Actually, the Blendtec I ordered arrived at my place of work Wednesday... but I've been so tired and busy I haven't had time to even open the box.

I just made a spinach and apple smoothie. My choice of smoothie type was made by what was in my refrigerator.

Here's my first impressions:

I was surprised (and concerned) by how lightweight the entire unit/assembly seemed when I first unpacked the box. I've been using a borrowed Cuisinart that is heavier.

I like the presets. However, they can also be programmed by users. I'll experiment with what the factory settings are for now.

It's MUCH, MUCH, MUCH quieter than the Cuisinart and faster. I had to let the Cuisinart run about 4-5x as long to get a similar quality smoothness to the smoothie and with the Cuisinart, the contents (and blender) would get warmed up.

I'm glad about the quietness because I don't want to wake up everyone in the house if I want to use the Blendtec... That was not an option with the Cuisinart. That thing could wake the dead. I've heard the Vitamix is loud... Maybe that's ok with the power you get with that. But with the Cuisinart, I had to run it so long, it was incredibly annoying.

I think there's less oxidation with the Blendtec. When I made a smoothie with the Cuisinart, if I drank 90% of it, then got distracted and came back 15 minutes later, a green smoothie would be brown and I'd end up tossing it out.

I've READ side-by-side reviews of Blendtec versus Vitamix but I would like to someday do my own comparison. Nothing beats actually using a product.

I'm going to do my weekly shopping later today and stock up on some fun stuff to blend!

Thank you to everyone who helped me throughout my decision process.

Keep us informed as to how you like it
down-the-road. I guess you got the HP3-A with 1500
watts of power?. I wouldn't be comfortable with the
cycle-counter on the face. I do like the manual buttons,
in addition to the program buttons, something the old
HP3 didn't have....WY

[www.healthytraders.com]

Yes, it's the HP3-A. I think the manual buttons are a good addition; I probably would have hesitated to buy this without that. Also, I know, I know, this seems petty to some people... But I have a super small kitchen and that this fits under the counter (don't have to move it for use) is a plus.

I used to sprout and want to get back into that so I'm dealing with serious space issues. I know that it seems like neither sprouting nor a blender in and of themselves take up a lot of space, but we have very limited kitchen space to start.

One thing at a time... I'm excited to have a "real" blender. The borrowed Cuisinart was going to burnout and make me go deaf!

I use the oven space for sprouting as quite often we dont use the oven around here i just put the rack on the bottom and then have the whole inside to put my jars

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Jgunn Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I use the oven space for sprouting as quite often
> we dont use the oven around here i just put
> the rack on the bottom and then have the whole
> inside to put my jars
That must be a lot of trouble having to open
the oven door, bend down, take jars out, rinse seeds, bend
down, put jars back in, close oven door??.....WY

Jodi and WY and anyone else...

I always thought I needed light to make the sprouts turn green. Or is that just the last day or two? Or not at all? I used to use the top of the fridge, so I've never used just an enclosed (dark) space like the oven. But if that would work, it would be great for me because I have such a small kitchen. Right now my oven is used for storing cutting boards, bowls, stuff like that.

Thanks.

my oven has a lightbulb inside

yogi it only takes me a few moments , but i dont have alot of counter space either so have to make do !

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Jodi,

I hate to be the one to tell you this... but the lightbulb in your oven and the lightbulb in your fridge only go on when you open the door.

hee hee

(PS: That's because there's a little man inside whose job is to turn the light on and off.)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/16/2009 03:06PM by Lee_123.

mine actually has a switch that turns it off and on

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

I guess you could just switch it out with a daylight bulb and you would be good to go! You could have a mini garden in there.

Just pitching in: I sprout seeds in the dark, and expose them to direct sunlight for 3 or 4 hours only when they're at the right height for consumption. I heard somewhere that this is the safest way to do it, otherwise the seeds produce some sort of toxin. Don't know if this is Ann Wigmore info, or Brian Clement info, or early-morning-nightmare info. Sorry

Tamukha, I googled the words

sprouting dark

and here's some interesting links

[veggieplatter.blogspot.com]

[www.rawfoodideas.com]

Both mention growing in the dark. Interesting! I never thought of it... Maybe I will use my oven for sprouting.

Thanks for the links, Lee! Over on the general board, I just read a post in the Wheatgrass Taste thread from EZ Rider, in which he mentioned sprouting his first batch of wheatgrass in an unused oven, resulting in a sweet pleasant product. I'd asked about this on other threads because my wheatgrass, which I sprout covered with several layers of newspaper in pretty near total darkness, has never had but a delightful flavor. I was beginning to think it's supposed to be nauseous and that I was doing something wrong in growing it, but now . . . everything seems to be coming together for me Again, thanks!