Vitamix First Impressions

I finally bit the bullet and purchased a factory reconditioned Vitamix 5200. I decided to go with this option to save some cash and if I decide that I need the dry-blade container for milling grains it’s still cheaper to buy it separately than to have purchased the more expensive packages.

There is not a lot of pomp when un-boxing one of these babies. We are as far from an Apple product as you can get as far as flare and elegance. But you know I really liked opening the lid of the box, pulling off a piece of styrofoam and getting down to business. Sometimes it’s nice not to have to deal with a chinese puzzle box of flaps and folds before getting to enjoy the product.

Condition wise the unit looks and works perfectly. The only sign of wear is on the rubber corners that you can see beneath the clear base. Otherwise no scratches or dings.

So earlier today, seeing that the machine had been delivered, I decided to make lunch at home with it. Stopping at the grocery on the way, I walked in, setup the machine and prepared my first smoothie all that and still making it back to work in under an hour.

Lets get down to brass tacks. It’s operation is straight up destruction. This machine does one thing and it does that one thing very well. Whatever food stuffs you might have laying around that you want pulverized, liquified or churned into a silky cream, this is the machine that will do it. It spools up instantly and if you are not careful with the settings you can turn your fine chop into soup in less than 10 seconds.

The Go Green smoothie tasted great for lunch and held me over till dinner (though barely). For dinner we made Tortilla soup by leaving the blender on high for 5 mins. The Vitamix actually cooks the soup! Comes out hot and ready to eat. After that we dumped a bag of frozen peaches in there with a little vanilla extract and using the tamper pushed the frozen chunks down into the blades for 1 min. Presto. Perfectly smooth and creamy sorbet.

So far I do not regret the purchase at all and am already planning on some ways to make using it even easier. By pre-packing measured ingredients in the fridge I can just come home and dump them in, hit the on button, and have a nutritious, healthy and quick lunch without any hassle. If you thought I sounded like an infomercial before just wait till this next bit. Cleaning the Vitamix is super easy. You put a drop of soap and fill it half way with warm water. Turn the blender on high for about a minute and you are done. Just rinse out the container and it’s spotless.

More updates to follow…