Unfortunately I just can't shell out over 300 bucks right now for a blender, but I would love to find another type that could still manage raw soups to a creamy consistency, nut butters, smoothies, etc. I know that vita-mix is one of the best, but is there any cheaper alternatives that come close?
Thanks!
Justine

Osterizer makes some good blenders that are more in the price range of regular consumer blenders, and I'm sure that there are other solid brands out there too. Most standard blenders will work fine for most purposes, but you'll need to be more careful with them. Make sure that you always have enough liquid, and that you add solid ingredients slowly. Since the engine will be less powerful, it's easier to burn it out.

Regarding nut butters, I wouldn't really recommend making nut butters in any blender, and you should definitely not try to do so in a standard consumer market blender. Blenders are really for blending things with liquid bases, and while some of the high end blenders can manage thicker things, it's probably not wise. It's a punishing task, even for an expensive blender. If you had a $300 blender would you want to do anything that would wear it out faster than necessary? I managed to get one of the fancy blenders last fall (a Waring Xtreme, not a Vita-Mix) using about five years accumulation of credit card points, and I want nothing to happen to it.

thanks for your reply, what do you use to make nut butters with if not a blender?

Some of the high-end juicers have a homogenizing plate which can be used to crush and homogenize things instead of separating juice from pulp. I don't have a high-end juicer, so I can't say how well they work or which models work best. There may also be some milling machines out there that can manage it, but I don't know about them. You could try making a new original post with an appropriate subject line to get the attention of someone who might know more.

I don't eat much nut butter, and I buy what I do eat. There are some good raw, organic suppliers. I would like to have a juicer that can homogenize at some point, but for homogenizing frozen bananas into sorbet. They're expensive though, so it's unlikely to happen soon.

I have a Champion (for sale) with a blank plate, made almond butter really easy.
I recently bought a Green Star $415, almost twice the price, twice the parts, twice the cleanup time, but much more juice and drier pulp. very good for juicing leafy greens and not so good with the wheat grass. one thing I don't like about the Green Star is the fluffy foam on top of the juice, I filter it out after juicing. I don't remember so much particles in the champion juice, but now I'm making twice the amt. of juice per batch.

Love fresh juice!

The Green Star is also great at making nut butters!

Sunflower
Raw Food Chef and Writer
Comfortably Raw
[www.comfortablyraw.com]

I've been using the Oster Classic Beehive Blender for almost 2 years now. If you're considering one, make sure it's the classic beehive model. I love it because it has a glass caraffe and has two speeds which are exceptionally strong & capable of blending almost anything. I use it at least 2-3x per day. It's not a vitamix or blendtec, but in the meantime it serves me well.

I forgot to add I paid $30 for it brand new on craigslist from newleyweds who received multiple wedding gifts. I think it retails for $60-80.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/23/2008 06:34PM by rawangel.

I have a L'Equip blender. I got it for $55 or so including shipping on ebay. I have had it for about 3 years now. It isn't as powerful as a Vitamix, but it has done the job I needed so far. It retails for $150 I think and is a good 2nd choice if you can't afford the Vitamix.

Dawn