Recipes Guide

Copyright 2012 by HealthyBlender.com. All rights reserved.

Vitamix is a registered trademark of the Vita-mix Corporation. This guide is the sole

work of Josh Bertrand and is not produced by or in collaboration with Vita-mix.

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Introduction

Hello! My name is Josh Bertrand. Im a work-at-home

dad of two (soon to be three) awesome and healthy kids.

First of all, I want to thank you for using my Vitamix

promotion code with your order. The commission I

receive from Vitamix goes to support my growing family

and allows me to update healthyblender.com with more

recipes and healthy living tips. I want to let you know that

I am also writing a book on living a healthy lifestyle

through diet, exercise, and meditation that I hope to re-

lease in 2012.

My family is vegan and I am the de facto chef of the

household. A lot of the meals I prepare for my family are

not fancy, but they usually are nutritious and I aim to

make them as tasty as possible too. I dont have any for-

mal training in cooking (other than owning way to many

vegan cookbooks) but despite that I am often compli-

mented on the food we take to family gatherings and

other social activities. Apparently a lot of people think

that vegan food is boring or consists entirely of tofu and

salads. Of course thats not true and I like to come up

with all sorts of creative combinations and use as many

healthy whole foods as possible.

When we invested in our own Vitamix in 2009 I was ex-

cited to see what sorts of combinations I could come up

with. It has definitely been a learning process and I still

find that Im learning new techniques with our blender to

this day. There have been a few bumps along the road

which is why I created this ebook to help you in your

quest to Vitamix mastery (or at least in making a thick

and tasty smoothie)!

I just want to say congratulations on your purchase of a

new Vitamix! I think you'll find that you've made a wise

investment in your health. I remember when we ordered

ours, I was so excited about getting to use it for the first

time that I was literally checking the UPS tracking num-

ber everyday! There is a lot you can do with this machine

and in time you will learn to be a master of many blend-

ing techniques and you will compile your own wonderful

collection of personal recipe creations. But before you get

there you might end up struggling to get the hang of cre-

ating blends with the consistency and flavor you image

them having in your head. This guidebook is designed to

give you a few tips and recommendations based on my

personal experience so that you get off on the right foot

with your new blender.

Ive broken this ebook into two sections. The first section

will introduce you to some basic care and usage guide-

lines as well as advice on experimenting and creating

your own recipes from scratch. You can consider this a

Quick Start guide on getting started with your new Vita-

mix.

The second section is all about recipes and more specific

tips related to each recipe category. Ive broken this

section into the major categories of blends that I create

most frequently:

Smoothies

Juices

Dips & Spreads

Nut Butters

Dressings, Sauces & Marinades

Flours

and Desserts

There are of course other uses for your Vitamix that I do

not cover but I only like to talk about those with which I

am most familiar. I do encourage you to have a good look

at the recipe book that comes with your Vitamix and you

might want to take a few minutes to watch the Getting

Started DVD as well. To be perfectly honest, not all of the

recipes in the Vitamix recipe book are home-runs (at least

for my personal tastes) but it does help to teach you the

principles of using the Vitamix and is usually the first re-

source I turn to when trying out a new technique.

If you want to start blending the day your Vitamix arrives

then make sure you read this guidebook all the way

through and choose at least two different recipes from

section two that sound appealing to you. These will be the

first recipes you try when your Vitamix arrives at your

doorstep. Make sure you have the ingredients you will

need beforehand so that you wont have to run to the

store once your Vitamix is delivered. The rest is up to you.

Section 1: CommonMistakes & General Tips

Vitamix Newbie Mistake #1: Overheating

The first thing I want to mention is what to do if your Vi-

tamix suddenly stops working. Now, this has never

happened to me but I have read other peoples horror

stories that their new blender isnt working. The motor in

the Vitamix has a thermal sensor on it and if it gets too

hot it will turn itself off until it has thoroughly cooled

down. This prevents you from inadvertently burning out

your blender. This will sometimes happen to new Vitamix

users as they arent familiar with how to use the blender

correctly at first. As I said Ive never had an issue with

this and if you read through this guide I doubt that you

will either.

Its important to note that if your blenders heat overload

sensor does kick in you can get it working again by just

being patient. The official Vitamix guide recommends

waiting about 45 minutes but I have heard other users

report that you can speed this waiting period up consid-

erably by placing the base of the blender in your freezer

for about 5 minutes. You can also flip the base upside

down and run a hair dryer on the cool setting into the

vents on the side of the base. Once the blender has com-

pletely cooled off the thermal protection circuit will allow

normal use once again.

The best way to avoid overheating your blender is to

avoid running it on low-speed for a prolonged period.

This blender was built for high speed and the safest set-

ting is actually full-blast with the high-speed switch

turned on. For most blends the recommended procedure

is to start with the variable speed dial at 1, then turn it up

to 10 and kick in the high-speed switch. There are occa-

sions when a lower variable speed is useful (for making

salsa for instance) but you should be careful not to make

extremely thick blends at low-speed. Always use high

speed for ice-creams and thick smoothies and make use

of the tamper as needed.

Vitamix Newbie Mistake #2: Wrong Liquid to Frozen RatiosExcept for making hot soup, all of your blends should in-

clude a mixture of frozen and liquid ingredients. Usually

your frozen ingredients include: ice, frozen fruit, or fro-

zen milk (from an ice cube tray). As for liquid ingredients

this could of course be water, milk or juice but it can also

include fresh fruit or vegetables too.

Fresh produce is considered a liquid ingredient since it

will be completely pulverized once you start blending

which leaves most fruits and vegetables in a liquid form.

This can vary just a bit depending on the type of produce

you are blending as some are juicier while others are

more fibrous. So keep that in mind as you reference the

following ratios.

THE THREE GOLDEN RATIOS

1. For smoothies aim for approximately a 1:1 ratio of fro-

zen to liquid ingredients. Vary this based on how thick

you want your smoothie to be.

2. For juice try to make your ratio about 3 parts liquid to 1

part frozen (usually ice in this case).

3. And for desserts like ice cream and sorbets you want

about 3 parts frozen to 1 part liquid though I some-

times go as high as 4 parts frozen to 1 part liquid. It

depends on how thick of a blend you are looking for

and how much tamping you want to do.

Vitamix Newbie Mistake #3: WrongStacking Order

The order that you put ingredients into the blender con-

tainer does matter. This actually took me some time to

get used to as I kept intuitively wanting to think that the

stuff that is harder to grind up should be on the bottom,

but this is not the case. You want the liquid and softer

ingredients at the bottom so that your blending vortex

can gain momentum. This will suck the hard to blend in-

gredients down into the center of the container and push

the already blended bits up the outer edges.

Sometimes it will take a few seconds for the stuff on the

bottom to blend up enough to start pulling the ingredi-

ents from the top. This is normal and you may even see

two distinct colors of blended ingredients before the

blend starts to homogenize and all of the ingredients be-

come one.

Caring for your Vitamix

Your Vitamix will come with its own care manual and I do

recommend that you read through that but let me also

give you some tips from my own experience.

CLEANING YOUR BLENDER

If you want to keep your blender looking brand-new

make sure you wash it out after each use. And when I say

after each use I don't mean half an hour after you finish

your smoothie I mean as soon as you've poured it into

the cup. If you let that blended residue stick to the inside

the container it is just going to make cleanup take longer

and will discourage you from using your blender on a

regular basis in the future. This of course defeats the pur-

pose of buying it in the first place and I want to make

sure you use your Vitamix as frequently as possible.

Cleaning the container is usually quite easy but it can

sometimes be a bit tricky depending on what youve

made. Here are my three basic approaches to keeping

your blender clean.

1) The Quick Clean

This is your basic clean-up that you should do every time

you use the blender. This is the easiest technique and will

clean-up many blends easily. This process should take

less than 60 seconds and will go a long way to keeping

your blender looking new.

Step One: Fill your container up with warm water a little

past halfway and wipe down any spills from the base of

the blender. Since it takes a just a bit to fill the container

with water I will use this opportunity to clean the lid and

around the pouring spout as well as any drips that are on

the outside of the container.

Step Two: Add just two drops of kitchen soap.

Step Three: Secure the lid and blend on high for about 15

to 30 seconds. Now is a good time to quickly wipe down

and rinse off the tamper in the sink if you used it.

Step Four: Quickly rinse the blender with fresh water.

If I know I'll be using the Vitamix again in just a few min-

utes sometimes I won't use any soap. I'll just quickly rinse

it in the sink with water only. But remember that it is es-

pecially important to let the blender run with soapy water

if you're making a sweet blend like a smoothie right after

having just made a savory blend like a garlicky dip.

Somehow a strawberry garlic smoothie just doesnt sound

appealing, right?

2) The Thorough Clean

If youve made a thick or particularly sticky concoction

youll need to add a couple of steps to the quick clean.

Your sticky blend might be hummus or it could be the

worse offender: nut butters.

First off, try to scrape out as much of your blend as you

can. This can be difficult around the bottom of the blades

but give it your best shot. Use a skinny spatula tool to

work your way around the edges. I dont like to waste any

food but I dont want to spend 5 minutes scraping my

blender out for that last spoonful of peanut butter either!

Next you want to follow the steps above except, before

blending your soapy water, give the container a quick

scrub with a nylon scrubbing brush to help loosen the

bits stuck to the side and the bottom. Then add a handful

of ice and let it blend on high for about 60 to 90 seconds.

Having the ice in there will act as a gentle abrasive and

will further loosen the sticky bits.

Then just rinse the container out as usual. If there is any

bits that are still clinging to the side or bottom they will

be easy removed with a sponge or the nylon brush you

used earlier. In total it should take about one-and-a-half

to two minutes to clean up your previous very messy and

sticky blender. That works for me!

Optional: If you arent having much luck with above di-

rections you can also add in a more serious degreaser like

ProForce Degreaser which should help break-down any

oils left on the sides of the container. I dont find this to

be necessary but Ive heard it mentioned before so I fig-

ured Id let you know.

3) The Deep Clean

Okay, so the Quick Clean and Thorough Clean take care

of your day to day usage. Now depending on how often

you use your Vitamix and what kind of blends you make,

its possible that after a few months you will see a thin

film build up on the inside of the container. If you are

washing your blender out immediately after use it will

take many months of regular usage before you even see

this film. For some who just make smoothies you might

never see it. However if you create oily blends on a regu-

lar basis I think you will start to notice it after a few

months. Heres how to get rid of that film.

First off, get some really hot water (as hot as your

kitchen tap will give you or even use a tea kettle water

heater) and fill the Vitamix container to the top with

about a 1/2 cup of baking soda. Let this set for about 2

hours and then dump it out.

Next, add in some more piping hot water, a few drops of

soap and whole, peeled lemon. Blend on high for about 2

minutes and rinse it out. That should be all you need.

If you have a really thick build up (then you probably

werent cleaning it out as suggesting in the Quick and

Thorough Clean) you might have to do a little bit of

scrubbing and then repeat the process.

I only do this process with ours about twice a year and it

doesnt require much active cleaning on my part... most

of the time is in the initial soak with the baking soda.

Optional: The Occasional Take Apart and Clean

Ive only done this once since we have owned our blender.

It takes about 15 minutes altogether and I wouldnt worry

about doing it very often but I do think it is useful to do

now and then. By removing the blade assembly on the

bottom you can clean out any little minute particles of

food that may have gotten trapped down there around the

seal and blade assembly.

You should refer to the user manual that comes with your

Vitamix on the exact steps to do this but its pretty easy

and like I said only takes a few minutes. I think it is a

good idea to do this once in a very rare occasion since Im

trying to keep my blender clean and in good working or-

der for many, many years to come.

Notes on Variable vs High Speed Blending

If you have been using a regular blender for many years it

may take some time to get used to how quickly your Vi-

tamix works its magic on the ingredients you put in it.

Most of your blends will take about 20 or 30 seconds but

sometimes it may only take a few seconds. It's important

to make sure you don't blend for any longer than you

need to or else you will end up with a runny mess. Usually

the only occasion you will end up blending for a long pe-

riod of time is when you're making soup. This is because

not only do want to blend your ingredients together but

you also want want the blender to run long enough to

cause an adequate amount of friction in order to heat the

ingredients up and create a hot and steamy soup.

When you start blending always start on the lowest

variable speed and then turn up the dial until the desired

speed is reached. Most of the time you will also turn the

high-speed switch on once you have reached the maxi-

mum variable speed. I usually go from off, to on at speed

1 to speed 10 to high speed in a matter of about 3 seconds

(though sometimes slower depending on the ingredients).

If you start out on high-speed your ingredients will tend

to scatter and you're much more likely to get an air

pocket at the bottom of the blender. It could also damage

your Vitamix as part of the start up process involves the

container self-aligning itself on the base of the blender

while in low speed.

By starting on low speed and slowly increasing it, you're

allowing a vortex to slowly start within the blender which

pulls the food down into the blades without creating an

air pocket. Often times once you turn on high-speed if

you're making a thick blend you might still end up with

an air pocket. All you need to do is insert the tamper

through the lid and push it straight down. Sometimes

moving it from side to side or in a stirring motion is also

helpful. This will get rid of the air pocket and help the

remaining ingredients make their way down through the

blending vortex and into the blade.

Creativity and Experimentation

One of my favorite aspects of cooking is the fun of trying

out new ideas and refining my existing recipes. Cooking is

a lot like painting: adding some red here, some purple

there; all the while varying the shapes, textures and con-

tours of the marks. Creating your own blends in your Vi-

tamix is more or less the same concept. Keep in mind that

foods dont just have unique flavors, but they impart

their own textures too.

Once your ingredients are blended the texture might be

different than you expected so you will have to get famil-

iar with this new viewpoint on the foods you eat. Keep in

mind that the texture can also vary between fresh and

frozen ingredients as well.

For instance, fresh banana imparts a fluffy but still thick

texture to your blend and if used in too large of a quantity

can also make it a little slimy. Frozen banana on the other

hand imparts a genuinely dense and creamy texture to

the blends and will never be slimy (unless you blend it for

a long time and melt it). I pretty much always prefer us-

ing frozen banana over raw ones but this is just an exam-

ple to prove the point that you should try your ingredi-

ents both ways.

JUST TRY IT

You can make all sorts of things in the Vitamix and you

may be tempted to throw in a lot of ingredients and see

what happens. By all means, I say go for it! There is

nothing more satisfying than seeing a whole container

full of raw foods reduced to a creamy blend in a matter of

seconds. Sometimes this works out fabulously and some-

times the resulting flavor is muddled up and not as deli-

cious as you thought it might be. Thats okay its a

learning process.

Try to keep track of the things that work and those that

dont. I like to keep a small notepad in the kitchen so I

can quickly jot down the relative ratio of ingredients for

the successful experiments. I dont usually record the

ones that dont work out but I probably should to make

sure I dont repeat the same mistakes.

If you are having trouble coming up with your own

blends, the best tip I can give you when experimenting is

to keep it simple. I think you'll find some of your best

blends only require a few ingredients. You can add more

of course but when you're starting out just take some-

thing simple and try adding blueberries instead of straw-

berries or perhaps swapping out carrots instead of zuc-

chini.

By just modifying one ingredient at a time, you can bet-

ter track what you are doing and youll be developing a

mental baseline for what each ingredient does within a

blend. Take note of how each change affects both the tex-

ture and the flavor.

Getting Sneaky With Pick Eaters

When you're making blends for picky eaters here's a

sneaky tip that will allow you to incorporate more fresh

vegetables without them even knowing. Basically what

you want do is use vegetables which have flavors that are

easily hidden by other ingredients. Here's five that work

really well in a lot of different recipes:

yellow squash or zucchini

carrots

spinach

romaine lettuce

and red or green cabbage.

The great thing about those five ingredients is that they

contain a lot of varied nutrients but there flavors don't

stand out too much. The key is not to use too much of

these ingredients somewhere around 1/3 to 1/2 of a

cup in a four-cup batch.

So the next time you're making ice cream try adding in a

handful of cabbage. Or if you're making a pasta sauce you

could add in some carrots or a small bunch of spinach or

zucchini and no one will be the wiser (they will just to be

healthier).

SmoothiesTypical ratio of approximately 1 part frozen to 1 part fresh or liquid ingredients.

I have to admit that we mostly use our Vitamix for mak-

ing smoothies. We use it for lots of other tasks too but

smoothies still win the popularity contest in our house. A

smoothie made from fresh whole foods just cant be beat

when it comes to healthy nutrition in a convenient and

tasty package. The fact that they can be so filling makes

them a great candidate for breakfast or even a lighter

lunch. They are certainly a quick and handy mid-day

snack and work well for those who are on a restricted diet

or are just looking for a way to incorporate more fresh

produce into their diet.

I break smoothies down into 3 sub-categories:

fruit smoothies

green smoothies

and iced drinks.

For fruit and green smoothies I try to use as many whole

foods as I possibly can. I try not to rely on store-bought

juices though I do incorporate a variety of non-dairy

milks into many of my recipes.

FRUIT SMOOTHIE TIPS

For fruit smoothies, my usual aim is to make a thick and

cold blend with a smooth and creamy texture that is

flavorful but only lightly sweet. I truly dislike those

saccharine concoctions that many fast food restaurants

dare to call smoothies.

The best way to get a creamy texture out of your fruit

smoothie is to use frozen bananas. When frozen their fla-

vor stands out a little less and since they taste good with

just about everything, they make the perfect base in your

experiments with additional ingredients. Plus they are

healthy and filling to boot! A real winner in my book!

Just about all of my fruit smoothie recipes involve using

frozen bananas. As such, when we go shopping we usually

end up buying at least a couple dozen bananas at once.

When we get home I quickly peel them, break them into

chunks and pile them into a tall bowl to place in the

freezer. The next day, once they are frozen I put them in

gallon size zip-loc baggies and keep them in the freezer.

This way I have plenty of frozen bananas on hand at all

times.

While you are shopping you should also pick up a range

of fresh fruit like strawberries, peaches, pears, apples,

grapes, kiwis, oranges, a pineapple and anything else that

suits your fancy in the produce department (or local

roadside stand).

GREEN SMOOTHIE TIPS

Now when it comes to green smoothies I take a couple of

different approaches depending on who I am making the

smoothie for. First of all, just to make sure we are on the

same page, a green smoothie is one that is made from

leafy green vegetables (and usually some fruit too). As

you probably already know, greens are super-healthy for

you and if you are like most people you probably dont eat

as many as you should. Green smoothies make for an

easy way to incorporate leafy greens into your everyday

diet.

If you have never tasted a green smoothie before you

might be filled with worry that they are going to taste dis-

gusting. I find this is a common preconception when I

serve them to new guests at our house. This is why I men-

tioned that I take a couple of different approaches with

my green smoothies.

For those that are new to green smoothies I would rec-

ommend making a predominantly fruit-based smoothie

and adding in a smaller quantity of greens. This may not

qualify as a full-on green smoothie and indeed, depend-

ing on what fruit you use it might not even be green, but

they taste great this way and you will be getting your pal-

ate (and your mind) accustomed to the idea of drinking

greens.

Once youve had a few fruity green smoothies you can

start using more and more greens in your mixture. This is

where experimentation makes a big difference because

varying the kind of greens you use can have a huge effect

on the taste of your blend. My favorite greens to use are

kale, spinach, lettuce and carrot tops though I also occa-

sionally incorporate collards, choi, turnip greens, beet

greens, or even wild plants like dandelion greens.

When making full-on green smoothies I aim to create a

cool drink that is less thick than my usual fruit smoothies

and has a bright and refreshing taste. I will usually in-

clude a small quantity of frozen banana but sometimes I

omit that in favor of a different frozen fruit. A great way

to add more liquid ingredients to your blend is to use a

juicy fruit like grapes or strawberries. I usually avoid

pulpy fruits like apples as I think the texture does not

combine well with the blended greens, though I do enjoy

using pears in the blend.

Sometimes I will also include a sweetener in the mix if I

am using an especially large quantity of greens or a fruit

that is not so sweet. Honey is a popular ingredient or you

can also use agave syrup or a bit of stevia which is a natu-

ral glucose-free sweetener made from the ground up

leaves of the stevia plant.

ICED DRINKS TIPS

I put iced drinks in its own little sub-category because I

dont normally use ice in my other smoothies, opting in-

stead for frozen fruit (usually frozen bananas). Iced

drinks usually very cold and have a light texture with a

bold flavor. Adding ice into your blend will usually

lighten the texture by creating more air pockets within

the blend. The downside is that it can also thin out the

flavor so keep that in mind.

PROTEIN BOOST

Heres one final tip regarding smoothies. If are looking

for a little protein boost try adding in some raw nuts or

nut butter along with your other ingredients. I like a

handful of almonds, peanuts or a scoop of hemp seed

nuts into my banana smoothie and occasionally I add

them into my green smoothies too.

Sometimes the flavor clashes in a strange way with your

other ingredients, particularly in a tropically themed fruit

smoothie so its best to try them out first with simple

smoothie recipes. Let your taste buds be your guide, but

just as a heads-up, I have found that walnuts, hazelnuts

and pecans dont taste good in a smoothie to me. I do use

them in other kinds of blends though.

Smoothie Recipes

PEANUT BUTTER BANANA SMOOTHIE MILKSHAKE

3 TB raw or roasted peanuts (or 2TB peanut butter)

2 Bananas, peeled, broken into 1-2 inch pieces & frozen

1.5 cups of non-dairy milk (almond milk is quite tasty

here, but I often use soy milk interchangeably)

Directions: Add everything to the blender starting with

the liquid. Blend on low and gradually increase the speed

to blend on high until smooth. Use tamper if needed.

STRAWBERRY ORANGE KIWI SMOOTHIE

2 peeled oranges (you can leave the seeds in it)

1 kiwi (skin and all)

1 cup frozen strawberries


the oranges and kiwi. Blend on low and gradually in-

crease the speed to blend on high until smooth. Use tam-

per if needed.

BLUEBERRY AND CARROT GREENS REFRESH

1/2 cup light coconut milk

1 cup of fresh blueberries

2 cups carrot greens (roughly the tops of 2-3 or three

carrots)


the coconut milk. Blend on low and gradually increase the

speed to blend on high until smooth. You will definitely

need the tamper to push the carrot greens down as they

like to get stuck on the sides.

SIMPLE KALE AND PEAR AFFAIR

1/2 cup of white grapes

2-3 cups of kale

1 whole pear (remove the stem but you can leave the

skin and seeds)

2 bananas, peeled, broken into chunks and frozen

Directions: Add everything to the blender in the order

listed. Blend on low and gradually increase the speed to

blend on high until smooth. Use tamper if needed.

HIGH PROTEIN CHOCOLATE SHAKE

1 cup soy milk

4-5 pitted dates (more if you want it sweeter)

1 raw banana

1 TB peanut butter

2 tsp cocoa powder

1/2 cup raw cashews

3/4 cup of ice




TRISHAS EASY ICED COFFEE

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup soy milk

2 tsp instant coffee

1 TB natural sugar

1/2 cup ice

optional: garnish with a squirt of chocolate syrup and

sprinkles




JuicingTypical ratio of approximately 1 part frozen to 3 parts fresh or liquid ingredients + thinning as needed.

I have to admit that it took me quite a long while to come

around to even trying to make juice with our Vitamix. We

already had a very nice Breville Juice Fountain and I

couldnt see how juicing in the Vitamix would work out.

Well, recently I have finally come around to the idea and

while I still dont juice all too regularly in the Vitamix

there are some real benefits to using a blender over a

standard juicer.

WHOLE FOOD JUICE

The biggest benefit is that you are making whole food

juice which includes the pulp. A traditional juicer ejects

all of pulp out the back during the juicing process leaving

you with a processed drink that is missing out on the full

benefits that the whole-foods would have provided your

body had you eaten them instead of juicing them. The

pulp from fresh produce is the best source of fiber and a

key component in keeping our bodies working smoothly.

When you use your Vitamix juice, what you are really do-

ing is very thoroughly blending the ingredients to create a

smooth beverage that utilizes all parts of the foods you

are juicing, thereby providing your system with all of the

nutrients that those whole foods can offer.

JUICING TIPS

Now that you know why its good for you lets talk about

some juicing tips. The first thing you should know is that

juice from your blender is going to be thicker than juice

from a juicer. The Vitamix does an outstanding job of

really pulverizing your ingredients on a microscopic level

but you are still going to have a denser texture than nor-

mal juice. So you will most likely want to thin your juice

blends down with water or ice.

I know ice sounds like it would make it thicker but since

we need to run the blender for at least 60 seconds to

make the juice texture smooth, the friction from the high-

speed blending will cause the ice to become completely

melted. Technically you could just add water instead of

ice, but your resulting drink is likely to be warm rather

than cool so I would recommend using ice. Sometimes I

also use frozen grapes as they dont contain much pulp

and add to the flavor of the blend too.

Depending on just how pulpy your ingredients are you

might find that even after thinning it out its still just too

thick. This is especially the case with apples. The solution

to removing some of that pulp is simple though. Just

drape a large piece of cheesecloth over a mixing bowl and

pour your blend on top. Then wrap up the ends of the

cheesecloth and give it a good squeeze to extract as much

of the juice as you can. You can also use a nut milk bag if

you have one instead of the cheesecloth.

If you do end up separating the pulp from the juice, dont

throw away your pulp. Try using it in muffins or banana

bread. That way you are still getting the whole food... its

just being used in different ways.

One more tip on juicing is that you will probably notice

that your drinks can be foamy after blending on high for

an extended period. This is easy to take care of. All you

have to do is right before you are done just turn your

variable speed dial down to a lower setting (around 2 is

good) and let it pull the foam down gently into the blend-

ing vortex. After a few seconds it should be all good.

Juicing Recipes

CARROT GRAPE JUICE

1/2 cup of water (plus extra to thin to your preference)

2 tsp lemon juice

1 cup of seedless grapes (white or red or a mix)

1.5 cups of roughly chopped carrots

1 cup of ice



blend on high. Run on high for 1-2 minutes until the juice

has a nice uniformly smooth texture. Decrease speed to

variable position 2 for a few seconds to blend together

any foam that has collected on the top.

PICK ME UP ENERGY JUICE

1/2 cup of water

1 cup of fresh pineapple

1/2 a cucumber

2 average-size apples, quartered (I use gala or granny

smith usually but any variety is fine. You can leave the

seeds in but remove the stem)

1/2 inch piece of ginger root (no need to peel it)

1 cup of ice



blend on high. Run on high for 1-2 minutes until the juice

has a nice uniformly smooth texture. Decrease speed to

variable position 2 for a few seconds to blend together

any foam that has collected on the top. Because of the ap-

ples this is a pretty thick mixture... if it is too pulpy for

you just use a piece of cheesecloth or a nut milk bag to

separate the pulp from the juice.

Dips + Spreads

My family is big on snacking. We do eat a proper dinner

in the evening as well, but we like to snack pretty regu-

larly throughout the day. Its actually healthier for you if

you eat smaller portions more frequently rather than

gorging your system with just a few larger meals. This

keeps your metabolism and energy levels more constant

by giving your body a consistent supply of fuel without it

feeling like it has to shut down in order to process a sud-

denly huge influx of food.

Remember that the blends we make in our Vitamix are

usually quite nutrient-dense. Even though they are bro-

ken down into a form that is easier to consume and digest

than their unblended whole-food counterparts we should

still take care to consume them slowly to allow our body

time to extract as many nutrients as possible from all of

these wholesome ingredients. This is all a part of savoring

the food and beverages we make. I find I have to remind

myself of this regularly as I have a bad habit of just gulp-

ing down a huge green smoothie in a matter of minutes.

But I know that if I drink it more slowly it will be better

for me overall so I do try to keep that in mind.

HEALTHY SNACKS, ALWAYS READY

Now back to the topic of snacking. A Vitamix makes it

easy to have healthy snacks on hand all the time. The key

is to always have some sort of dip in the fridge ready to be

eaten up at a moments notice. Having something to dip

your raw vegetables in just makes them into an enticing

and convenient snack. I try to always have some hummus

or bean dip or a blended vegetable dip ready along with a

couple of containers of chopped up veggies like: baby car-

rots, celery, zucchini (or yellow squash) slices, and cu-

cumbers. We also keep plenty of whole-grain crackers

around that are also great for dipping.

The key to healthy snacking is having healthy snacks be

the most convenient and available option. Banish the un-

healthy snacks from your home and after a short while

you will find yourself craving healthy choices instead that

oily bag of potato chips.

TIME TO PARTY

The other reason I like dips so much is that they make an

easy appetizer to take to parties or family gatherings.

There is something mysterious about a dip since its vis-

ual appearance gives little clue to the ingredients. But

when you get it right everyone will be asking you for the

recipe.

SAVING SOME LOOT

I also like the fact that dips are so economical. If you buy

dry beans and soak them overnight they only take a one

or two hours to cook (a very hands off process once you

have them simmering) and they are incredibly cheap

when you buy them this way. Once you get a regular rou-

tine down of soaking beans at night and cooking them in

the morning on the weekend, its easy to make enough to

last for the whole week.

DIP BLENDING TIPS

Be sure to add enough liquid to the container first. Ive

been making hummus in our food processor for a long

time and I was always used to thinning it out at the end of

the process, but this is not a good idea in the Vitamix. Its

very difficult to get any extra added water to make its

way down through a thick paste and reach the blades.

You can get the job done by using the tamper but it will

make a mess and be a bit of work. So remember to always

include some extra water at the bottom of the container

before blending.

Its also important to note that dips will thicken consid-

erably after they cool off so what looks a little runny in

the blender will probably be just right once it has been

transferred to a container and left to sit for a bit.

Dip Recipes CLASSIC CREAMY HUMMUS

1/2 cup of lemon juice

1/4 cup of water (+ more to thin as needed)

1/4 cup + 1 TB of tahini

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2-4 cloves of garlic, peeled

1 tsp of salt

4 cups of cooked chickpeas



blend on high. You will probably need the tamper for this.

If its still seems too thick after you blend it, make a hole

in the center with the tamper and pour some more water

in and continue blending.

PINK HUMMUS

1/4 - 1/2 cup of water (+ more to thin as needed)

1/4 cup red wine vinegar


1 cup roasted red bell pepper (or fresh bell pepper)

2 cloves of garlic, peeled

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 tsp of salt

4 cups of cooked chickpeas

1 cup of raw almonds







REFRESHING BLACK BEAN DIP

3 TB of water (+ more to thin as needed)

1 orange, peeled

1 small piece of the orange peel

1/4 cup + 2 TB red wine vinegar

2 TB extra-virgin olive oil

2 big cloves of garlic, peeled

1.5 tsp salt

2 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

5 cups cooked black beans







SUN-DRIED TOMATO SPREAD

1 cup sun-dried tomatoes (softened)

1 cup olive oil

1 tsp each dried herbs: oregano, basil, thyme, marjoram,

tarragon, and sage

Directions: First you need to soften the dried tomatoes by

letting them rest in boiled water (that is water that you

boiled and then removed from the stove) for about 5

minutes. Then strain them and add everything to the

blender (the order really doesnt matter for this). Blend

on low and gradually increase the speed to blend on high.

You might have to stop and scrape down the sides once or

twice.

DEVIS GREEN CHUTNEY

Warning! This authentic Indian chutney tastes amazing

but is pretty SPICY! Usually best served to the adults with

brave taste buds. ;-) Can be used thick as a dip, spread on

sandwiches, or thinned out to make a flavorful sauce.

1/4 - 1/2 cup of water (+ more to thin as needed)

2/3 cup lime juice

4 big bunches of cilantro (not those tiny bunches the

grocery stores sometimes bundle up)

1 big bunch of mint

20-25 small hot green chiles (reduce if you want it less

hot, but its really good this way and Devi says its more

authentic if its hot)

1 head of garlic, peeled (note that is the entire head, not

a single clove)

1 1/4 cup of raw peanuts (cashews are good here too)

3-4 TB salt






in and continue blending. This should yield 6 cups which

is a lot so feel free to reduce the recipe as needed.

Nut ButtersNuts are a great source of protein (especially for those of

us on a vegan diet) and having a variety of nut butters

available for sandwiches and snacking is handy. Once you

have tried fresh nut butter its hard to go back to the

store-bought stuff. Making your own nut butter in your

new Vitamix is pretty straight-forward but I do still have

a couple of tips for you.

NUT BUTTER BLENDING TIPS

The most important tip is before you blend, warm your

nuts up in the oven to prepare them to more readily re-

lease their natural oils. We arent trying to dry roast

them, just get them warm to the touch. About 5 minutes

or so should do the trick. Many recipes call for adding oil

to your nut butter blends but I dont find it to be neces-

sary if I have warmed the notes prior to blending.

Also, experiment with both raw and roasted varieties.

The flavor is different and you might find that you prefer

one over the other. For instance, when making peanut

butter we like to use roasted peanuts, but for all other nut

butters I stick with raw. Depending on dry they are,

roasted nuts do sometimes require a bit of extra oil added

while blending. It depends on the nut though so see how

you get along before adding any oil.

When you are blending you will definitely need to make

use of the tamper and if you are making a large container

full all at once it will be a little bit of a workout pushing

the nuts down into the blades. Still its not too bad and

only takes a minute or so. At first you might think that its

not working as youll have a kind of clumpy dry looking

meal, but just keep going and it will start to get creamy

and smooth.

My favorite part about making fresh nut butters is getting

to eat the bits stuck to the tamper when Im done. The

blending process will leave it pretty warm and its just so

fresh and tasty straight out of the blender! Yum!

My last tip regarding nut butters is to try out different

brands or sources of nuts. I know we went through sev-

eral kinds of peanuts before I found one that tasted right

to me. Its amazing the variety of flavors in what you

would think would be pretty consistent. To save some

cash I recommend buying your nuts in bulk. We buy 25

or 50 pound bags and save a bundle this way over buying

little containers from the grocery store.

Nut Butter Recipes

ALMOND BUTTER

4 cups of raw almonds

1.5 tsp sea salt

Directions: Lay the almonds in a single layer on a baking

sheet and warm them in a 350 degree oven for 5 minutes.

Add all of the ingredients to the Vitamix. Start at low-

speed and gradually increase to high-speed. Use the tam-

per to push the nuts down into the blades until the mix-

ture is thoroughly blended and creamy throughout. You

will hear the blender make a different sound once it is all

starts to come together. Once this happens just let it run

for another 15 seconds or so and you should good. Dont

forget to taste a sample while it is still warm!

CASHEW BUTTER

6 cups of raw cashews (try roasted as well)

Directions: Start at low-speed and gradually increase to

high-speed. Use the tamper to push the nuts down into

the blades until the mixture is thoroughly blended and

creamy throughout. You will hear the blender make a dif-

ferent sound once it is all starts to come together. Once

this happens just let it run for another 15 seconds or so

and you should good.

Dressings + SaucesDressings, sauces, and marinades are really fun to make I

think. They provide an excellent opportunity to experi-

ment and come up with simple or complex creations that

make the perfect compliment to your meal. Its amazing

how fancy simple, steamed veggies can be when they are

covered in an exquisite sauce. Honestly, I had a lot of

trouble figuring out how to make dressings at first but

once you learn how to combine the 6 basic tastes, youll

have the power to create just about anything.

All the Flavors of the RainbowOur bodys tasting sensor are capable of discerning just

six distinct tastes: sweet, salty, sour, bitter, pungent, and

astringent. It is the combination of these basic tastes that

creates a world of flavors. Lets quickly cover each one.

Sweet: This could be sweetness from fruits or vegetables

like sweet potatoes and winter squash. Or it could be a

sweetener like sugar, honey, molasses, maple syrup,

brown rice syrup, etc.

Salty: Obviously this is usually from salt but it could also

come from soy sauce, miso or pickled foods.

Sour: Adding citrus or fermented ingredients like apple

cider vinegar add a tang or tartness to your blend. This is

a nice way to counterbalance the other tastes and add

complexity to your mixture. A little bit of sour usually

goes a long way though so be careful.

Bitter: These ingredients will give your blends a distinctly

sharper flavor. You can feel it in the top of your palate.

Bitter ingredients include leafy greens (including broc-

coli) as well as some nuts like almonds and walnuts.

Pungent: I know this sounds like an unpleasant flavor but

this is what gives your recipes heat. Ingredients like on-

ions, garlic, ginger, and hot peppers as well as most herbs

and spices all fall into the pungent category. This is what

adds savory qualities to your blends. A sauce with no

pungent ingredients is usually pretty flat unless you are

going for a predominantly sweet blend.

Astringent: This category is a little more difficult to de-

scribe. It is the quality of taste that makes you want to

pucker in larger doses. It often accompanies the sour fla-

vor in ingredients like lemons or sour fruits, but it can

also be described as the freshness that you notice in every

bit of raw lettuce or the crisp refreshing bite of a crisp ap-

ple. I like to think of it as the freshness factor. Most raw

vegetables have and astringent quality along with either a

sweet or bitter flavor.

Most single ingredients contain only one or two of these

tastes. For instance: broccoli is bitter and astringent,

strawberries are sweet, sour and astringent, tomatoes are

sweet and sour, corn is just sweet and mustard greens are

pungent and bitter. The following is a quick breakdown

for you own reference.

Legumes (including peanuts) are sweet and astringent.

Rices and grains are all sweet with wheat, rye, spelt and

quinoa being both sweet and astringent.

Nuts and seeds are all sweet and some like walnuts, al-

monds, sesame and sunflower seeds are bitter too.

Oils are mostly all sweet with the notable exception of

flax oil which is sweet and pungent at the same time.

As previously mentioned vinegars are all sour.

And most fresh produce is either astringent and sweet

or astringent and bitter.

The key to a creating perfect dressings, sauces and mari-

nades lies in our ability to combine several of these tastes

in a balanced way. Here are three tips for doing just that.

TIP #1: FATS CARRY FLAVOR

If you dont use any fat at all in your blends you will have

a hard time bringing out the flavor of the rest of your in-

gredients. Flavors need something to bond to so that they

can mix well with each other. You dont need a ton of fat

in your blends but having a little something in there is

generally recommended. The fat could be in the form of

oil, or nuts (nut butter), avocado, or even silken tofu (I

dont recommend regular tofu for your sauces). Consider

the fat to be your base layer that carries everything else.

TIP #2: DONT BE AFRAID OF SALT

Some people have a tendency to freak out about adding

any salt to their blends because we always here about how

we should decrease our salt consumption and that its not

good for you. Well this all stems from the fact that most

industrially produced, packaged foods contain a load of

salt just to try to bring out what little flavor is left in these

over-processed meals. If you are making the majority of

your food from scratch youve just reduced your salt con-

sumption by a drastic amount.

So dont be afraid to add some salt into your blends. Add-

ing just a little helps to highlight isolated flavors and will

take a dull sauce to perfection in no time. Its a critical

ingredient that you will use in nearly every blend. Be

careful though... you can always add more salt in but its

hard to correct an overly salted batch of something.

TIP #3: HOW TO IMPROVISE YOUR OWN RECIPES

First off, let me say if you are serious about making your

own sauces, dressings, etc then you MUST buy this book:

The Saucy Vegetarian by Joanne Stepaniak. It is incredi-

bly detailed on all of the flavors and brimming with tons

of useful tips, charts, and of course lots of terrific recipes.

I highly recommend it!

Okay, so heres a quick summary of Joannes method for

improvisation (which is what Ive based my own tech-

niques around as well).

1) Start with a foundation ingredient: avocado, oil, fresh

veggies, tomato, nuts or seeds, silken tofu, or beans.

2) Add your acidulant like vinegar or citrus. This should

be in a ratio of about 1:1 or 1:3 parts foundation to

acidulant.

3) Add salt and seasonings to taste.

4) And optionally add a sweetener like agave, fresh fruit,

maple syrup, sugar, etc.

Dressings and marinades usually only require a brief

blend (less than 10 seconds). Sauces dont take long ei-

ther but I usually let them run on high for a couple min-

utes to get them nice and hot so I dont have to heat them

on the stove (unless of course I dont want a hot sauce).

Sauces & Dressings Recipes

GARLICKY TOMATO SAUCE

4-5 large tomatoes (I like to use local heirloom tomatoes

if in season)

3 TB olive oil

1/2 onion (raw or steeped in cold water for 30 minutes)

6 cloves of garlic

2 tsp salt

1 tsp oregano



blend on high. Let it run for about 3-4 minutes to get it

hot.

EASY PESTO


2 cups fresh basil leaves

1/3 cup pine nuts

1/4 cup raw walnuts (optional, but good here)

1 tsp salt, to taste



about 5 or 6. Quickly use the tamper to push the ingredi-

ents into the blade. Since we arent on high-speed here

you dont want to take too long or the Vitamixs thermal

override might try to kick in. If you want totally creamy

pesto you can increase the speed to high but we prefer it

to be textured.

THAI PEANUT SAUCE

1/2 to 1 cup of water (depending on the consistency you

want)

2 TB soy sauce or tamari

2 TB brown rice vinegar

2 tsp sesame oil

2/3 cup peanut butter

1 clove of garlic, sliced

cayenne pepper, to taste



high until smooth.

CREAMY CUCUMBER-DILL DRESSING

2 TB lemon juice

2 TB olive oil

1 TB mellow white miso

1/2 cup silken tofu

1 cup roughly chopped cucumber

1 TB onion

1 TB fresh or 1 tsp dried dill

salt, to taste



blend on high until smooth.

MY CARROT GREENS SAUCE

3/4 cup water (plus more as needed to thin)

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

green tops from 4 carrots

2 banana peppers (optional)

7 cloves of garlic (use less if this is too garlicky for your

tastes)

2-3 tsp salt



blend on high. You will need the tamper for this.

Dry FloursThis is a quick section because making flour in your Vi-

tamix is a pretty simple affair.

For best results use the dry container.

Refrigerate your grains for about an hour or put them in

the freezer for 15 minutes before you blend. If you want

a really fine grain flour you will need to blend it for

longer and it will start to get quite hot since there is no

liquid. Its not good to let your flour get too hot as it will

decrease its shelf life considerably.

Use the tamper if you need to (it works in the small dry

container too).

Dont blend spices or coffee. Well you can if you want,

but the flavor will sometimes linger in the blender un-

less you do a deep clean afterwards. I just use a spare

$15 coffee grinder for blending spices as I usually only

want to grind a small quantity at once.

Buy your grains in bulk from your local co-op or health

food store. Its a lot cheaper this way. You can even do a

group buy with a few friends to reduce your initial ex-

pense while still getting the reduced bulk pricing.

Grains usually come in 50 pound sacks.

Some alternative flours you can try making: spelt, ama-

ranth, barley, buckwheat, chickpea (yes you can make

flours with dry garbanzos!), kamut, quinoa, millet, nut

flours (dont process too long or youll get nut butter in-

stead), rice, tapioca (a great thickening agent), and triti-

cale (a rye-wheat hybrid).

Flour Recipe

APPLE OAT MUFFINS

1 1/3 cups whole-kernel spelt berries (2 cups freshly

ground spelt flour)

2/3 cup rolled oats (1 cup freshly ground oat flour)

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

2 apples, stems removed, quartered and blended

1/2 cup maple syrup

3/4 cup non-dairy milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 TB canola or safflower oil

Directions: Add the spelt berries and rolled oats to the

dry container and blend on high until you have a nice fine

grained flour (about 30-45 seconds). Add the remaining

dry ingredients and give it a couple of quick pulses with

the variable speed dial to mix it up.

In the wet container, add milk, maple syrup, vanilla, oil

and apples. Blend on high until it is all well mixed.

Pour the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl and then

pour the wet ingredients on top. Mix by hand until just

combined. Add the mix to a muffin pan and bake at 350

degrees for 25-30 minutes (check with a toothpick).

Frozen DessertsTypical ratio of approximately 3 to 4 parts frozen to 1 part fresh or liquid ingredients.

When making frozen treats the tamper will definitely be

your best friend. Usually desserts fall into two categories:

rich and creamy (like ice cream) and smooth and fuity

(like sorbet).

ICE CREAM TIPS

For ice creams I like to use plenty of frozen bananas since

they add sweetness and a nice texture. Heres a tip to

make it easier. Add all of your frozen bananas in and

pulse the blender a few times. When pulsing with the Vi-

tamix I turn it on with the variable speed dial set to 1 and

then twist it back and forth between 1 and 8-10. Do this a

few times to break your frozen banana up into smaller

chunks. This will make it easier and require less forceful

use of the tamper. Then add in your liquid ingredients

and give the container a little shake to make sure they

make it to the bottom around your pulsed banana bits. I

usually use almond milk or soy milk in our recipes though

if I can find it I will also use a non-dairy creamer. For a

creamier ice cream pre-freeze your own milk cubes in an

ice-cube tray instead of using regular ice. Then add the

rest of the ingredients and proceed as usual.

You can even make green ice creams by adding a little bit

of a neutral tasting green like cabbage or lettuce into your

ice cream. In small doses no one will even notice. I usu-

ally dont make them this way but it is a popular method

of sneaking some extra greens in.

SORBET TIPS

For sorbets I like to stick with fresh fruit and ice and

sometimes a little sweetener like agave or a spoonful of

sugar. Remember to put the soft ingredients on the bot-

tom and plenty of ice on top. You can substitute some of

the ice with frozen fruit if you want a richer sorbet.

Make sure that you serve up your blend right away as it

will tend to melt pretty quickly.

Dessert Recipes

PEACH SORBET

3 peaches, pitted

1/3 cup agave syrup

4 cups of ice



blend on high until just combined. Dont over blend it or

it will melt.

STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM

1/3 cup non-dairy creamer (or non-dairy milk)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup frozen strawberries

1 cup frozen almond milk cubes

1 and 1/2 bananas, peeled, broken into chunks & frozen


listed. Blend on low and quickly increase the speed to

blend on high. You will have to do some serious tamping

to get everything to push down into the blades since this

particular recipe is a little low on liquids. Its worth it

though as its really creamy and delicious. Dont over

blend it or it will melt.

THE REAL PIA COLADA

optional: shot of rum (regular or coconut flavored)

1 cup fresh pinapple (you can leave the core)

1/2 cup coconut milk

1/2 cup ice


listed. Blend on low and quickly increase the speed to

blend on high.

Have Fun & ShareWell, thats it. I hope you have enjoyed this guide.

Remember that the best thing you can do is experiment

and learn from your successes and failures. When you

come up with something good, share your recipes with

others at the Vita-Village community forum. When you

have guests over be sure to make them a smoothie and

spread the word that eating healthy doesnt have to be

hard and is in fact deliciously simple. Have fun and

happy blending!

Highly RecommendedAccessories & CookbooksSkinny Spatulas - The easy way to scrape out those

sticky blends from the bottom of the container. The secret

is that it is not only thin but has a square edge allowing

you to be nimble around the blades and reach the corners

of the container. Also wonderful for scraping out jars of

peanut butter.

Nut Milk Bag - For straining juices and making nut

milks. Easier to use than cheesecloth.

The Saucy Vegetarian - The ultimate handbook on

making sauces, dressings, marinades and more. A truly

indispensable resource on combining flavors to produce

great results. Also lots of good recipes too! I guarantee

you will learn a ton from this book.

reFresh cookbook - Great juice recipes! I also really

like all of the food recipes in this too. Very creative use of

ingredients and dishes that just taste great.

12 Steps to Whole Foods by Green Smoothie Girl -

Great blog, great recipes, and a fabulous 12-step program.

If you want to transform the way you eat, no one lays it

out better or in a more easy to implement way than Ro-

byn. Highly recommended!

Healthy Blender - Also keep an eye on my own site for

more tips and recipes on living a healthy lifestyle. I have a

lot planned for this year!

Cheers and happy blending!

Josh Bertrand

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Recipes Guide