Let's Talk Blenders, Shall We?
Not too long ago, I wrote a post entitled 15 Tips To Transition To A Raw Foods Lifestyle, in which I shared that – gasp! – I do not own a Vita-Mix® or Blendtec® blender. Well, holy guacamole, you would not believe the number of emails that generated (sadly, none of which were from Vita-Mix or Blendtec).
Ah yeah, so I guess everyone just assumed that Earth Mother was playing with the big boys. Nope.
What I specifically said in the aforementioned article was that one needn't spend a ton of money on new kitchen gadgets to transition to raw foods. I didn't.
When I traded in my frequent flyer miles at the drive-thru windows for a healthier living foods lifestyle, I knew I wanted a blender for green-smoothie making and whipping up blended soups. So I enrolled in the University of Google and got busy researching.
Not surprisingly, the first two blenders everyone in cyberspace seemed to recommend were the Vita-Mix and the Blendtec. With pricetags ranging between four and five hundred dollars, I quickly said, "Next, please!"
Enter the Oster® Fusion.
Ah yeah, so I guess everyone just assumed that Earth Mother was playing with the big boys. Nope.
What I specifically said in the aforementioned article was that one needn't spend a ton of money on new kitchen gadgets to transition to raw foods. I didn't.
When I traded in my frequent flyer miles at the drive-thru windows for a healthier living foods lifestyle, I knew I wanted a blender for green-smoothie making and whipping up blended soups. So I enrolled in the University of Google and got busy researching.
Not surprisingly, the first two blenders everyone in cyberspace seemed to recommend were the Vita-Mix and the Blendtec. With pricetags ranging between four and five hundred dollars, I quickly said, "Next, please!"
Enter the Oster® Fusion.
- Reversing blade – pulls ingredients in for better chopping and blending.
- 6-point star blade design – more blades for better food chopping and ice crushing.
- Pre-programmed setting for frozen drinks and food chopping – blender automatically shuts off.
Price tag: about $80 retail, but I got mine from Bed, Bath & Beyond with a 20% off coupon that came in the mail. Score!
I love it. Really, we've been quite happy together these last 20 months. There probably were not a whole lot of days when I didn't used this blender. In fact, just before sitting down to write, I loaded up its six-cup glass container with baby spinach greens, a juicy mango, a couple of frozen bananas, and two cups of coconut water. I pushed the little button under Pre-Programmed Settings that says, "Frozen Drinks & Shakes" (read: smoothies), and voilà, a minute later I'm enjoying a quart-and-a-half of green smoothie, blended to perfection.
I rarely use the buttons under Manual Settings, but the other pre-programmed setting I'll often use is Food Chop. No need to lug out the food processor. The Oster Fusion's 600 Watts of power does the job nicely. Perfect guac and salsa every time. Olé!
Clean-up's a breeze with the glass container. I wash mine by hand, but it's dishwasher safe.
So, how does it compare to the big boys?
The Blendtec has pre-programmed settings too. Neither the Blendtec nor the Vita-Mix have glass containers. Both come with plastic BPA-free containers and both are larger than the Oster Fusion. I understand you can even purchase a 3-quart container for the Blendtec. Definite advantage if you're making smoothies for the whole family. I'm not.
The Vita-Mix comes with a plunger thingy (I'm almost certain that's not the technical term). Not quite sure what that's for. With the Oster Fusion, because of the reversing blades, items from the top are automatically pulled down and blended so I don't need to plunge anything.
Power: Yup, the Blendtec has 1560 Watts of power compared to the Fusion's 600 Watts, and the Vita-Mix...well, that has more horsepower than my lawnmower, so no contest here. But, I wonder...why do you need so much power? I mean, what exactly are you folks blending that I'm not?
Let's talk warranties
The Vita-Mix is "engineered to last" and comes with a 7-year warranty. Blendtec offers a 3-year warranty. My Oster Fusion had a 1-year warranty. I say "had" because I'm coming up on two years here, so if it died tomorrow, I'd be out of luck. But then again...the way I figure it, my blender paid for itself within the first two months at roughly a dollar a day. Sooooooo, who cares if it peters out tomorrow?
What's the saying? – You get what you pay for. – Well, if that's the case, I've hit the jackpot.
I dunno, guys. It seems like a no-brainer to me. It does the job and the price is right. If I had to make the same decision again when making the transition to raw foods, I'd go with the Oster Fusion.
But if the big boys come a knockin' and wanna play... hello, I'm over here!
Okay, just for kicks, a little poll. Readers, if you please, weigh in below in the comments: What blender do you use?
I love it. Really, we've been quite happy together these last 20 months. There probably were not a whole lot of days when I didn't used this blender. In fact, just before sitting down to write, I loaded up its six-cup glass container with baby spinach greens, a juicy mango, a couple of frozen bananas, and two cups of coconut water. I pushed the little button under Pre-Programmed Settings that says, "Frozen Drinks & Shakes" (read: smoothies), and voilà, a minute later I'm enjoying a quart-and-a-half of green smoothie, blended to perfection.
I rarely use the buttons under Manual Settings, but the other pre-programmed setting I'll often use is Food Chop. No need to lug out the food processor. The Oster Fusion's 600 Watts of power does the job nicely. Perfect guac and salsa every time. Olé!
Clean-up's a breeze with the glass container. I wash mine by hand, but it's dishwasher safe.
So, how does it compare to the big boys?
The Blendtec has pre-programmed settings too. Neither the Blendtec nor the Vita-Mix have glass containers. Both come with plastic BPA-free containers and both are larger than the Oster Fusion. I understand you can even purchase a 3-quart container for the Blendtec. Definite advantage if you're making smoothies for the whole family. I'm not.
The Vita-Mix comes with a plunger thingy (I'm almost certain that's not the technical term). Not quite sure what that's for. With the Oster Fusion, because of the reversing blades, items from the top are automatically pulled down and blended so I don't need to plunge anything.
Power: Yup, the Blendtec has 1560 Watts of power compared to the Fusion's 600 Watts, and the Vita-Mix...well, that has more horsepower than my lawnmower, so no contest here. But, I wonder...why do you need so much power? I mean, what exactly are you folks blending that I'm not?
Let's talk warranties
The Vita-Mix is "engineered to last" and comes with a 7-year warranty. Blendtec offers a 3-year warranty. My Oster Fusion had a 1-year warranty. I say "had" because I'm coming up on two years here, so if it died tomorrow, I'd be out of luck. But then again...the way I figure it, my blender paid for itself within the first two months at roughly a dollar a day. Sooooooo, who cares if it peters out tomorrow?
What's the saying? – You get what you pay for. – Well, if that's the case, I've hit the jackpot.
I dunno, guys. It seems like a no-brainer to me. It does the job and the price is right. If I had to make the same decision again when making the transition to raw foods, I'd go with the Oster Fusion.
But if the big boys come a knockin' and wanna play... hello, I'm over here!
Okay, just for kicks, a little poll. Readers, if you please, weigh in below in the comments: What blender do you use?
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