vitamixer or food processor?

[berrynice]

Can anyone give me some advice? I already have a vitamixer with both the wet and dry blender containers. Do I also need to invest in a food processor and if so, do I need all the different blades and choppers or can I just get a mini? I already bought the juicer and Alyssa's book. I don't mind spending for the right stuff. While I'm at it, I'm thinking of getting a 4 tray dehydrator. Is that big enough? Thanks for all your support and encouragement. I really enjoy logging into this site each day and getting all of your insite and encouragement each day.

[oceanee]

I did as Allissa suggested and got the 5 try Excalibur not the 9 as I am one person. It's perfect and I try to combine so I am using for a few different things at a time thus maximizing electrical use. I don't know about the 4 tray but I think the trays are smaller.
I use my Food Processor all the time - it's just a basic one, prob cost me $40's. I don't use any of the attachments just the regular blade but I also have an VitaMix and you still need a food processor in my opinion.
Good luck - I am still learning but the 3 "tools" are all I need.
Oceanee

[Amuzon1]

I bought a Vitamix before I started eating raw and have never regretted getting it. I did buy a cheap food processor though as some things you just can't do without turning your concoction into liquid, or at the very least, very finely minced. Since there is not much space at the bottom of the vitamix for foods to get hit with the blades, you will invariably overprocess some things. I didn't get top of the line, just mid line at Wal-mart as there were only 2 options available. I have a family of four so I opted for the larger one, which is nearly identical to the one that Alissa uses in her DVDs. Also ordered a 9 tray excalibur and cannot WAIT til that gets here later this week!!!

Happy UNcooking!!
Danielle

[rawsurfer]

i use my fp like 3 or 4 times a day on average. dont know what i would do without it. probably just get over it lol but its definitely a good investment. if i had it my way i would have a small one and then a HUGE one.

[Ama]

A food processor is VITAL... seriously. I have a small one, I think it's 3 cups and I wish I had gotten a bigger one, and I am only one person. I wouldn't get anything smaller than 3 cup capacity though and I never use anything other than the S blade.

[crystalmoon]

Hi I got a 5 tray excaliber & it is great for me. I also have a cuisinart mini food processor, juicer & blender. Im managing fine with these biut will upgrade small cuisinart to larger model in the future & hope for a vitamix someday. I have had to invest in a new large refridgerator though cos there just wasnt room in my old one - I like to keep basic raw recipes prepared in fridge like pates, sauces, veggie pastas, sprouts to stop me being tempted to eat non raw snacks. I also want to keep my nuts & dried foods in the fridge to reduce the chance of yeast/mould growth to limit my risk of candida.

[Rubyred]

I bought a Cuisinart food processor about 15 years ago and it is still going strong. The processor should come with a couple of blades. You don't need a bunch of fancy blades, just the regular S blade, and a slicing and shredding blade will get all the jobs done. Those all should come with a basic processor.

If I had to do it over again I would get a bigger dehydrator. I have the 4 tray model and it will get most jobs done, but there have been several times I wanted to make two things at once and couldn't do it. I love my dehydrator.

[baltochef]

berrynice

Every raw kitchen should have both a food processor & a blender..

Each tool will do things that the other will not do at all; or do a particular task much better than the other will..

A well equiped raw kitchen, where the preperation of raw foods that mimic their SAD counterparts is an ongoing or long term proposition, might have several sizes of food processors in addition to a Vita-Mix blender (or any equivalently powerful blender)..At least one coffee grinder (in reality a very small food processor) is extremely nice to own, in my opinion a necessity..

I personally own 3-cup, 7-cup, & 14-cup Cuisinart food processors, as well as two coffee grinders..Each has a distinct purpose that allows it to excell at certain food prep tasks that the others will not do..

The biggest mistake that home cooks make is to overload their food processors & blenders by trying to perform tasks that are beyond the capabilities of their machines..

The rule of thumb with food processors is NOT to fill the work bowl up beyond the half way mark..One third of the way up is even better for best results..

Without going into an involved explanation as to exactly how the blade works the food within the bowl; let me just say that over filling the bowl leads to less than acceptable results..

If all you own is a particular size machine, & it is not the proper size for the task at hand; you are left with the choice of doing the task in batches, or doing it by hand..

Large machines will not process small amounts of material..All that happens is that the food is thrown up onto the sides of the bowl without being processed the way that you want it to be..

Having multiple sizes of food processors to choose from allows one to pick the machine for the amount of food that needs to be processed..

If you have all the time in the world, & or have very good knife skills, owining several sizes will not be so critical..

If, however you are like most modern cooks, you will appreciate having the tools that will save you as much prep time as possible..

This is especially true as raw food prep that mimics SAD foods requires so much additional time expenditure over the SAD version..

Hope this helps,

Bruce