<p>0) My smoothie recipe is 1/2 frozen fruit, 1/2 unsweetened nonfat yogurt, 1 scoop protein powder/person. </p>
<p>1) you can buy a gift card from Costco and use it immediately without being a member ;-)</p>
<p>2) I <em>had</em> a Blendtec for six years… loved it. Then I got a demo of a Vitamix… and gave the Blendtec to DD and bought the Vitamix. DH and I have had smoothies every day for 15 years now. I burned out a few cheap blenders, then a Kitchenaid (in about 9 months), two Waring blenders (about two years each), and the Blendtec (4 years). The Blendtec was under warranty and they replaced it. </p>
<p>3) Vitamix is significantly quieter and will quite literally blend pretty much anything, including ice cubes, to a fine powder. It has a seven year warranty.</p>
<p>4) If you want to make smoothies without frozen fruit or ice cubes, put the blender carafe in the refrigerator the night before with yogurt and frozen fruit. By morning it will be cold but easy to blend because it won’t be frozen. This is a good way to make smoothies with a lower-power blender.</p>
<p>I burned through two Williams-Sonoma bar blenders (those silver metal Waring ones). They are now only used for salad dressing. Then burned through an excellent but discontinued 1000 watt blender that I picked up at the W-S outlet. Finally got the Vitamix 5200 several years ago. It is as good as everyone says. Full batch of smoothies in a minute, quick clean-up. The base is heavy and the combo of the base and carafe is tall, but no other complaints.</p>
<p>I also have a Blendtec and really like it. I use it mostly for green smoothies and the kids use it for milkshakes. Have you seen any of the “will it blend?” videos? They put anything from golf balls to phones in the blender! Here’s the page:</p>
<p>I have a KitchenAid blender. When we try to make smoothies, it gets stuck and I have to “shift” the frozen fruit around so there isn’t an empty air pocket around the blades. This makes the whole process tedious and time consuming (have to do this lots of times per smoothie). Does this happen with the VitaMix? Thinking of getting one, but not if it isn’t “perfect” – at that price I don’t want to have any complaints!</p>
<p>Mamabear, I used to do the same thing with my old Oster blender, but Vitamix never needs any poking or prodding. And if you buy it at Costco, you can bring it back for a full refund if it does not meet your expectations. </p>
<p>I have a Margaritaville blender from Williams-Sonoma. I love it because it shaves the ice instead of breaking it up. The smoothie’s consistency is better.</p>
<p>@NYMomof2 – yes! It’s incredibly annoying and makes it take so long to just make one smoothie. I have the same concerns about the Vitamix (price and size, plus it’s not as pretty as my KitchenAid).</p>
<p>Just a thought: if you ask a Costco member to buy the blender for you, you may run into difficulty should you have a problem with the blender and need to return it.
It’s no big deal if you are picking up a gallon of milk for someone (and the milk ends up being sour - you are only out a few bucks). On a big ticket item, you may not want to risk not being able to return it. </p>
<p>@MamaBear16—echoing above sentiments. Often had to unwedge partially macerated fruit from blades with Oster blender. Have never had an issue with Vitamix.</p>
<p>Re: having someone else return….what about if you were to have the Costco member give you the receipt?</p>
<p>I don’t know why there would be any problem with getting the blender fixed, especially if you have the proof of purchase. I’m a member of Costco, but if I gave a Vitamix as a gift, that shouldn’t negate the warranty. </p>
<p>When you return at Costco, they will refund your method of payment which is usually the Costco/Amex credit card. I haven’t tried returning without a receipt or for a cash purchase (since I never make cash purchases there). The return place is right next to the entrance, so you shouldn’t need to show a membership card to duck in for that. Just explain that you have a return and that’s all. </p>
<p>I did a lot of research on this. If you just plan on making a smoothie, I would go with a more personal blender such as the Nutri Ninja Pro (what I eventually went with) or the Nutri-bullet. 900 watts of power, perfect for a smoothie and easy clean up. I use mine daily. </p>
<p>Interesting talk on smoothies. Maybe that would be a nice way to change up my breakfast routine. At this point I just have a standard blenders. Can somebody recommend a recipe to try? </p>
<p>colorado_mom, my standard recipe is frozen fruit (usually strawberries + mango or papaya), a banana, plain yogurt, some chia seeds, some hemp hearts. The chia seeds are very good for you, and I think they add some nice texture to the smoothie - they taste like poppy seeds. DS is a vegetarian, so I am always looking for protein for him. The hemp hearts have complete protein. I sometimes add a scoop of whey protein - someone on CC recommended a particular brand that I now buy regularly. Can’t remember who at the moment. I sometimes add almond butter. </p>
<p>I’ve also made this blueberry/basil smoothie, and it’s great:</p>
<p>I usually start with some almond/soy/coconut milk, a banana (or half an avocado for creaminess), a couple handfuls of greens, and some frozen fruit on top. Sometimes I add chia seeds or protein powder, or depending on the fruit I am using, a spoonful of peanut butter.</p>
And if you buy it at Costco, you can bring it back for a full refund if it does not meet your expectations. </p>
I have the same concerns about the Vitamix (price and size, plus it’s not as pretty as my KitchenAid).</p>