So...since Im getting back into raw foods and don't currently have a blender I went shopping around for one. Of course Im aware of all the hype over the vitamix and blendtec etc...and Id LOVE to have one....but I refuse to spend 400 dollars on something that simply chews my food for me (in time Ill probably eat more natural hygeiene non processed/blended foods but for now..itll be nice to have some green smoothies in the morning...
Also....I dont think theres ANY good reason why those blenders should cost so darned much!!! Bet they cost less than 50 bucks to make!!!
So...I shopped around and ended up getting a GE (general electric) 800 watt blender. It has a glass pitcher, and a stainless steel base! Havent tried it yet (will in the morning...) but that sounds plenty good to me! I know vitamix over the past few years have varied between 1000 watts and up....and the blenders I used to use were probably rediculously low (probably 200 or less) so I think this will be a good middle of the road blender. Plus...its freakin glass!!! No plastic, polycarb or not! Yay! I just hope it does the job well enough. I bought a spiralizer on ebay too...so Im excited about getting that soon...yay zuchini pasta! Im gonna get a dehydrator online too....probably an excalibur...tho Ive been reading about the Good4u....Im only concered about the whole shelf spacing thing....because I do like to sometimes put larger things in the dehydrator....
Well....Ill figure it out. Any suggestions? Im on a budget!
JOhn

How is this blender working out for you? I have been trying to find reviews on it but so far nothing.

i bought a similar blender but its blackndecker ... and although it works really well (and has glass carafe) it really doesnt compare to my old vitamix that finally gave up its life (has a moment of silence for the vitamix lol) sadly its just for the interm moment untill i can afford to replace the vitamix

i agree though the price of things seem outrageous compared to the cost of manufacturing :/

have you used a dehydrator before? i got mine for free freecycle years ago and i dont use it nearly as much as i thought i would .. so if you havent used one i suggest finding one cheap or free untill you decide weather its worth the investment of a better model

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/27/2009 06:56PM by Jgunn.

I empathize. An old co-worker had a Vitamix she brought in to make smoothies. It was awesome in action.

I'm on a budget at the moment and was hoping the GE would be adequate and durable enough for what I need. I am really excited about eating more raw foods. I am going through a 10 day cleanse first then I'm off to the races.

when were on a budget , we use the best we can , thats all we can do, no sense stressing over something you cant do anything about at the moment

the blender will probably do what you want it to do

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Cheap blenders get a bad rap. As a student, my sister used to make satisfactory green smoothies using a blender that seemed to have no more power than an electric pencil sharpener.

You won't be able to achieve the same results as a powerhouse like the Vitamix can achieve, but if you are careful with the machine you can do quite a lot. Remember not to overload the blender, make sure there is always a sufficiently liquid base to what you're blending (put wet ingredients in first!), and feed solid ingredients into the blender slowly and pre-chopped. Pay attention to whether the blender seems to be straining, and use that as a measure of just how careful you need to be.

Happy blending!