Easy Cleaning

One great thing about the Vitamix is that it's super easy to clean. There is no taking the machine apart and running it through the dishwasher to get it clean.

All you do is run some hot water with a drop of soap when you are done mixing and turn it on high for about 30 seconds. After that just rinse it out and let it dry.

Of course there are some things though, like the almond raisin bars, that take a little longer to clean out of the machine however it is a self cleaning machine!

Top 10 Raw Foods

This is a list compiled by the Vitamix Corp. of the top 10 raw foods to eat. Raw foods are a much better option than processed food, like most people in our society today eat.

The raw foods contain more vitamins and nutrients that help your body stay healthy. They also are proven to help you live longer. Reason being is that they help your body avoid health problems such as heart disease, heart attacks and many forms of cancer.

If you go to the Vitamix website you can read all about it.

Top 10 Raw Foods

1. Leafy Greens

2. Whole Food Juice (made in a Vitamix of course)

3. Sprouts

4. Seaweed

5. Fresh Herbs

6. Dried Fruit

7. Avacodo

8. Raw Agave Nector (looks a lot like honey)

9. Coconut Oil

10. Raw Nuts

A little bit of everything.

Most smoothies we make have just about everything in them. This one has six ingredients: carrots, spinach, bannanas, oranges, kiwi and a bag of frozen mixed berries. My wife and I have found out that the key to a good smoothie is the frozen fruit because it makes it nice and cool.

Almond Raisin Bars

So here's the recipe to make these tasty knockoff Clif Bar's in the Vitamix.

All you need is equal parts Almonds...

And Raisins...

After mixing it all up you have to roll it out flat on a cutting board and cut it up into squares.

You can add other things to give it some more flavor such as carrob chips, apricots or even cranberries. Basically whatever you want to try. The best part is that they are not full of preservatives!

The Warranty

Every new Vitamix comes with a 7 year warranty. 7 YEARS!

Most cars don't even come with a 7 year warranty.

My wife and I got an 8th year added onto our warranty because we bought our Vitamix from the Vitamix booth at the OC Fair. They were giving the extra year as a special promotion to increase sales. So now we have a fully insured Vitamix machine until 2019!

The other day I actually got this official warranty certificate in the mail. It made me feel like a proud Vitamix owner.

The warranty will replace anything on the machine that breaks...anything! The man who sold us ours said he's had his Vitamix machine for seventeen years now.

Here's to hoping my machine lasts for seventeen years...or more!!

W#6 Video Blog

I decided to do my video blog for class on the ridiculous BCS system currently in place in college football that determines the national champion. It's absolutely crazy that they have not set up a system, such as a mini four team playoff, that would allow for an undisputed natioanl champion without a computer being involved.

Here goes:

Try this frozen stuff

Craving Ice Cream?

Well try this healthy alternative compliments of the Vitamix.

Yes, it really sticks to the bottom of the container because it's stays frozen even though the blades are moving at a super high rpm.

I guess it's more like a gelato than ice cream. Regardless, it tastes amazing!

All you need is:

ice (Yes that's ice. I just froze some water in those cups)

...frozen fruit

(I grabbed the mixed berry. Really you can use anything though.)

...and Yogurt

(Same thing with the yogurt...any flavor works.)

You put it all the Vitamix and let 'er rip then 60 seconds later you have this:

I'm not a desert chef so this final presentation doesn't quite do it justice, however try it out for yourself and let you taste buds decide.

Proof that it works

This picture is all the proof that you need to buy a Vitamix. If a 2 year-old will drink the smoothies we make in the Vitamix then they taste GOOD!

Are those Mashed Potatoes?

My wife found out about a way to make what tastes like mashed potatoes out of cauliflower. It's great because instead of getting all carbed up from eating mashed potatoes, you can eat this version and get all the vitamins and nutrients from cauliflower.

All you do is take a head of cauliflower, break it apart into smaller pieces and then boil those smaller pieces for 10-15 min.

After that you put them in the Vitamix, add one egg and some sour cream, then let the blender do it's thing and seconds later you will have cauliflower mashed potatoes.

They are a little runnier than regular mashed potatoes.

We've had people over for dinner who couldn't tell the difference and were genuinely surprised when we told them what they were eating.

A little demo by a pro

So here's a demo by a Vitamix pro.

H2O

It make up 70% of our planet.

It is the single most important element to keeping your body healthy.

It's also the focus of an hilarious Adam Sandler movie.

It's water.

So drink up! Your body needs to be hydrated.

Saturday Smoothie

This is my favorite smoothie so far. There are only 3 ingredients:

Water

Almonds

Blueberries

Therefore it's naturally called a Blueberry-Almond smoothie. When mixed together they make a creamy purple colored smoothie. Delicious Breakfast!

Did you know?

So I recently wrote a post about the Lap Band. I was talking about how it only masks the problem of obesity and does not help to correct the true underlying problems causing it.

Well I came across this article in the LA Times which tells the story of a local Lap Band clinic that had a patient die shortly after the surgery. Not only are they faced with the patient death on their record, they are also being sued by the patients husband.

Here is a link to the article

Sad news, but a good incentive to not get the Lap Band surgery and instead help yourself by eating right and exercising. Not only will you gain the much needed drive and focus to remain healthy, you also won't have to worry about gaining the weight back a year after the surgery because you will know how to continue staying healthy!

Early Morning

5:30 am: Yep, I get up this early to get ready to go to work. So consequently this is the time my Vitamix gets its workout.

5:47 am: Just finished some homework that's due in class today. Kinda nice getting up this early, it's calm outside but more importantly my 2 year-old son is still asleep so I can get things done!

6:06 am: Now to make a smoothie. Let's take a look at what's in the fridge.

6:07am: Looks like we are having an orange, kiwi, peach, bannana and spinach smoothie today. It's really easy to do. Just peel the fruit and throw it in the machine with the spinach, then turn it on for a minute and let it do its magic.

6:08 am: Called an audbile: I'm throwing in raspberry and carrot.

6:10 am: All done. It's kinda hard to describe the color. A burnt raspeberry orange maybe. Tastes pretty good though.

6:14 am: Just cleaned the Vitamix by putting some hot water in it and letting it run for about 10 seconds or so. Breakfast is served!

The Problem

Since my wife and I started using the Vitamix we have dropped weight like crazy. Not that we are big people to begin with, but we have noticed that our individual weights have been consistently dropping every week over the last two months we have been using it.

This has been nice however it has also been a problem. How could it be a problem you ask? Well when you lose large amounts of weight you also drop clothing sizes, maybe multiple clothing sizes.

My wife now weighs less than she did before we got married three years ago. And I have lost at least three to four inches in my waist. Even the new suit I bought with birthday money in July, just 2 months ago, doesn't fit! I also had to buy a new wedding ring because started to fall off from being so loose on my finger.

So while it's a great thing to stay healthy, not be overweight and stay healthy- don't forget your possibly going to need buy a whole new wardobe.

Overnight French Toast

We are definitely eating healthier now that we have the Vitamix but don't get me wrong, I love to eat good food-esp. sweets. Ice cream, cake, cookies...anything with chocolate and I'll try it.

So while we eat healthy, thanks to our Vitamix, there are occasional times we still pig out on not so healthy things that are amazingly good.

This is one of those not so healthy extremely good things that my talented wife came up with. It's called "overnight french toast". She found the recipe for it on a food blog she follows and we tried it out. It's french bread soaked overnight in a batter and it is baked the following day. It was A-mazing. Definitely going to be made again.

Smoothie of the Week

STRAWBERRY-BANANA-MANGO-SPINACH

Spinach? Really?

Yes spinach because it's packed with important nutrients like Vitamin C among others. Did you also know that spinach protects against prostate cancer? Check this page out to read about it.

You might be thinking how do all these fruits and vegetables go together? You must be crazy, I will never drink that!

Just give it a try...and don't let the color throw you off. I know it does NOT look appetizing.

This is everything that went in it. Nothing else was added. No sugar or preservatives

If I were to rate the taste on a scale of 1-10, I'd give it a 7. I have had better ones before. I like trying new things out. You never know when you will come up with a good combination.

The Machine

So this is the Vitamix.

It's looks like your average belender.

But don't be fooled, this is a blender on steroids!

The base of the machine weighs 15 lbs. and the clear plastic the container is made out of is the same plastic used to make airplane windows.

They claim that it can blend rocks, yes rocks, into powder. This voids the warranty though, so we haven't (and probably never will) attempt it.

It comes with a warranty of 8 years. The man who sold us the machine claimed he had owned his machine for the last 18 years. We are hoping to own our Vitamix for at least that long after shelling out $500 for it!

To Lap Band or NOT to Lap Band!

If you live anywhere in the sprawl of LA and Orange County, there is a very, VERY good chance you have seen the billboard below. They always crack me up!

I drive past these billboards daily and then get bombarded with radio ads of Lap-Band "success" stories. How much are these people getting paid to do this? If they are real it would be interesting to do a check-up on them a year from now to see if they are still a "success" story and have kept the weight off.

The problem with things like the Lap-Band, Liposuction and getting you stomach stapled as a way to loose weight is that they are only treating the symptom of the underlying problem. The REAL problem of these people is that they eat too much of the wrong food...all the time! A year from now they will go back to unhealthy, overweight and unhappy person they once were.

The real solution is actually treating the REAL underlying problem....eating right and exercise!! There is no substitute.

That's where the Vitamix comes in handy for us. We can eat right and get all the right nutrients to stay healthy and in-shape.

Taking it to the next level

I'm relatively new to the blogging world and am not quite sure where this blog will lead. It may lead to nothing or it could possibly lead to some great business venture.

I'm hoping for the latter after Tim Rutt, the founder of altadenablog.com, paid a visit to our class to give a background as to how his blog website got started and offer tips to all of us in getting started on ours.

After listening to him, it was evident that the reason his blog became so successful was that it started to fill a need that was previously not there. Now the residents of his city, Altadena, CA, look to his website on a daily basis for local news.

So, as I continue my blog I will be constantly looking for new ideas to further enhance the uniqueness of my blog to be something that will fill a need that was previously not there and become successful.

What is a Vitamix?

You might already know what a Vitamix is or you might have no idea what it is. I was first introduced to the Vitamix...online....the best place to get information about anything. My wife had read a book entitled Clean, written by a doctor named Alejandro Junger (it was a New York Times bestseller). The book talks about the amazing power of the body to heal itself. I highly suggest reading the book if you want a detailed, medical and scientific, but very understandable, explanation of how the body functions. It explains how we as humans in this day and age have not harnessed this power to it's full potential and consequently are suffering from a multitude of diseases that we have essentially brought on ourselves due to all the junk and processed foods and products that we put in and on our bodies. He's says one of the best ways to stay healthy, avoid sickness and keep the body in top shape is to eat raw fruits and vegetables. This is probably not something you never heard before. However Dr. Junger suggests the Vitamix, a powerful blender, as a solution to eating fresh fruits and vegetables. Why? Because you can make smoothies using multiple fruits and vegetables that taste great rather than trying to choke down say...a bunch of spinach or a carrot. Rather you can enjoy a fresh great tasting smoothie that gives you all the nutrients your body needs

After reading the book my wife researched the Vitamax machines heavily. She found that the Vitamix is the most used blender amongst the nations leading juice stores like Jamba Juice, Juice It Up and Starbucks to name a few. It also came with an 8 year warranty...8 years! Now that's saying something for a blender! As if that wasn't enough they also claim the blades never need sharpening and can turn rocks into dust. She also found out they are somewhat pricey, the lowest priced model being around $500. This kind of threw us off, however we decided it would be worth it if we wanted to try and eat well and stay healthy. So we bought the machine and are now using it on a daily basis, usually 2-3 times a day.

The Begining

America is unhealthy.  No, let me rephrase that...America is overweight.  You could also classify it as fat, obese or out of shape.  However you choose to say it, being overweight is unhealthy.  By taking a glance at a group of American people at any public setting you will see that well over half of those people fall into this category.  It is a trend that continues to grow in this country.  Not wanting to fall victim to its grasp my wife and I decided we needed to start being more healthy.  Where were we to start?  We both grew up being very active people.  My wife was a dancer from the time she was four and I have been playing sports since about the same time.  We had no trouble keeping the weight off back then thanks to our high metabolism from staying so active on a daily basis.  I could eat as much ice cream as I wanted (and I usually did) and not gain any weight.   We've now been married for almost three years and couldn't help but notice recently that our weight was slowly going up.  You could call it being lazy or not having enough time, but the fact remained that we were heading to join the group of millions of Americans who are overweight and unhealthy.  This was a category we didn't want to fall into and we knew something had to be done!  After reading a couple books and researching a couple of diets we came across a product which has been extremely useful in helping us be healthy...the Vitamix.