So we got a spiffy new one! The 5200 model we got has some nice new features -- new lid, new handle, BPA-free container, and it's quieter than our old one, too.
I've raved over and over about the Vita-Mix on my blog and in my books, but I hear what you're saying: "It's a blender, Jennifer. What on earth could make a flippin' blender so special that you would spend that much money for it?" (At least, that's what I think you're saying, because that's what I said to my husband when our old Vita-Mix first arrived.)
To give you some idea of why I love my Vita-Mix oooh so much, I present you with A Day in the Life of a Very Busy Vita-Mix:
5:30am: Our busy blender's day begins at the crack of dawn with a smoothie for Hubby shmoo (his smoothies involve raw eggs, so I'm not even going into it).
7:00am: I'm finally awake and it's time for my morning smoothie.
![](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bcCoa8Eh70M/SZ40hh_GrgI/AAAAAAAAAUg/5kDRvpuBPCA/s320/smoothie1.jpg)
My breakfast smoothie is almost always the same: 1/2 cup pomegranate juice, 1/2 cup hemp milk, 1 tbs. flaxseed (whole, no need to grind them first), a banana, 2/3 cup frozen blueberries, 1/3 cup frozen pineapple, and about 2/3 cup chopped organic frozen spinach.
![](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_bcCoa8Eh70M/SZ41_fjgQvI/AAAAAAAAAUo/XHKCo-zWaJA/s320/smoothie2.jpg)
A quick blend and the flaxseed and spinach disappear without a trace. I pour the smoothie into my travel cup, take a couple sips, and head for the gym. When I'm done working out the smoothie is waiting for me in the car, still cold.
10:00am: I whir up a batch of creamy Nacho Cheese for our afternoon out with friends. My mom reports that her regular blender never gets these vegan cheese sauces as creamy and smooth as mine.
![](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_bcCoa8Eh70M/SZ5Eem0H71I/AAAAAAAAAVQ/1F-Q6ySLIa0/s320/nachoblender.jpg)
5:00pm: It's time for dinner and one of my favorite Vita-Mix tricks: blending a portion of a vegetable soup and then stirring it back into the soup to make the soup "creamy" without using any cream.
![](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bcCoa8Eh70M/SZ9dYLN-Q1I/AAAAAAAAAV4/tOX6TGf2O7E/s400/cabbagesmall.jpg)
7:00pm: Dessert, our favorite! And here's something a regular blender really can't do: make sorbet. Tonight I go all-out and make Healthy Fruit Parfaits.
![](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_bcCoa8Eh70M/SZ4_tC7pJsI/AAAAAAAAAU4/5HE5Ay5WihQ/s320/sorbetfruit.jpg)
I start by bringing out the bins of frozen fruit I have in my freezer and washing a bowl of fresh (not frozen) blueberries. I blend frozen peaches with a bit of orange juice, using just enough liquid to get the blender going while keeping a thick consistency (I use the tamper to keep things moving). I put the peach sorbet in a bowl in the freezer for just a minute while I rinse out the container and blend frozen strawberries with a few pieces of frozen pineapple and just enough soymilk to get it going again.
![](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bcCoa8Eh70M/SZ5BFn-p_7I/AAAAAAAAAVA/rNXkC240DFg/s320/sorbet.jpg)
I layer spoonfuls of peach sorbet, strawberry sorbet, and fresh blueberries in pretty parfait glasses garnished with slices of tangerine. Oooh, fancy shmancy! And no sugar!
![](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_bcCoa8Eh70M/SZ5CWjnsO9I/AAAAAAAAAVI/Hy6R7FBgEVg/s320/goodnight.jpg)