Vitamix Promotion!

Photo courtesy : The Vitamix Blender

Both Charissa and I are Vitamix customers. And we can't say enough wonderful things about this product.  Besides the early morning smoothie routine, we make dressings, desserts, and soups with this thing.  You've all seen our recipes, yes?  If not, here you go. At least one step in almost every recipe calls for blending.  

As Charissa mentioned in a previous post, we've tried many blenders. Some of them were okay for a little while, but none of them stood the test of time. Either they didn't have the strength to hold up to our daily needs, or were awkward and downright dangerous to use.  After hearing many great things about the Vitamix (a five year warranty, easy to clean and use, and makes SMOOTH smoothies), we finally decided to invest . Well, I did first. Then after my annoying but rave reviews, Charissa saved her pennies and got hers. 

Several months and recipes later, we couldn't be happier with our investment. It's amazing how appetizing and gourmet the Vitamix makes our food appear.  But this is the blender that many restaurants use, after all. Plus, it helps get a ton of nutritionally dense, plant based foods and smoothies into our diets that we wouldn't normally if we had to prepare it non-blended. Especially greens. 

Photo courtesy of
green_smoothie.jpg

When I learned Vitamix is always looking for happy customers to promote their product,  we didn't hesitate at the chance to join their affiliate program. We love it, use it every day and want to help others get healthy too,  We receive a small commission on each sale if you order through us. The incentive for you is you get free shipping directly from the company by using our promo discount code. And if you are satisfied with your product, you can become a future affiliate, too. 

Vitamix stands by its product. As mentioned, there is a five year warranty, and if anything (ANYTHING!) goes wrong with it, Vitamix will make sure you have your blender back in working order-- as the high speed, state of the machine-that-can-liquify-wooden-blocks that it is. (When you're blending frozen bananas or anything dense each day, that point comes in handy.)

PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR A DIRECT LINK TO THE VITAMIX SITE WITH A CODE FOR FREE SHIPPING, WHICH IS A SAVINGS OF $25 ($35 in Canada). If you don’t like ordering over the Internet, you can call Vitamix Account Mgr. JP Minard and order directly from him at his direct line of 440-782- 2303 (800-848-2649 Ext 2303). The discount code if you do it that way is:

06-007869.

If you've been researching which kinds of equipment to buy to improve your health nutritionally, I can't think of a better way to accomplish that than with a Vitamix blender. Especially since out of all my gadgets--the dehydrator, spiralizer and food processor-- I use the Vitamix most. 

Please save your time and money--learn from Charissa and me and our multiple expenditures on inferior blenders. Unless you're in a financial pinch and want to have a cheaper product for the time being (believe me, I understand how that goes), we suggest skipping the hassle altogether. Don't endure undesirable chunky smoothies, blender motor burnout and overall poor quality and use. Consider buying a Vitamix. It's a worthy investment.  

With the help of this product, we've sustained our healthy BMI's for over a year! 

 Order online or toll free. And don't forget to give them the discount code! 

www.Vitamix.com, 800.848.2649. Discount code: 06-007869

Your blender does matter!

Since starting this whole smoothie and better health mission, I have used 3 blenders.

All within a year.

Before the blender became our ultimate tool in the kitchen, the Cuisinart, (you know, the standard one most get at a wedding shower), was not being used ...er, to its maximum potential.  When it was, it only took a few months but the smoothies got chunky.  As you can imagine, a chunky smoothie is completely unappetizing.  Soooo, I stole my Mom's Montel Williams blender.  What a difference! This blender is fantastic.  A bit tall but it blends wonderfully.

BUT...eventually my mom wanted her blender back.  So she bought Melissa and I Ninja blenders.  This is by far the worst blender I have ever encountered for so many reasons:

1.  Chunky smoothies, like, on the first day of ever using it.

2. We had to let the blender go for over five minutes before it got somewhat smooth.


3.  The blades were designed to come in and out of the blender for better cleaning (and supposedly better blending) but it was absolutely dangerous.  Stuffing the fruits and veggies in was a nightmare.

4.  The blender become absolutely disgusting.  Smoothie would leak into the handle and remain in there.  There was no way to take it apart, so food would stay in the handles of the blender.  So gross.

5.  Finally, after only a few short months with this $150 blender, we learned to blend then take the time to transfer it into the magic bullet, which took 20 minutes.

The Ninja blender...The smoothies practically looked like  that after blending for 20 minutes!

All I know is this hassle made me give up this summer, and I have not been juicing hardly at all until this past week, when I stole my mom's blender back again.  I have been feeling so awful not having my smoothies.  My body had become sore, depression returned, my skin lost its glow, and my motivation to be healthy: gone.

Fortunately I 've been feeling better again, but I need to get back on track like I did before.  Melissa had issues with her Ninja blender too so she invested in the Vitamix.  I was fortunate enough to enjoy a smoothie when we visited and it was fantastic.  This thing can liquify a block of wood.  Many juicers and vegans recommend this blender.

On the left is the Montel Williams blender and on the right is the Vitamix (available on our Amazon online store.)

Anyway, I can't wait because I just got mine in the mail!  Getting a blender that will last and (most importantly) BLEND is so key.  If anyone is looking into juicing or doing smoothies, do your research and hopefully realize the benefits of investing into one of the better/best blenders.  The Vitamix is outstanding, also the Montel Williams or Blendtech blenders. But the Vitamix has a standard five year warranty, and this company stands by its product.  Now here's my salesman coming out of me....If you are interested in the Vitamix, please look on our Amazon store located on our blog and a small percentage will be given to us.  As well as any other products of interest.  Thanks!  ( You will notice the Ninja is NOT on there!)  :)

Health Investments

Blessed Palm Sunday!

Today I'd like to share the following items/food I consider health investments.

Pictured below from left to right:

1. Blender (Ninja--not my favorite, but it was a gift, so I'm stuck with it until I can get a Vita-mix or whatever Montel Williams' blender is called. Sorry, mom.) This thing is essential for smoothies and soups, which I have daily.  I've tried to do dessert blends, but the Ninja isn't the best with completely liquifying and emulsifying food, so yeah. But before the Ninja, I had an Oster blender, and it worked great-it was just too small for the amounts of food we need blended.  

2. Food Processor This is where the magic happens: Appetizers, desserts, raw garden burgers, you name it, the processor probably does it. Okay, it didn't get me the winning lottery ticket, but you know,  minus that, it does it all.   

3. Fruit/Veggie Spiralizer. So far I've used it on squash, cucumber and sweet potatoes. They look so pretty! Definitely gives that gourmet presentation.  Those recipes will be up sooner or later. I would say this is an optional item if you're just getting started.  

Up Next:

Our Superfoods!

Right to left (switching it up on ya):

Spirulina

Chlorella

Astaxanthin

I HIGHLY recommend reading this free ebook about Spirulina and Chlorella. It's 39 pages, but they're small pages. Give it a whirl, I think you'll be amazed.  

And this is an article about astaxanthin. 

 Spirulina and chlorella are micro green algae. Astaxanthin is a potent antioxidant extracted from krill and algae. 

 I can't tell you all enough how important these foods have been for our diet. My energy has skyrocketed, my skin has never looked clearer. I can exercise more efficiently and run so much faster for longer (sure, being lighter probably helps with that, too) In many ways, I feel like I've regained my high school and college fitness back. 

I advise you to do your own research on brands, but through that ebook, the author will give you a great head start, balancing quality and budget. That is why I've chosen the spirulina and chlorella brands that I have.  

As far as astaxanthin goes, I've been doing some preliminary research on it (all with great reviews). And instead of ordering it online (like I do with my chlorella), I found it at my local health food store. I've used NOW's brand and now Bioastin's brand. I can't tell a major difference between the two, meaning, they both work great, give me tons more oxygen (it literally feels like my skin is "breathing," like I have icy hot on it throughout the day) when paired with the other two micro green algae.  

Hawiian Pacifica Spirulina (16oz), Kyoto Chlorella (1500 tabs),
Bioastin Astaxanthin (120 softgels)
They all last approx 2-3 months for Adam and I.
Knox has Spirulina (in the smoothies) and a tab or two of chlorella on occasion. 

Finally, my food dehydrator.

This is an investment I opted for after many months of smoothies.  

For those who don't know, food dehydrators allow enzymes in raw food to remain in tact (as long as the heat does not exceed 118 degrees Fahrenheit.)  

Cookies, fruit roll ups, dried fruit, chips and endless possibilities (jerky of every kind) can be made on this. 

My tip?

 If you don't have $300 to put toward a FD, AND you are still in dietary transition, I recommend using your oven for various raw/vegan recipes, and just putting it on very low heat.

  

Knox loves the fruit roll-ups.

I love the cookies, corn chips and dried fruit I've made on this.

Heck, I love it all. 

In future posts I'll be sharing other food staples that I use in various recipes.

Okay, I think that's it-- hope you've enjoyed the tour. We're off to church. 

Have a great day!

*While I certainly recommend asking your medical doctor before implementing Spirulina, chlorella and astaxanthin into your diet, it is worth noting that some doctors are not all up to speed on the benefits of the algae. Presenting several articles to them may help them understand that spirulina and chlorella (those two, especially) are not supplements, herbs, synthetic vitamins or minerals. They are foods that contain in-tact synergistic vitamins and minerals that are of great benefit to people's health. As with anything, we recommend starting slow, as various detoxifying reactions occur. We've learned through personal experience that the body needs time to adjust to all the changes. But it sure feels good once it does!