Vita-Mix

Imagine my surprise on Christmas when I unwrapped a present and found inside, the Vita-Mix TurboBlend 4500 model!!! This is one of those items, I've craved from afar for a long time and assumed it would go on a wedding gift registry (for some long lost rich relative to buy) because I would never buy it myself. These machines are not cheap -  $399 to over $1000. Yes that is a lot for a blender, but trust me its worth every penny, because its not just a blender! You can also make hot soup, the smoothest smoothies ever, frozen drinks, juice, homemade ice cream and sauces.

So far, I've become obsessed with mastering the perfect morning smoothie. I don't think I've ever bought so much frozen and fresh fruit in my life! Every variation I've tried comes out great - if you're someone who likes smoothies but hates all of the chain smoothie shops and all the crap they put in them, get this instead, its the most natural terrific taste with no added fat, sodium or sugar.

Favorite combos so far:
banana-orange-strawberry-ice
banana-peanut butter-ice-almond milk
kiwi-orange-banana-strawberry
strawberry-pineapple-kiwi-banana-ice (the pictures below)

I'm officially a Vita-Mix junkie!

A good deal is to buy it at Bed Bath and Beyond and use a 20% coupon and it knocks it down - otherwise you'll be waiting for Sur la Table, Williams Sonoma or whatever fancy kitchen supply store to put it on sale.