!8: Best Buy Sprouting Wheatgrass: November 2011

!±8± Raw Food Blenders

A raw fooder is someone who is looking to be able to absorb as many nutrients from raw fibrous vegetables by making some very tasty and smooth shakes and soups. They want to be able to break up seeds and nuts thoroughly which when they are blended with other foods can provide them with nutritious shakes and milks. So they want a blender that can cope with the high demands placed upon it compared to conventional kitchen equipment.

Meeting The Demands In The Raw Food Kitchen

Those who choose to become raw fooders will use their blenders on a daily basis and the amount of pressure they are placed under is much more than would be found in a normal household. Not only will they use theirs more often but the user will perform more heavy duty tasks with theirs. They will employ theirs to blend dry ingredients along with frozen fruits and vegetables to make smoothies. For this reason many people find that within a short period of their taking up this type of lifestyle the results they desire from their blender are not being achieved in many cases the blades will disintegrate or the motor blows not long after the person commences their new dietary regime.

Don't think that by replacing your current blender with a similar model is a wise investment as you will find it will cost you a great deal more in the future. Over any period of time you will find with the conventional household blender that when used to create raw food recipes the life span of the machine is greatly reduced. When you want to achieve the right results then don't be afraid to carry out some research beforehand to see what your options are before investing any money. This way you will be in a much stronger position to determine exactly which kind of blender is right for your needs.

Entry Level Raw Food Blender That Packs Power

Are you someone who at this time isn't sure if they will permanently remain using a raw food diet or when it comes to cash does not have the money available to spend hundreds of pounds on a commercial grade blender? Can it actually be possible for you to commence this new lifestyle when money is limited and is putting the blenders that are capable of dealing with raw foods out of your reach?

Up until now the only answer one would every receive in respect of the above is no. Generally when it comes to conventional household blenders when used for this type of lifestyle aren't strong enough to last very long and you will find yourself having to replace them on a regular basis. So really the money you invest would have been much better spent on buying the more expensive model you passed over in the first place. But today things are changing and all due to the American health brand L'Equip who have now created a new type of blender that is able to produce the desired results for raw fooders at a fraction of the cost.

So L'Equip has introduced a new blender called the 428 Mill. This comes with a new jug configuration that allows you to push onto the drive shaft two blades. Plus it also incorporates a clamp system that locks down the blender's power until you begin to use it. When it comes to this machine you simply need to swap blades and as the name suggests will then allows you not only to mill dry ingredients but also allows you to blend frozen and wet ingredients as well.

This kind of blender although may not offer the same high results as you would get with commercial grade models the blade speed of 18000 revs per minute is truly amazing for a blender that costs only £99. This blender jug design is somewhat similar to that found on a food processor and conventional blender in the house but also is capable of completing the functions of these pieces of equipment as well. In just 30 seconds I have seen this model decimate dried chick peas and grind grain into flour. This machine is also more than capable of producing nut milks and smoothies and isn't that bad at creating raw soups like the big models can. Plus when it comes to the price there are very few that can compete with this and it leaves conventional blenders flagging when they try to carry out these tasks like the L'Eqiup 428 Mill Blender can.

Premium Choices

If you don't have a limited budget, then you should seriously consider getting a commercial grade blender even though you would be expected to spend upwards of £350 on one. What you need to remember is that this is going to in effect be replacing your cooker so at the end of the day the cost won't actually be that high.

There are simple commercial grade blenders that you can opt for but most people prefer to opt for the commercial models that have simply been repackaged for the home market. These come with very simple to follow instructions along with a guide that proves useful and a recipe book. When it comes to the raw food community there are two blenders that are contenders for the premium market and both of which are manufactured in the USA. You have the choice of going for the ones made by Blendtec (known also as K-Tec) and VitaMix.

As VitaMix such a varied range of blenders it may leave you feeling somewhat confused. This company seems to have a policy where they often choose to rebrand or reskin their models. One model that is particular favored by raw food enthusiasts is the Total Nutrition Centre (TNC) also known as the VitaMix 5000, The VitaMix 5200 and the VitaMix Turboblend. Also to further add to your confusion this company also makes this model with the exact same model available as a commercial grade blender even though the name may have changed and they may have made slight changes to its configuration.

I have nothing against the capabilities of the VitaMix as they are very powerful competent blenders and are able to meet a raw food kitchens demands. But using marketing ploys to say that theirs is innovative is wrong. For many years now changes have been made to the models other than to change the name and repackaged the products. They still come with the same features including protruding switches which can become gunged up when spills occur and as a result cleaning behind them proves difficult. The controls on these are simple to use and unsophisticated so make sure it works well, however it is the marketing that they employ which I feel is slightly dishonest that prevents me from getting one.

When it comes to VitaMix blenders if I was to purchase one it would be the powerful VitaPrep 3 which is sold under VitaMixs commercial arm. So you won't be plagued by the nonsense selling and marketing tactics used for their home side. Being more powerful the VitaPrep 3 won't need to work as hard so it last much longer doing the tasks you require of it. However, you may find the cost of £600 just a tad high. But if you can afford to get this blender do as it will be the only one you will ever need and will last forever.

I do like my gadgets and technology. Yet there are certain practical reasons why I would opt to purchase the Blendtec HP3A Total Blender instead of what VitaMix have to offer for around the same price. When it comes to Blendtec they actually offer genuine innovations rather than just renaming and repackaging their blenders. They come with a waterproof touch pad with a surface that can be wiped clean should a spillage occur. Also they look much sleeker than what one would see as dated models from VitaMix.

When it comes to this blender what we discussed isn't the only innovation each motor is fully computerized. So not only can you use it with pulse and variable speed functions but each BlendTec Total comes with another 20 separate cycles that are pre programmed into it which allows you to ramp the speed up or down according to the task being performed. It has everything you need for your healthy kitchen because of these cycle programmes and you can even invent your own ones as well as there is the opportunity to customize the pre programmed ones.

This machine comes with just one button so there is no guesswork and it allows you to carry out several tasks at once as you can leave the blender to get on with what is required as there is no need for you to vary the speed or as with the VitaMix use a smoothie stick. Also when it comes to the BlendTec jug design it is such that there is no need for a smoothie stick at all and you won't need to use another jug when placing dry ingredients in yours. Today you can expect to pay around £400 for this blender in the UK.