Juicers and processors and blenders - oh MY!

[Alissa]

Hi Marigold,
I love my vita mix and use it for a lot of things but how can you make a lot of the recipes in it. Like the torte, fudge, and things like that? It just doesnÂ’t work for that, but if youÂ’ve found it to be able to work on those kinds of recipes id be interested?
Im thinking you and i probably make different kinds of things?
The food processor is essential for most of my recipes and you just have to blend them for an extra few minutes to make them smooth.
I think it really depends on what types of things your making, if your really into soups and pudding, and not nutty or heavy dishes which would overheat it before it grindsÂ…
My vote, get both! As the black and decker or Hamilton beach or so cheap. I gues thatÂ’s a factor also, the priceÂ…
Thank!
Alissa

[marigold]

alissa hi

just looked up the recipes you mention..no prob in vita.i wonder if you have the dry jug ? often what i do is grind the nuts..put in a bowl..wizz up the dates..put in with nuts and so on and mix together by hand..i find the dry jug does nuts and dry fruit no prob..not all at once.a handful of nuts at a time but i can do all the dry fruit at once by jiggling the speed to keep them turning.but only takes a moment..


flicking through your book i could do most things in vita..honest..
i think we do do the same kinda food..at some time..and vita copes a treat ..( i call it vita as in vita sackville west - !!!)

love marigold

[corky]

Great info. yet once again! Have a question, i have made a few recipes in my cheapo food processor i bought in a garage sale for $4 and i only use 1/2 cup of dates, say some nuts, pumpkin, so there is not alot in there, but my problem is it is not grinding the dates no matter how long because they get stuck on top of the lid or under the blades--does it have to do with quantity or my processor?? Trying new recipes right now i don't want to waste the food. But the pumpkin pudding had was surprisingly good!!! SO i need your heeellllpppp!!

[qetta]

fightyorke - I just thought I'd say that so far, regular mason jars are working great for my sprouting. - Lisa

[Jay]

Hi!

My champion arrived today in the post and I'm thrilled with it!
I already made a juice of two kiwi's, two oranges and an apple, jummy!

To answer your question: it says here in the instruction manual that it does juices wheatgrass... I haven't tried it yet, but it does leafy greens and all, so I don't think wheatgrass should be a problem.

Bye!
Joke

[greengirl]

I don't want to confuse you, Rawinlocs, but I just wanted to say that I LOVE my Cuisinart. I've had it at least 13 years, and it's the best thing in my kitchen! :)

[tglasco4]

I have a Champion Juicer, a vitamix and a Cuisinart food processor. I use all 3 for all my food prep. If I had to choose one (or even two) it would be tough. I use the vitamix for all smoothies and hummus. I used the cuisinart for pates and slicing salads. I used the champion for making nut butters and juices. If I had to say just one thing, it would probably be the vitamix. I use if for smoothies, I dont think I could use it for the almond butter so I would miss the Champion. I would do only citrus for juice fasts(I have $20 electric citrus juicer) and I would cut up my salads by hand (man I am spoiled!). But I believe I could make the pate in the Vitamix without burning out the engine. So if all I had was money for one of these items, it would be the Vitamix. I know everyone is on limited budgets but if you are serious about the raw lifestyle, quality is more important than price. Get the highest quality machine you can. In the long run you get what you pay for. I spent $200 each on the cuisinart and the Champion. My mom gave me her Vitamix but I think it was going to cost me around $300-400 for the one I have. I would have bought it. I know that all of these will provide faithful service for years and years.

[Curtis]

I bought the Black and Decker that Alissa and Kirk mentioned at Wal-Mart and have made many recipes using it. And like Kirk said under $30.00. Quite a good buy I think. :)

[baptistnomad]

ok-i've read all the post concerning the food processor thingy. and now i'm looking on the black and decker page--there are several food processors listed. there are these w/ the prices from the blackanddecker.com page:
APP FP1300 is $37.99
APP FP1400 is $41.99
APP MFP200 is $25.99
APP FP1500 is $54.99

can either kirk or alissa or others who own the black and decker let me know which one of these has the blades i need to be proficient with the food processing stuff?

thanks!
robyn

[Rawkinlocs]

The FP1500 is the one I have and I believe the one that Alissa and Curtis have.

It's a 10-cup model with the slice/shred disc, chopping ("S") blade and dough blade.

It's a little cheaper to get at Walmart.com as opposed to getting it from Black and Decker (like $40 plus about $6 shipping).

[marigold]

wonder if you can get the black and decker in uk.here its used as a word to mean a diy tool mostly..like a saw or drill so its funny you guys talking about in terms of food processers lol

[aromaticwings]

I bought a cheapy juicer at Fryes Electronics for 25.00.. Has done great for me.. has a small whole to put the stuff in tho.. and only one blade... I know I will probably want a better one as I get deeper into this raw eating... I also have an electrice citruce juicer...a blender and a cheap Wal-Mart dehydrator... now all I need is a food processor.. is this all the appliances I would need??

how much would the 8 cup black and decker run?? I have considered one of those little one cup processors...

What kinds of blades do I need to look for and other aspects of the processor should I be looking for??

[rawpriestess]

I have a Cuisinart that I love, If I had to choose one appliance it would be this one.

I also have a hand held bamix blender, that I use all the time, for grinding nuts, and spices, and flax seeds,

Although I have a vitamix, and it grinds flax seeds, which the cuisinart will not do, the Vitamix also makes the smoothes whipped nut creams, and sauces.

But if you are going to make alot of raw food, I think the Cuisinart, or food processor is your best number 1 investment.

You could always makes smoothies in the food processor, and blend them longer to make them smoother.

As far as grinding nuts and seeds, you can use a coffee grinder, which will work fine, and is really cheap, about $10.

Alissa, if you are reading this, Why did you say not to buy the Cuisinart? I paid alot of money for mine, and I love it.

I tried about 5 different ones, before I settle on the Cuisinart.

[Punky]

I've always read that the Cuisinart is the bomb! as far as food processors
are concerned. The creme de la creme. There's this foodie magazine
that unbiasly evaluates cooking appliances--they do not take ads at all and do not pick the most popular or most expensive brands all the time-seems like a very honest comparison (Cook's Illustrated available at Williams-Sonoma and online www.cooksillustrated.com). I read their evaluations of food processors a couple of years ago and they put the Cuisinart at the top w/ KitchenAid running a very close behind. Actully they were comparable...one did some things better and the other did other things better. I went with the KitchenAid because it matched my other appliances and I love it. I have bought several appliances from their evaluations and have always been delighted.

With that said I am sure the Black and Decker is the BEST VALUE
around for sure. I have no experience with this model but from the comments it sounds like it does a fabulous job comparable to more expensive brands
and is much cheaper! $30-$50 bucks is a lot more reasonable than what Cuisinarts and KitchenAids run for.
I think a food processor is an essential for UNcooking if you want to do recipes.
That and my blender I use the most. I am saving up for a Vitamix.
My blender does a pretty good job but it sounds like a Vitamix is incredable.
Than my juicer and dehydrater come in 3rd. I also use a coffee grinder and handblender but not as often. They are very handy to have around.


Just my 2 cents. ;)