I’m a little bit of a planner and when I thought of the idea of a Vitamix in my home… I wondered would I ever use it for anything besides natural juicing? Sure, I’d love to be one of those women who work out every day, discusses pilates on a regular basis, and drinks juices that are neon and blindingly bright… but I just don’t think I’ll ever have that in me; I enjoy a good nap and pasta way too much.
In good faith, I decided to give Vitamix a chance. You have to keep in mind that I still have the blender my mom gave me from college… it’s about mid-grade speed, you have to put your full body weight on top of it to make sure your contents don’t go anywhere, and you must make sure everyone is fully awake before you turn it on otherwise it’s a brutal alarm clock. When I saw the power of the Vitamix, 1 horsepower vs my 325 watt… I thought this ought to be interesting. I immediately prepared myself for something that was going to be louder than a lawn mower and that would shake like a generator. Ha! When I turned on the Vitamix for the first time, there’s a reason they call their redesign the most quite Vitamix yet. There was no alarming motor… there was no unusual sounds when you blended or crushed items (unlike my blender which sounded like it was on its last leg on its very first day and I think you all know what I’m talking about!).
So, I thought to myself… I can do this! I’m going to take a 24 hour challenge where I make Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner out of my Vitamix and show you what you can do with a machine that replaces 12 kitchen appliances. How cool is that?!
Let’s start with Breakfast. Never in a million years did I think I would be making Egg Frittatas. Those two words alone imply a lot of money and a French culinary degree. However, when I ran across the recipe, I actually had on had some peppers and onions so I thought I would try this out first. Side note- I think this recipe could be altered to include any veggies or meat you currently have or need to get rid of. The recipe took me all of 10 minutes to prep, 5 minutes to sauté (veggies), and 30 minutes to cook.
Breakfast: OVEN BAKED ONION CHEESE FRITTA
Squash, Onion, Red and Green Peppers sautéing.
Before going into the oven.
After
Yummy Breakfast! This serves 8, so save what you have leftover and freeze it for an easy weekday meal.
Lunch: ASIAN SALAD WITH GINGER CITRUS DRESSING AND BLUEBERRY BANANA ORANGE SMOOTHIE
Lunch took about 20 mins to prep… a little longer than breakfast but totally worth it from the flavors. The ginger dressing is so completely refreshing and the citrus gives it just enough zing to make it enjoyable on any veggie. The Smoothie was invigorating. It’s refreshing and creamy, without weighing you down, and for 99 calories… we couldn’t beat how satisfied we were with the total meal.
(I added fresh oranges and shrimp pot stickers to a mix leaf salad mix)
My dad helping me prep the ingredients for the Dressing
Ingredients for Smoothie
Final Result
Dinner: STUFFED PORTABELLA MUSHROOM WITH LOW FAT ALFREDO SAUCE AND LINGUINI
Prep time for the sauce was 5 minutes and 5 minutes to “cook” it.
Vitamix has such wonderful recipes for sauces. You flip through that section and all of a sudden the sauces are inspiring the meals… not the meat like I was used to. I sautéed spinach, tomatoes, and shrimp and stuffed it into a portabella mushroom and baked it at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Here’s where the Vitamix comes in with the key part of the dish; Alfredo sauce. I was so surprised after blending the ingredients into the Vitamix how piping hot the sauce came out. I thought for sure I was going to blend and then have to reheat in the sauce pan.
The Alfredo Sauce. It’s almost too good to be true. This was the perfect, healthy compliment to my dish because it just made me sink into the earthiness of the mushrooms and made my mouth water when I got to the shrimp (none of my ingredients had been marinated or added anything to them).
The Results topped with a little bit of Italian bread crumbs.
It didn’t take long for me to realize that Viamix truly brings the culinary experience home. I made dishes that I usually spend good money at a restaurant to eat all in my own home. The recipe book is fabulous and full of color which I think can inspire all of us… even those who don’t normally cook. Whether it’s for healthy dishes or a good ole cup of old fashioned ice cream, be sure to check out this brand new Vitamix during our Customer’s Favorites Weekend here on QVC. Trust me, you’ll surprise yourself what you can do with this incredible machine.
See you Sunday at 3AM!!
CC