"We've reached the end of antibiotics"

[Raipizo]

Got any smoothie recipes?

[GoldenBrain]

Got any smoothie recipes?

We kind of just wing it with our smoothies. The guide that came with our blender has a bunch of recipes that we plan on trying out. So far we have only tried two, broccoli and cheese soup and tomato soup but they were delicious. Their recipes can be found here. http://www.smoothieninja.com/ninja-blender-recipes

[GoldenBrain]

Here's a followup to our discussion regarding the Ninja blender. At first I was totally sold on the thing, but now…HA! It started getting weaker and weaker until the motor failed a couple of weeks ago. We took it back for a full refund and put that money towards a Vitamix CIA Professional Series. https://secure.vitamix.com/CIA-Professional-Series.aspx

Bed Bath and Beyond has them listed for $499.00 and with a 20 percent off coupon we basically only paid about $75.00 more than the Ninja. Yes, it's expensive, but if it lasts even through the 7 year warranty then I'll be happy.

Time will tell if the Vitamix holds up to our abuse, but right now I'm very impressed with this machine. It runs circles around the Ninja. It's quieter, makes a better vortex, and the smoothies come out much smoother. The almond butter also came out smoother and it will crush ice so fine it actually turns into snow. So, Raipizo, I'd say you were on the right track in looking at the Vitamix.

[SoCo KungFu]

Not directly relevant, but...

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013...grows-stronger

This is about specific vitamins, not necessarily diet in general. Although, a lot of people on here have mentioned taking fish oil, which may not do anything for you. And is very bad environmentally.

http://conservationmagazine.org/2012...oiliest-catch/

[GoldenBrain]

Thanks for that SoCo! These aren't new studies either. This has been a theory for quite a while now.

I wouldn't eat fish oil supplements if you paid me. In fact, with everything they are dumping into the ocean, from the Fukushima disaster to the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster and the subsequent dumping of tons of Corexit and other nasty stuff I wouldn't eat anything from the sea. That's why we now raise our own fish. Plus it's very relaxing being in the greenhouse with the water falling sound in the background.

[Syn7]

Man! Those blenders are expensive.

[Syn7]

About vitamins and other supplements... Considering the appalling diets people have in N. America, do you think many people are better off with them if they can't or won't change their diet?

[SoCo KungFu]

About vitamins and other supplements... Considering the appalling diets people have in N. America, do you think many people are better off with them if they can't or won't change their diet?

The article isn't really a knock on vitamins as a whole (although some are pretty useless). Its more a hit on multivitamins. The problem with us here in NA isn't really the lack of nutrition, its that we eat too much and too much of the stuff is bad. But most people are meeting the minimums, and most of those people are blowing out the maximums, esp in all the bad ways. There are some that are lacking in certain areas, but its pretty specific. Too specific for a multivitamin.

[Syn7]

I guess if you can't afford or be bothered to eat right, you aren't going to take the right vitamins in the right dose anyways.

I never got into the multivitamin thing. Unless you count flintstones when I was like 4.

[GoldenBrain]

About vitamins and other supplements... Considering the appalling diets people have in N. America, do you think many people are better off with them if they can't or won't change their diet?

I'll just echo what SoCo said. I don't think there's a problem with lack of nutrition either...for the most part. If there were we'd probably be seeing rickets and scurvy outbreaks all over the place. I understand that without vitamin C it doesn't take much time for scurvy to set in.

[GoldenBrain]

Man! Those blenders are expensive.

Ya, no lie there. It was hard to pull the trigger on that one and I actually have disposable income. Now, if I had your engineering talent I'd just rig up my own 200 HP model, but sadly I'd probably burn the house down so it's safer all around for us to just buy the thing. Besides, we were already over 200 bucks into that POS Ninja.

[Syn7]

Prolly easier to just buy it. I just have a rough idea as to what it costs to produce and deliver such a unit, and it's nowhere near 500 bucks.

Is it at least glass?

Can you buy and change blades easily? For me, that's always what goes first.

[GoldenBrain]

Syn,

I know that I'm getting bent over on the price, but sometimes you're the bug, sometimes you're the windshield. I'd sure like to know how much it cost to manufacture.

Unfortunately the container is not glass but it is BPA free and virtually unbreakable. The blades are hardened steel and are attached with all stainless steel fasteners. I'm pretty sure you can buy replacement blades but their site is undergoing maintenance so I can't verify this. I do know that it voids the warranty if you take the blades loose from the container, but that doesn't bother me. As far as the warranty is concerned I only need it for the motor.

I'll say this… The difference between using this blender and your standard Walmart blender is like going from a cheap chainsaw to a Stihl. It's just a joy to use so I really hope it lasts us a few years. It's always my intent to take care of my things but the reality is that I tend to be hard on everything so I have to buy quality products that can take my abuse. I'm that guy who can sheer lug bolts right off the wheel because I don't know my own strength (at some point I got smart and bought a torque wrench).

[Raipizo]

Didn't end up getting a vitamix, at least not yet. My girlfriend found me a blender/juicer from a store for Christmas (http://www.nesco.com/products/Kitche...nder-Red-Trim/), haven't tried out the blender part but I've used the juicer with orange and citrus to make juice and it works rather well. It probably won't blend obviously anywhere as near strength as a vitamix but I don't have the money to shell out for that yet. Vitamix blenders are sold used right off their website for around $300 depending on the model you want the only used part on it is the motor and that is factory inspected and still comes with a warranty, I would go that route but that's your call. https://secure.vitamix.com/Certified...-Products.aspx

[GoldenBrain]

Didn't end up getting a vitamix, at least not yet. My girlfriend found me a blender/juicer from a store for Christmas (http://www.nesco.com/products/Kitche...nder-Red-Trim/), haven't tried out the blender part but I've used the juicer with orange and citrus to make juice and it works rather well. It probably won't blend obviously anywhere as near strength as a vitamix but I don't have the money to shell out for that yet. Vitamix blenders are sold used right off their website for around $300 depending on the model you want the only used part on it is the motor and that is factory inspected and still comes with a warranty, I would go that route but that's your call. https://secure.vitamix.com/Certified...-Products.aspx

I have had good success with refurbished equipment. When I was a bit poorer I bought most of my laptops as refurbished units. I can build my own desktops but really hate to mess with laptops.

I already bought the Vitamix. We've been using it for a couple of weeks now and it's a powerhouse. It actually does make snow out of ice. I'm not talking snow cone snow where there are large granules but real powder. And, it's about half the noise of that effing Ninja. I'm sure you'll get plenty of use out of yours at least until you can justify the expense of the Vitamix.