Need buying advice

[Raene]

I sold a kitchen appliance that I'll no longer need on a raw foods diet in hopes of buying something more raw-oriented with the money. I'm on a tight budget. I want to buy the Living on Live Foods book and DVD set but I don't have a food processor or juicer. Should I buy the food processor and juicer now or can I do without them and still make most of the recipes in the book? (I *do* have a blender and access to a dehydrator.) Thanks :)

Well, no one responded so I've decided to buy the book and DVD and just hope that I can get away with not having a juicer and food processor.

[misslinda]

I'm sorry, I didn't see this one but I vote for FP becuz you can make smooties,pates,ice cream, soups,slice and chop,etc.

Congrats on getting the book! :)

[JinxieKat]

You can do most of the recipies in the book with just the dehydrator and blender. I do have a food processor, but I do most of my stuff in the blender. Just takes a bit of work to get it out from under the blades ocassionally. I don't have a juicer and don't plan to get one for a while yet even though I could afford it. The only juice I remember seeing in the book is orange juice maybe? And that you can do by hand with a cheep old hand juicer.

Jinx

[Revvell]

Never mind the juicer. Get a really good blender first, then the food processor, then, if necessary a dehydrator. If you search this site, this has come up previously and the answers mostly depend on where someone tends to be in their evolution.

Alissa has stated that most of her recipes can be made with just a food processor. I make most everything in my blender (Vita-Mix) and rarely use my fp. My processor (11 C. Cuisinart) cannot make green smoothies or soups. If you can only get one, it's a bit of a dilemna yet, for me, I vote as I said above.

Revvell

[misslinda]

My processor (11 C. Cuisinart) cannot make green smoothies or soups.

Revvell


Counsel can we discuss in the chamber?

I will have to disagree with you on this. One may not be able to make liquified soup or smoothies but one can opt for the chutney style soups and thicker smoothies. May have to be alittle more creative and add water or coconut milk to enhance the liquid texture. :D

I am back in the 70's with a food processor and have yet to 'quantum leap' to the future with a vita-mix :p


:D

[levamssg]

Raene -- Didn't see your post until this evening. You are going to love the book. I don't have the DVD, but hear it it wonderful. You'll be able to make lots of the recipes using the appliances you have.

I'd vote for the Food Processor for your next purchase. I use mine almost every day. Just finished whipping up some sunflower pate as a matter of of fact ---then chopped a variety of veges for a pate/vege collard wrap. Last night we did banana/strawberry ice cream. Yummy. Most definitely a useful machine!

I use my citrus juicer daily (for my OJ in the morning) -- and my heavy duty juicer a little less often (vege/fruit juices).

When it comes time to replace your blender -- get a vitamix. An awesome machine!

[juliebove]

I suppose it would depend on what you like to eat. I bought a food processor years ago and it never worked right. Every time I tried to use it to chop dried fruit, a miniscule piece of it would fly up into the mechanism and make it stop. I took it back to the store and got my money back.

I was given one of those mini food processors and it says it is supposed to be able to chop things, make salsa, etc. All it ever has made for me is a mess. I put in a green pepper and got out a smoothie! Tried an onion and got a mess of onion mush and some large pieces. Now the person who gave this to me swears by hers but she really doesn't do much in the way of cooking or uncooking and I think she has only ever used it for salsa. Might work for her, but I've been using the kitchen since I was a young kid and personally I can do far better with a knife and there's less cleanup too!

I've seen that wide mouthed food processor on TV. The one where they put in whole peppers, onions and tomatoes and get out perfect slices. If that thing really works the way it looks like it does, then I want it! But I have a feeling it will be like so many of the other kitchen tools I've bought over the years and will be useless. One thing that comes to mind is the seeds in the peppers. Where did they go? The lady put in the green pepper and pulled out nice rings of pepper. But where were the seeds?

I own a nice blender but haven't used it in years. I used to use it to make smoothies for my daughter and husband. And my daughter would probably still drink smoothies except that she has a banana allergy. Frozen things like "ice cream" do not interest me at all so they are something I would probably never make.

One thing I do use a lot in my kitchen is an immersion blender. I've had the cordless and the corded and I'd advise the corded. It has more power. You can use it briefly to give something a chunky texture, or use it to make something smooth. You can even use it to make a smoothie right in your glass. And it's very easy to clean. I couldn't do without that!

I don't know that I'd need a juicer either. I do have a citrus juicer that works quite well, but at present there are no other juices I really use. Of course if I find that some recipes call for carrot or some such juice, then I might decide that I need one. I don't drink juice, aside from some lemon and lime in water.

[misslinda]

Julie,
thanks for mentioning the handheld kind...a flaked out on that one,,,,,,that would be ideal for vs cleaning the FP all the time! :)

[PATH301]

hey Raene,
definetly get a food processor. Also get Aliss'a book next. Until you can swing the cash for it goto the raw food pages and copy all the meals that sounds good to you, that are the easy ones that don't require a lot of equipment to make them. Then when you can, get Alissa's book and DVD. :)

[Revvell]

I am back in the 70's with a food processor and have yet to 'quantum leap' to the future with a vita-mix :p
:D

Gurl, go ahead and make the leap ~ then you'll know whereof I speak. Your fp will be a thing of the past. The V-M is of the present. :p

Revvell

[misslinda]

....i like bell bottoms :D

[Raene]

Hi and thanks for all of the advice! An update--I bought the book and DVD which haven't arrived yet and I also bought an affordable but large food processor (which also hasn't arrived yet). No way can I afford a V-Mix, but I do drool every time I see one. Thanks everyone!

[Revvell]

....i like bell bottoms :D

*waves hip-huggers in front of your face* heh!

[misslinda]

*waves hip-huggers in front of your face* heh!

Dang, you got me on that! :p

Raene--Yayayaya you got the book! Will you join the challegne with us? yOu don't have to be 100%! :) I would suggest as they have in the past, since you are new to raw, cut the recipes in half that way you don't waste your ingredients in case you don't like the taste or whatever.

Enjoy your book !!!!!!!! :)

[Guydiane]

get the food processor I use mine daily

[Shivananda]

I'd start with the knowledge, then get the tools. Buying the tools first won't help much without the knowledge, or the desire to use them.

Having said that, let me address the "which tool should I buy first?" question everyone faces sooner or later. To which I say, it all depends... and especially it depends on what kinds of preparation you will actually do most? Get the tool that is right for what YOU want to do. People will naturally tell you to get what is right for them, but that might not be right for you.

Here's what those tools are good for:

Blenders are PRIMARILY designed for mixing liquids and chopping solids in a liquid base. Yes, the better ones can do a decent job of grinding small quantities of dried material, like seeds, but that shortens their life. Also the small, high speed blades at the bottom of a tall receptacle are optimized for creating smoothies and the like. If you don't do much of that kind of beverage prep, then it's not a good first choice for you.

Juicers are PRIMARILY designed for separating the cellulose pulp of fruits and vegatables from the juice, so you can intake the concentrated liquid nutrition from that juice without all of the fiber. (Example, I can easily juice 2 pounds of carrots a day, but I just couldn't handle eating anywhere near that much solid carrots at all) Some of the better auger types will also grind nut betters and pates, but their versatility as a "food processor" tends to be overrated. If you are not interested in making fresh juices, then a juicer would be a poor first choice.

Food processors are PRIMARILY designed to chop and shred dry and moist foods. For instance they can shred carrots, and chop up soaked sunflower seeds for a batch of sunburgers in minutes, whereas doing it by hand could take an hour. But they do not do as well with liquids as a blender, and most of their functions can be duplicated by hand, with a good knife (although much more laboriously, obviously). But if you want to regularly do pates and burgers and wraps and pie crusts, etc., I think you'll quickly find the food processor practically indispensible.

Dehydrators are PRIMARILY designed to reduce the water content from foods, either as a preservative (sliced apples, fruit leathers) or as a way to change the texture or chewiness of that food (sunburger patties, falafels, sprouted "breads." ) If that doesn't interest you, don't get one