Other than my dishwasher, there is only one other appliance that I would say I can’t live without…..my Vitamix!
I have had my Professional Series Vitamix for over 10 years! It was a big investment, but my parents had one, and I saw how often they used it, so I took the plunge and bought one. I had just been diagnosed with multiple food allergies, so I had to learn a new way of cooking and eating. Learning to make dairy-free alternatives required a good blender.
Fast forward 10+ years and after daily use, my Vitamix is still going strong! I use it daily for making a lunchtime smoothie and it blends ice and frozen fruit better than any traditional blender I have ever had.
It also gets weekly use for making homemade almond milk, cashew cream, and a household favorite, vegan cacio e pepe sauce. On the note of homemade almond milk, if you have never tried making it, you should. Nothing tastes better and it is an easy way to remove the preservatives and additives found in store-bought almond milk.
The almond milk recipe I have been making for 10 years is from the Oh She Glows Cookbook. It is one of my favorite Vegan cookbooks. It is a simple blend of almonds, water, dates, vanilla and a dash of cinnamon. Blend it well, which is easy with the Vitamix, and strain it through a nut milk bag, which are readily available on Amazon. Refrigerate and enjoy in any way you would use milk or milk alternatives. Once you try it, you will never want store bought nut milk again!
Another family favorite is cashew cream which I use instead of whipped cream and often have with fruit for dessert instead of ice cream or another higher-calorie sweet treat. My favorite cashew cream recipe comes from the Blender Girl cookbook. The ingredients are soaked raw cashews, almond milk (I use my homemade milk), a little bit of maple syrup, and vanilla. It is slightly sweet, which I find perfect to satisfy my sweet tooth without a big spike in my glucose levels. Plus it is dairy-free so it is a great alternative for people looking to avoid dairy or are lactose intolerant.
One of my newer favorite things to make in the Vitamix is a chick pea based cacio e pepe recipe from Love and Lemons Simple Feel Good Food cookbook. This is a newer vegan cookbook in my rotation, but one I really enjoy. Jeanine, the author, has a fantastic cacio e pepe recipe that is simple, delicious, tastes like it has cheese and has protein! I add it to gluten-free pasta with veggies and it is a household favorite. Plus it is a dinner made in under 30 minutes!
The Vitamix is great for making soups, sauces and anything you would use a high-speed blender for including frozen drinks and even ice cream. Another great thing about the Vitamix is it has a self-cleaning setting! Fill it halfway with water, add a little soap, run the self-cleaning setting, and poof, clean blender without any disassembly!
Occasionally the Vitamix is on sale on Amazon or Williams Sonoma, so keep an eye out for a fall sale and treat yourself to the best kitchen appliance you will ever own!
Happy blending!
~JC xoxo