Vitamix (Part 1)

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” – 1 Corinthians 10:31

After I reflected on the non-essentialness of a dishwasher, I feel a need to bring some balance by counting my blessings of having some modern kitchen appliances. As always, we don’t actually need those conveniences, but with a thankful heart we can embrace some ease when our season needs it. Things can be done much faster with those plugged-in “servants”. Yes, people in the ancient times did just fine without any extra electric devices. However, they also had a lot of skills, time, and patience. Most importantly, they had a lot of help from the community or even slaves. Even not too long ago, probably my grandparents’ generation, many people in China stayed in one area almost their entire life. People only two generations ago were much more connected organically as their lives intertwined with each other. That being said, I see those kitchen gadgets or appliances as redemptive tools for modern people in great need of time and skill, if used with careful consideration.  

If I get to pick one item coming to my mind first, it would be our Vitamix. This is not to say you need a Vitamix. It is simply a fact in my life. Your life could be totally different! If you have a mixer that works great for you, stick with your mixer. There is no need to buy another Vitamix. I am writing a record of our family journey and always hope what we share can bring encouragement or inspiration to someone out there, especially Moms. I have been blessed by so many wonderful resources or stories other people shared online and thought the Lord might use my words to serve another busy mom. Isn’t the double-edged social media platform another redemption tool the Lord could use to bring some community support for His Kingdom work? 

Okay, back to the Vitamix discussions. Vitamix is on the more expensive side among the blenders. I would not make the hard choice to purchase such a pricey “extra”. Vitamix was only used commercially rather than for home use in China at least years ago before we moved to the States. One Vitamix can serve a neighborhood of thousands of city dwellers with smoothies on the go. With that cultural background, I was more intimidated to explore such a name brand mixer. Here came the firm leader’s decision: “We will buy a Vitamix!” 

When a husband leads with love, submission is such a delight, or even a pride! After our first son was born, I was burning through an average blender which came with our first rental house. I was making baby food every day. Store-bought baby food did not fall into my Chinese common-sense shopping list. Not only was the packaged baby food expensive by comparison, but also I can’t bear giving a baby canned food. In the process of canning, the high heat destroys microorganisms, not to mention all the other sugars, salt, additives could be added to the mix. No, thank you! 

As a new immigrant to the U.S, I was very cautious against the convenience culture all around. Guarding our food safety was kind of connected to my cultural roots. Traditionally, Chinese families pay extra attention to the diet of pregnant or nursing moms and babies. Canned foods are fine for adults, for special occasions or for emergencies, not for the norm, definitely not for the babies. Chinese cuisine emphasizes the freshness: fresh ingredients, fresh colors, freshly made and served. It’s common to see live fish kept at the restaurants so the customers can pick their own fish to cook! Some of those “fresh” concepts are not practical for a busy homeschool mom in the States. Many times, I have to compromise and let go of my culture’s ego in food prep. But when I had only one child, it was a delight to devote much of my time to preparing homemade baby foods for my precious child. 

Different tools can make huge differences! Diligence combined with effective tools makes our workload much more manageable. My sweet husband did not want me to spend unnecessary time in food prep, knowing another blender can solve the problem. I hesitated at first but chose to abide by the “executive order” to give it a try, knowing that Vitamix has a good return policy. Well, I was immediately sold by the speed and pleased by the smooth pureed food. Forget about baby food, I was making hummus, dips, sauces, smoothies, plant-based milk, experimenting, exploring various ingredient combinations. If I have any tough parts from the vegetables or parts my children don’t usually like to eat, I put them into the Vitamix, ta-da, problem solved, nutritious and yummy food served. 

Well, that was almost 14 years ago! Over the years, I have no idea how many times we used Vitamix. Sometimes, several times a day! I make a fresh smoothie almost every day to have the optimal benefits from the enzymes through juicing/blending. I save the pineapple cores, sweet potato peels, mango peels for smoothies to give extra fiber and sweeter flavor. Pureed tougher vegetable parts, like cauliflower or broccoli cores, roots, or even tough or fat bird skins are made into pasta sauce or soups. In the fall, I will save the squash peels and core membranes along with the seeds. The pureed squash turns the soup into a delightful yellow or orange color. Use what you have, Vitamix has helped to turn many unwanted or not-so favored parts into gourmet meals without breaking our pocket! Isn’t this secret most exciting for a frugal home cook?

Now that we are milking our goats, and a Dexter cow, we don’t drink smoothies as much as we used to. With more milk around, it feels extravagant to replace water with milk in making smoothies or milkshakes. I am grateful for the abundance aspect about homesteading. Recently, I started making cheese and added the by-product of whey water into the smoothies! The ruminants are the ultimate God-sent “mixer” to turn fresh greens loaded with sun energy into delicious and nutritious milk! We are still using Vitamix on a VERY regular basis, if not every day. We did take advantage of the free repairs/replacement within the 7-year warranty. (The headquarters of the company was close to where we lived in Ohio, which made repairs somewhat easier.) 

This high-performing machine can work like a beast with its powerful motor. There is something attractive about the tools for many men. Vitamix is a kitchen appliance men might like to experiment with, at least for all the wonderful men in my life! Our family enjoys blending frozen bananas with a plant-based protein mix to make an ice cream (feel free to contact us if you would like to learn more about the mix). You can add dates or nuts as toppings to your frozen banana ice cream. Add some ice cubes and drizzle some raw honey to make a sorbet. You can try different fruits to create different flavors or colors. The blender does make healthy summer treats much easier. You can also try to mix 1 part of dates and 2 parts of nuts for a sweet gluten-free pie crust. Press the paste tightly onto a pie dish and then pour the mashed bananas/fruit mix, or milk shake on top. Freeze the ice cream pie! Yum! We have a few special days to celebrate in the summer. Grateful for those sweet memories, even though they take a few extra steps. 

With how often we used our Vitamix, we did end up paying for another mixing cup. The timing was almost comical. After we moved to the country fixer-upper farm house in Missouri, we had a long list of things to fix, big and small. Not only the house fixing needed a lot of attention and energy, but also little things here and there kept popping up at the most inconvenient moment. Life was busy. We were squeezed in all directions. Plus, we had a baby on the way (who is already 19 months now. Wow!). Washer, dryer, oven, light bulbs, fans, water pipe, vehicles, freezer… I remember those days I went to bed praying that the Lord would give me strength and joy to face the next unexpected breakdown, not allowing the enemy to steal my joy. 

God answered my prayer right away! 

The next day I started my routine work in the kitchen. I was just about to make a morning smoothie with ingredients already prepared the night before. I turned on the Vitamix but it didn’t move at all! I checked the plug and everything. Tried again. Nothing!! Instead of feeling frustrated, I literally started laughing really hard. It was almost as if I was reading a children’s book series by Richard Scarry. I didn’t expect my faithful and powerful “servant” to even decide to retire and join the fixing party. It was a memorable moment for me, teaching me not to take unexpected mishappenings too seriously. Even though over a year has passed, I can still pinpoint that comical moment. What the enemy meant for evil, God can use it for good! 

After comparing prices, we decided to buy another blending cup, but we are still using the same engine base! The powerful Vitamix Motor can grind virtually everything food-related. You can actually make a smooth hot soup if you let it run longer. It seems a little overdone to me so I don’t usually use Vitamix to make soups. I may add the smooth sauce to my soup pot to create an interesting texture, flavor and the extra nutrition. Vitamix uses plastics for the cup because the glass can’t stand such strong vibration. Even though the plastic is food graded, I still feel more comfortable to avoid hot food in plastics as much as possible. 

Some people think Vitamix is another kind of juicer but they are different. A juicer will usually squeeze out the juice and take out the pulp (full of fiber). Juice looks more clear than smoothies since juice is more liquid based. Children like fruit juice because they are sweet. We don’t serve juice at our house, but my children are allowed to enjoy 100% juice as a treat once in a while when we are at parties. Juice is too sugary, even the pure ones. On the other hand, the smoothies are much more balanced with whole food nutrition. Enjoy the whole foods: flesh, peel, seeds, nuts and everything (just be aware of a few exceptions, like some fruit seeds, like apples, are toxic after being opened up!) Your digestive system, as made by the Creator, will be better off in the long run with a more natural and balanced diet. You can even turn the leftover smoothies into popsicles, a regular summer treat for our family, like I mentioned above. 

Thank you for reading to the end. If you are looking for ways to make changes for a more healthy option for you and your precious family, smoothies are a good and simple way to get started. Swap your juice or other sugary drinks with smoothies or milkshakes. Not only is it more budget-friendly, you might save yourself from future dental visits or doctor’s appointments as well. One simple change goes a long way over a long period of time! 

Since this post is already getting so long, I will share some Vitamix recipes and tips in another post just for record-keeping or in case you are interested.