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320 of 325 found the following review helpful:
 Love my Vita-Mix! Aug 09, 2009
By T. Moore
I have had my platinum Vita-Mix 1363 CIA (Culinary Institute of America) model blender for just over a month. So far, I am loving it! I have definitely increased my consumption of fruits and vegetables since getting it. I start most mornings off with a smoothie now. I throw in whatever fruit is in season (I love berries, but I've used peaches, nectarines, plums, grapes, apples, bananas and various frozen fruits), a scoop or two of protein powder, milk or water, a couple handfuls of fresh spinach, a couple handfuls of ice and sweetener if needed. Surprisingly, the spinach doesn't noticeably change the flavor, but it does boost the nutritional content of the smoothie. In less than 10 minutes I can have my smoothie made, poured into a "to go" cup and have the machine all clean (just add warm water and a couple drops of dish soap- turn it on for 30 seconds, then empty and rinse the container). The smoothies always turn out 100% smooth- berry seeds, apple seeds, ice and other hard bits are totally pulverized and drinkable. I've made great low-cal salad dressings using fresh herbs, garlic, low fat cottage cheese, a splash of milk and salt (if you prefer, you could use Ranch dressing mix with cottage cheese and milk). I made a very satisfying tomato soup with home grown tomatoes, fresh basil, garlic, onion and salt. I've made great blended piña coladas, too! I'm having a lot of fun experimenting with different recipes. Because the Vita-Mix processes foods quickly, I'm actually finding that I'm making healthier eating choices. It's faster for me to put together a salad with pre-washed greens, veggies and homemade dressing than it is to go to the nearest fast food restaurant... and in the end, it's more satisfying and a LOT healthier. Yes, this is an expensive machine, but I think it will pay for itself within the first two years by reducing my spending on going out to eat.
This is a heavy-duty machine. It is loud when it's in use, but generally you won't need to run the machine for more than a couple minutes at a time. This is definitely a professional quality machine and will yield professional quality results. A regular home blender cannot compare!
The Vita-Mix 1363 CIA model and the Vita-Mix 5200 model are essentially the same machine. The CIA model has some different color choices and comes with a HUGE recipe book called "Create", a smaller "recipes and techniques" booklet and an hour long cooking class DVD. The 5200 model includes a different booklet and DVD. Both have the same 7-year warranty. If the color of the machine and the recipe book don't matter to you, save yourself some $$$ and go for the 5200 model instead.
218 of 223 found the following review helpful:
Worth every dime Mar 01, 2008
By C. G. King
Why, you say, should I spend this insane amount of money for a blender? My answer: Because it's worth it. There is simply no comparison to other blenders. The Vitamix is the best. It really does crush ice effectively, make ice cream in seconds from frozen fruit and cream, and produces drinks and sauces that are utterly smooth, plus soups to die for. I make my own hummus and used it for baby food regularly, guests love it for silky frozen drinks, and it lasts--with zero problems. It's a quality device. Advertising is geared to health food because you can make drinks or soups from fresh produce and take advantage of the natural fiber that juicers take out, and they're right, but that's not why I bought it. I bought it because I hate the odd chunky bits of fruit in my smoothies, I hate taking blenders apart for cleaning and I wanted something I could depend on to do what I wanted each and every time. I've not been disappointed.
Update 3/18/10
I've had my Vita-Mix for many years and treasure it. My daughter has eyed it longingly so I finally bought her family one for Christmas, most especially so the little kids would get their veggies via tasty smoothies. I mean how else would you ever get a kid to eat raw kale (or me either, for that matter :). I found the current cookbook that came with her unit had so many terrific new recipes, I bought one for myself and am enjoying many new types of smoothies. The Autumn Harvest smoothie has sweet potato in it and is sensational. The Basil Lemonade is really delicious and the green smoothies are so packed with nutrition (plus taste good!) that we all feel energized. I can add flax seeds, sunflower kernels or other nuts to smoothies for an extra boost and know they'll always be completely smooth. I make some of my own whole-wheat flour now (although prefer my food processor to make the dough) so my bread is much healthier too. Yesterday when I had the little kids after school and we made a grocery store run, I was amazed and delighted to see them pick various types of fresh produce for smoothies right along with the expected pizza and cookies. We have a new generation of Vita-Mix fans in the family.
83 of 84 found the following review helpful:
How often do you fall in love with a household appliance? Jan 11, 2010
By JTrinh
I ordered Vitamix 5200, but was upgraded by kitchenuniverse because they were out of it. It's the same machine except for an upgraded book and different color base.
things I can now do (or not do)with my Vitamix:
1. dont have to section oranges or lemons. healthier this way too. (just peel and remove seeds)
2. don't have to peel garlic (healthier? maybe. definitely more whole)
3. don't have to chop carrots (still a good idea to quarter apples)
4. sell my ice cream machine, and juicer
5. make smoothies while baby is asleep in the next room(can go as fast as variable 5 w/out much noise at all, it can still crush ice effortlessly at this speed). Even at the highest speed, it's as noisy as a regular vacuum, and I usually don't need to go full speed for very long anyway. The only time you need to go long (5-7 minutes) is for heating up soup, but why? adding hot water before blending is a greener alternative.
6. make as little as a cup of smoothie at a time (vortex action still works well, and so easy to clean, why not? there are so many good recipes to try in the included book and I only want to make a little bit at a time to test them out)
7. fill it to the top and make smoothies for everyone (the tamper is needed when I make this much strawberry daiqueri, but it comes out perfectly smooth from top to bottom)
8. don't always need to add liquid to a recipe before blending. (tamper comes in handy when not using liquids)
9. grind peppercorns, coffee beans.
10. turn ice into snow in less than 3 seconds (havent' done it personally, but it's on the demo dvd)
for those who wonder why it's so easy to clean: there are no parts to disassemble and reassemble. just add water, a drop of soap and turn on high. Sometimes it'll still leave bits that dried on, but just wipe it manually, no big deal. It's the assembly and disassembly that makes people not use their regular blender as often as they want or should.
some say the blendtec (competitor) doesn't need a tamper because it blends so well. Don't believe it. The only reason it doesn't need it is because the machine automatically raises and lowers the speed at intervals to get things into the spinning vortex. Umm...you can do that w/the Vitamix manually and you can do it better than a pre-programmed machine. The blendtec boasts 3 HP while Vitamix is 2 HP. I cant even imagine needing to go any faster than the Vitamix already does, and trust me I have a big imagination. The blendtec is even preprogrammed so you can walk away from it while it prepares your recipes, but do you really want to walk away from a machine this powerful? I believe in simplicity and that is the major advantage of the Vitamix over the blendtec. Yes the blendtec fits under the cabinets and a Vitamix does not, but that's not a big deal to me because my Vitamix takes centerstage on my kitchen island.
Overall, if all you need to do is make a couple smoothies, this blender will disappoint you because of its price. It can do so much more, but you can only appreciate it if you are committed to changing your lifestyle too. I've been transitioning to raw vegan for about a year and I wanted a Vitamix since the beginning but wasn't ready to take the financial plunge. Let's just say when I finally bought this machine, it brought me to a whole nother level. I can't imagine going raw without it. Try buying the following books along w/your Vitamix "green smoothie revolution" by Boutenko, or any of the multitudes of raw food cookbooks on Amazon. The books will help you appreciate your machine even more, inspiring you to keep up with a healthier, more conscious lifestyle. This is truly a machine that you can fall in love with.
**update** I've had this Vitamix for 2 months now and I've been using it at least twice a day. I noticed some peculiar things which I would like to share.
- took it to my mom's house...it was significantly louder. I'm not sure why, my counter is made of granite, hers is a laminate type material. ceiling height is about the same. *shrug*
- decided to keep my ice cream maker. It makes sorbets just fine, but ice "cream" tasted very watered down (at least the ones in the included book did). I may adjust by freezing the milk or cream cubes instead of using ice cubes.
- I put two cups of flax seeds into the regular bladed container, turned it on and it became flour in a few seconds. (it was beautiful) I'm confused why a dry blade exists or why it's even needed. I can get rid of my coffee/spice grinder now.
- something fun....turn the dial from 1 to 10 and back and forth...it really does sound like a Ferrari engine!
105 of 109 found the following review helpful:
We love our Vita-Mix Pro Sep 16, 2007
By Food Prep Fanatic
"Foodie"
This is the Mack Truck of countertop kitchen appliances. Ideal for making blended ice drinks, smoothies and vegetable purees for soup. We first noticed this mighty machine being used in a major coffee chain, then in fast food places, and finally at most restaurant bars. We were delighted to learn that the very same commercial kitchen equipment is now available for home kitchen use.
It comes with an astounding amount of great recipes in a cookbook as heavy as the machine itself. Surprised to learn that it is possible to make soup in this machine without cooking. Just the intense friction caused by fast-moving blades chopping and grinding vegetable ingredients heats soup to serving temperature as fast as heating in a microwave.
The Vita-Mix is more than a blender, it is a professional kitchen food prep machine that is endorsed by chef instructors at the Culinary Institute of America.
We have also used this amazing American-made machine to puree our own baby food, because we trust locally grown produce more than what comes pre-processed in grocery store jars of baby food.
This is a lifetime investment in great equipment.
418 of 454 found the following review helpful:
 Ain't what it used to be Jan 25, 2010
By Eileen Koyl
I bought my first Vita-mix in the early 1990s. It was expensive (even more than the current price, adjusting for inflation) but I spent the money since my mother swore by hers.
It had a metal container with smooth sides and a spout near the bottom. The base was huge.
It would chop/blend anything, no matter how full you filled it (the ad showed it chopping blocks of wood. After a very happy party we tried that with a box of 2" pencils - the kind with no erasers. We ended up with sawdust.)
This was my vegetable juice period - I would fill the Vita-Mix with carrots, celery, raw beets and turnips up to the top of the unit; in 15 minutes it had ground them up with such velocity that I had hot soup. I could fill it with 3 lbs of cold cream cheese, six eggs, and a cup of sour cream and it would liquefy them for cheesecake.
I go into this detail because:
When I arrived in NYC a couple of years ago, I found to my dismay that my Vita-mix had been lost in transit. Since it was a major part of my kitchen, I immediately ordered a new one. I was quite shocked when it arrived with a plastic container with ridged insides, and a smaller base. However, I immediately used it to make a cheesecake. It tried for a minute - at which time I smelled something burning. Then it shut itself off. I called the company and was informed that this was a safety feature. It seems I had overloaded the blender. I told them that this had never been a problem on my old machine, but since it was probably made before the young lady helping me was born, she could offer no comment on this. I then tried my vegetable juice and had the same result. I sent it in to be serviced; they said nothing was wrong with it.
It has failed me on many subsequent occasions. Jobs that were routine with my old machine would elicit the now-familiar burning smell and 'safety shutoff'. Today I threw it out.
I guess if you've never experienced the old one, the new one might be OK, but I certainly don't think it's worth the exorbitant price. It is, sadly, another example of an established company cutting corners to boost the profit margin
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