIVE.

gettingskinny, I usually have to add a little water so it will mix the whole thing. Like a two second splurge into the Vitamix for total mixing joy.

[TheHulaQueen]

I adore the Vitamix too... we use it about 4x a day in our house.

Green smoothies are awesome. I also love doing ice creams with frozen berries (last night was raspberry with honey) and sometimes frozen banana (just freeze and blend). It's so easy.

Mine lasted about 14 years before needing a tune up with them, and came back like new! It's well worth the investment for sure.

Cheers,
Sheryl

[BamBam]

do you think it would alter the flavor if you threw in a few raw eggs?

[Andrew Brunelle]

Smoothies in the morning is what keeps me going. I take berries, spinach, and bananas and put them into my Magic Bullet for a single serving of smoothie. I hear the Vitamix is superior and has a much bigger container. I may need to look into getting one eventually. It will compliment my Jack Lalane Juicer quite nicely.

[Fullcrum]

Raw eggs? I don't know, I've never tried and probably never will unless I have good reason to. Among these good reasons might be access to FREE RANGE eggs from a nice local farm. I like trying new foods. I once had raw quail egg at a sushi restaurant. Felt soft, didn't taste like too much, and went right down.

[Fullcrum]

Update of doom:

I just made my new favorite smoothie of all times, from the Cambrian to the Pleistocene.

Ingredients:

1 very-ripe banana

2 superior Indian mangoes

1 organic orange

Good intuitive dose of ice

6 sticks frozen (or whatever) ginger

Blend to a damn pulp.

This thing is freaking incredible! I recommend you all try it. Just the right bite, smooth enough to feel good but runny enough to not stick there like a sorbet.

[Plato]

Smoothies of glory? Update of doom? Stop worshipping the fat ginger man! Just kidding buddy, I like RSD too.

[Fullcrum]

I agree, they're awesome.

Anyway really do try this smoothie. It's like a wake-up call. Add more ginger if that's your thing.

And as an added note: this is a great way to make green smoothies (just add a cup, or around 140 grams, of your favorite green - usually kale or spinach for me). The ginger is powerful and the mango really hides the taste well. You can probably fit over a cup of greens into a cup of this smoothie without tasting much difference.

[Cael]

Anyone knows if this is sold anywhere in Melbourne, Australia?

[TheHulaQueen]

This morning we're having a really simple one. Half a blender of water, about 4 small bunches of spinach and 4 pears. Blended smooth it's heavenly and so delicious. Just perfectly sweet too.

If you're referring to the Vitamix Raw Pleasure is a raw food company in Australia that sell the Vitamix. You can look them up. As far as hemp protein powder in Australia hemp is still a banned illegal substance. You can't get it for human consumption, but some health food stores sell the oil for 'pets' and body care.

[Fullcrum]

If you want a smoothie with a lot of bite and great health benefits of ginger and kale make this:

2 mangoes
5 sticks of ginger (mine were frozen from when they were cut before)
1 apple
1 orange
2 medium sized bunches of kale
a quarter of a lime (the whole thing, not just juice) (no skin of course)
lots of ice

This one really don't taste that good without a good portion of ice. If you want to add bananas be my guest - mine are not ripe yet and I needed sweetness so I added the apple.

[Fullcrum]

I made another one, and this one knocks my socks off!

The proportions are smaller than usual because I have a smaller blender at my dad's house, but I'm sure you can adjust. This makes about 1 quart. I drink these things by the bucket, or I would if I had the resources .

1/4 pineapple, diced and whatnot
3 ripe bananas
the leaves from one stalk of mint
1 1/2 pints crushed ice
1 cup fresh spinach
1/4 cup fresh kale (use whatever greens are on hand; I did)
1/2 tablespoon raw honey (optional)
handful of almonds

Now take things out and put things in as required. This smoothie is for those more advanced into the green stuff - it leaves a bite in the back of your throat, which both my 12 year old sister and I love, but if you're a beginner, you might want to skip the kale. It's strong stuff, and awesome for you, but please adjust. BTW, the taste itself is quite sweet and wonderful.

-------------------------------

I like to think of myself as a smoothie chef, and when I make them I like to "chef out."

So in order to make 5-star smoothies, you need a 5-star mindset. And that means an appreciation for texture. I'll explain a few of my common ingredients.

Bananas - Awesome base! Provide thickness, consistency, and sweetness. An all purposer, especially if you like bananas like me.

Pineapple - Another very good base, especially due to the size of the fruit. Quite sweet, somewhat tangy, this adds some bite. Normal "thick smoothie" consistency.

Orange - This provides tang, sweetness, and runniness. In this way they're counterpoint to bananas. Bananas thicken while oranges thin. Also gives a nice color.

Dark leafy greens - These make smoothies noticeably thicker and a rich green color depending on how much you add. Baby spinach is good for beginners as it has a milder flavor compared to other stuff. Kale is sharper and darker. I've not used other greens, but I believe romaine lettuce adds sweetness. All greens definitely add texture and thickness, contribute to fullness, and tend to override other colors.

Herbs - I used mint today, but experiment. Just a little bit can add lots of nice aromas and flavors. Use like a garnish; use in small quantities!

Nuts - This is a STAPLE of mine. They are different from all fruits and greens. These add smoothness and fludity to a smoothie. Some of you may find your smoothies become grainy, especially with a weaker blender, but nuts cure that problem. Just a handful into a quart or two of smoothie is enough to smoothen the consistency and also thicken it somewhat. It also adds many more nutrients that the other stuff may not have, like fat and concentrated protein. If you leave a smoothie for a while, the nut oil may rise to the top. In this case, just blend for 2 seconds again or stir.

So when I make smoothies, I think of how the different textures and flavors will come out. Consider these components when making your own smoothies

Sweetness
Texture
Smoothness/Granularity
Color
Temperature
Volume
Nutritional value
How filling it is

I always try to maximize volume while retaining flavor. I also love adding greens not only for the texture and color but also the nutritional value. My bases tend to be sweet. If I'm looking for post-workout or meal replacement, I add more greens as they're quite filling and the body, desiring nutrients, will absorb the smoothie more thoroughly.

In the winter I tend to go heavy on nut milks and desire a smoother consistency and softer color; in summer I do not mind granularity or brightness.

All my smoothies are totally raw and free of dairy, protein powders, and other stuff. I consciously decided "I want my smoothies to have the best stuff in them. I want maximum nutrition, taste, and absorbtion."

[VernonL]

Yes I have had a smoothie blender for years and I have loved it. I would recommend the purchase to anyone. It is nice to make a drink and know exactly what is and more important not in it.

Many people use orange juice as a base for a smoothie.
Fresh oranges instead of orange juice rocks as you get all the other nutrition of the orange as well.

[Angela Leeds]

You can also use various herb teas as a base for smoothies. For example, I'm big on pau d'arco with vanilla bean -- tastes like cream soda. That's delicious with goji berries. Add some raw honey & raw organic apple cider vinegar, and it really is like cream soda...

[MightySunTzu]

I love the idea of eating raw kale in such a way as to not be able to taste it... but i have always read that fruit and vegetables should not be mixed in the same meal (fruit should be taken on an empty stomach and be out of the stomach before introducing your next meal). Is this key food combining principle over written when everything is blended to a pulp?

[Fullcrum]

Funny, yesterday I did my first shot of wheatgrass.

1 oz. $2.94. Damn.

It was good. She asked me if I'd like a sliver of orange with it so I can "null the taste". Hell no. Down the hatch. It was simultaneously sweet and bitter, but overall, pleasant by itself. Definitely not worth puking over. I swished it around my mouth before slowly swallowing it, to the amazement of my friends, who had just finished eating their McDonalds (I kid you not), and the people around me, who just stared.

Another glorious moment in the history of the natural food movement .

MightySunTzu: Those rules apply to simple vs. complex carbohydrates. Vegetables are rich in starch and indigestible fiber, which takes longer to digest than the simple sugars and soluble fiber found in abundance in most fruits. What happens when you eat large quantities of them together is that the fruit ferments because it's digested and basically "sits there" churning with the vegetables. The problem is compounded if you did not chew the vegetables well.

Greens do NOT apply to this. Greens go well with everything: all food combining people accept this. Greens react with nothing, mix with everything and do not ferment. They're mostly fiber and water in terms of bulk mass. Though the nutrients are concentrated and they have more protein than fruit, the fact that they are mostly good fiber means they sweep your digestive system clean, getting mixed up with nothing. They don't sit in the stomach like starchier vegetables.

Blending things to bloody sawdust helps with the whole fiber/combining thing.

Fruits are great on an empty stomach. But you can always eat them with greens.

[MightySunTzu]

Originally Posted by Fullcrum

Funny, yesterday I did my first shot of wheatgrass.

1 oz. $2.94. Damn... Definitely not worth puking over.

MightySunTzu: Those rules apply to simple vs. complex carbohydrates. Vegetables are rich in starch and indigestible fiber, which takes longer to digest than the simple sugars and soluble fiber found in abundance in most fruits. What happens when you eat large quantities of them together is that the fruit ferments because it's digested and basically "sits there" churning with the vegetables. The problem is compounded if you did not chew the vegetables well.

Greens do NOT apply to this. Greens go well with everything: all food combining people accept this. Greens react with nothing, mix with everything and do not ferment. They're mostly fiber and water in terms of bulk mass. Though the nutrients are concentrated and they have more protein than fruit, the fact that they are mostly good fiber means they sweep your digestive system clean, getting mixed up with nothing. They don't sit in the stomach like starchier vegetables.

Blending things to bloody sawdust helps with the whole fiber/combining thing.

Fruits are great on an empty stomach. But you can always eat them with greens.

Hi Fullcrum,

Does this mean you puked it? .

Thank you for the great answer as to the food combining issue.

As a follow up:

Do greens by themselves behave as fruits digestively, all but bypassing the stomach and going strait into the intestines for assimilation... or do they digest in the stomach first? I would assume the the pulverized combination of the vegetables and fruits would digest in the stomach if greens by themselves would. Is this so?

Just checking too, i remember reading something about juicing (which i realize is different) that said something to the effect that if you send it through at too high a speed it damages the integrity of the juice by destroying enzymes, something i am particularly concerned about preserving)... The friction of the produce against the blade creating 118 degrees or higher... Is this true of juicing... and also is there a similar parallel in high speed blending? Could it be that if this is an issue, adding the right amount of ice could resolve this?, ie: is ice an essential smoothie ingredient for this reason and not just because it tastes more delightful colder?

I read somewhere that lettuce mixes fine with fruits, but is this true also of heavier leafy veggies (which seem to me would be heavier in starch) such as kale, collards, bok choy, swiss chard and others?

So this vitamix machine is head and shoulders above your normal blender, no?

Thanks again.