Improve Your Raw Food Diet with the Vitamix 5200 Blender

The Vitamix 5200 blender is the perfect kitchen tool for the raw foodist. The Vitamix 5200 makes juice, blends beautifully, grinds nuts for nut butter, chops vegetables, makes frozen fruit desserts and can even warm food to just the right temperature.  The powerful Vitamix 5200 motor combined with stainless steel blades and a specially designed container enables this appliance to perform dozens of difficult kitchen tasks in a matter of minutes with no need for any attachments.

The Vita-Mix 5200 blender ruptures the cell walls of raw foods to make the enzymes more bioavailable. Valuable life-giving nutrients locked inside the pulp, peels and seeds of fruits and vegetables cannot be absorbed as easily when these foods are simply chewed. When fresh, whole foods are taken down to the cellular level by the Vitamix, the nutrients become readily available to nourish your body.  Breaking the food into microscopic particles also releases more flavor, so your raw food meals are not only more nutritious, but also very delicious when made in the Vita-Mix 5200.

Listed here some of the important food functions that the Vita-Mix 5200 can perform to help you enjoy maximum nutrition and full flavor from your raw food diet. The beauty of using the Vita-Mix machine is that everything processes quickly and oxidation is kept to a minimum.

Making Juice from Raw Foods

Whole food juice is the perfect raw food breakfast or snack. When you make juice in the Vita-Mix 5200, whole fruits are completely pulverized. The delicious juice is released in its purest form and all of the valuable whole food fiber is retained. Just toss in your favorite fruits and vegetables–stems, seeds and all–and process on high for about a minute. Unlike juice from a juice extractor, Vita-Mix whole food juice delivers all the health benefits available in a creamy, smooth juice that is full of fiber, but with no fiber “feel.”

Making Raw Food Soups and Sauces

Start with everything fresh and natural and the Vitamix 5200 does the rest. Just add the raw foods of your choice, season to taste and you get a smooth, creamy soup or a fresh, fruit sauce in just minutes–with no need for peeling, seeding, straining or stirring.

Experiment a few times to get the timing and temperature right where you need it. The results are perfect every time, and the Vita-Mix makes the process so simple. You control exactly what goes into the soup or sauce, heat it to the perfect temperature, and get fabulous flavor naturally.

Making Frozen Treats from Raw Foods

The same precision blades that create friction heat to make soups warm also make fruit sorbets from frozen ingredients in the Vita-Mix machine. A frozen dessert is the perfect complement to a raw food meal. When the blades crush and cut up frozen fruit, a larger surface area is created. These microscopic food particles release coldness that quickly causes the mixture to “refreeze” itself into a soft-serve-style frozen treat. The entire process takes only about 30 seconds. Processing time can be reduced by using the tamper–a unique Vita-Mix processing tool that directs food into the blades and minimizes melting.
Grinding Raw Foods in the Wet Blade Container

The standard Vita-Mix 5200 wet blade container is best suited for grinding moisture-rich foods like nuts because the “wet blades” draw the mixture down into the container for fast, efficient processing. Making natural nut butters is unbelievably simple. All you need is raw peanuts, oil and a minute or so in the Vita-Mix machine to make fresh, warm raw nut butters.

Blending and Pureé Raw Foods

The precision engineering of the Vita-Mix 5200 lets you achieve the best blended recipes on any speed. The secret is in the Variable Speed Dial that controls the blades and provides ultimate versatility to your raw foods kitchen. Whether you are making the perfect smooth, emulsifying a tangy salad dressing, creating nuts milks or mixing up a green smoothies, the Vita-Mix machine makes it all so easy. No matter what you are making, or on what speed, processing always remains consistent due to a special feedback-type control that monitors and adjusts motor speed. At high speed, the Vita-Mix blade tips travel at 240 mph to completely pulverize fruit for a smoothie, but when blending butters at speeds as low as 11 mph you can count on the same steady power.

Wet-Chopping Raw Foods

Raw vegetables for soups, salads and entrees are best chopped wet. Take cabbage, for example. Just add water to the Vita-Mix container of filled with cabbage select low speed for a coarse chop and high speed for fine. The water draws the food into the blades for the most uniform chop you will ever see. The best part is that the whole process takes only a few seconds–then all you do is drain and serve.
Crushing Ice–the Ultimate Wet Chop

It is easy, it is effortless and it happens in just seconds. Just fill the Vita-Mix container with ice cubes and then add water until the ice floats over the blades. Simply run on high speed for three seconds, pour off the water and it’s done. Ice is crushed to a uniform consistency every time so it is perfect for drinks, “snow cones” for the kids or for use as packing for picnic foods.

Raw Food Recipe Preparation with VitaMix 5200 Machine Dry-Chopping Raw Foods

Dry chopping in the Vita-Mix machine is perfect for raw foods like carrots, olives and onions. The speed you select will determine the texture–but all of these tough tasks are performed perfectly every time with Vita-Mix variable speed. Just figure the faster the speed, the finer the chop. One cup at a time delivers the best results. And it’s all so easy with the Vita-Mix.

NOTE: A pictorial demonstration of each of these key food preparation processes for raw foods and a few easy, no-fail recipes are included in the “Getting Started” Cookbook. This handy step-by-step guide is included with every Vita-Mix 5200.

Choosing the Raw Food Diet that’s Right for You

A raw food diet can increase your nutrient intake, your energy level and help you lose or maintain and ideal weight. It is thought that raw food contains enzymes which aid digestion. These enzymes, which regulate the body’s metabolic processes, are thought to be destroyed when food is heated above 110-120 degrees Fahrenheit. Because eating food without enzymes makes digestion more difficult, the resulting toxicity is considered to be the cause of obesity and chronic disease.

There are a number of popular variations of the raw food diet. Listed below are five of the most common raw diet and what foods they include:

• Raw foodism – Food from all food groups, heated to temps below 120 degrees F
• Raw veganism – Fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, sprouted grains and legumes
• Raw vegetarianism – Fruits, vegetables, sprouts, seeds, grains, legumes, dairy, eggs, honey
• Fruitarianism – Fruits, nuts, seeds, and sometimes sprouted grains and legumes

Raw Food Green Smoothie with the Vitamix 5200 Blender

Green drinks or green smoothies are becoming increasingly popular and are an integral part of the raw food diet.  Many health experts consider greens—such as spinach, collard greens, mustard greens and kale—the most nutritious of all foods.  The antioxidants in leafy greens are thought to improve the immune system, help with heart health and provide a boost of energy when consumed on a regular basis.

Many people avoid eating greens because of their taste and texture, thus missing out on all that valuable nutrition.  Greens tend to taste bitter and large quantities are a bit tough to take.  The real problem, however, is their texture.  The leaves are so tough that chewing greens to the consistency necessary to release nutrition is virtually impossible.  This is where the Vita-Mix machine comes in!

Greens blended into a rich, creamy and delicious green smoothie solves both problems perfectly. The taste of the greens is disguised with naturally sweet fruits like pineapple, banana and grapes—and the Vita-Mix 5200 takes the skins, seeds and tough leafy greens down to an utterly smooth and delicious drink.

Raw Food Enthusiasts Discuss the Benefits of a Raw Food Diet

People who have embraced the raw food lifestyle believe that subscribing to a raw food diet is beneficial to one’s body inside and out. They believe that eating raw food may help reduce the risk of chronic illnesses and help the body deal well with age-related conditions.

Recent studies show that cooking can improve the ability for the body to absorb nutrients found in the skins and seeds of certain whole foods because cooking begins to break down those hard-to-digest parts of food. The beauty of The Vita-Mix Super 5200 is that this amazing machine has the ability to break through the cell walls of whole foods–even those that are hardest to digest—without the need for high temperatures.

Rupturing the cell walls makes the nutrients that may help prevent and fight diseases more bioavailable.
Many books highlight the benefits of a raw food and living food diet. Listed below are a few that we have reviewed:

• Natalia Rose, author of Raw Food Life Force Energy: Enter a Totally New Stratosphere of Weight Loss, Beauty, and Health and The Raw Food Detox Diet, discusses raw food as an aid to detoxifying the body and achieving greater energy, clearer skin and shiner hair.
• David Wolfe promotes a raw and living food diet as an excellent way to help turn back the hands of time and regain youthful energy in his book The Sunfood Diet Success System. He also outlines the many ways in which raw foods may help people look and feel their most beautiful by rejuvenating the body form the inside out.
• Victoria Boutenko explores the beauty of the green smoothie as the best way for people on a raw food diet—or any diet—to consume antioxidant-rich leafy greens in her book Green for Life.

Check out the works of these books and other raw food books and raw food dvds to learn more about raw food living.

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Vitamix Green Smoothie Recipes

Kale and Pear Vegan Smoothie

Drink to better bones, help for your heart and an improved immune system—you get it all in this delicious Vitamix green smoothie recipe!

Kale may not be the first thing you think of when it comes to making a great Vitamix green smoothie recipe —but it is definitely one of the best! Dark leafy green kale is packed with calcium in a form that the body finds easier to digest than milk—and that’s a real bonus for your bones. Pair these nutritious but bitter leaves with pear, green grapes, and orange and a banana, and you get a surprisingly sweet smoothie that is absolutely loaded with nutrition.

Green grapes may help improve circulation and prevent blood clots—and the seeds contain protective flavinol compounds that fight free radicals and repair connective tissues. Oranges protect against colds, flu, heart disease and strokes with a big vitamin C immune boost. Bananas are a smoothie staple, but they are packed with cholesterol calming potassium.

Yield: 4 cups (960 ml)
Speed: Variable to High
Time: 1 1/2 minutes

• 1 cup green grapes
• 1 (130 g) orange, peeled
• 1/2 Bartlett pear
• 1 (120 g) banana, fresh or frozen
• 1 cup kale
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cups ice cubes

Place all ingredients into container and secure the lid. Select VARIABLE speed #10, then to HIGH for 1 ½ minutes. Turn machine off. Serve immediately. A green smoothie is recommended as the “ blast of nutrition and energy that helps power me through the day.”

Orange Green Dream Vegan Smoothie

This delicious smoothie is low fat, low sodium, low cholesterol, heart healthy, gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, and raw!

Yield: 4 servings

• 2 bananas
• 3 oranges, peeled, quartered
• 1 head romaine lettuce
• 4 cups cold water

Place all ingredients in Vita-Mix container in order listed. Secure 2-part lid. Select VARIABLE, speed #1. Turn on machine and quickly increase speed to #10; then to HIGH. Run for 1 minute or until smooth. Serve immediately.

Going Green Vegan Smoothie

Yield: 3.5 cups

• 1 cup green grapes
• 1/2 cup pineapple
• 2 cups fresh spinach
• 1/2 ripe banana
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup ice

Place ingredients into the Vita-Mix container and secure lid. Select Variable 1. Turn machine on and quickly increase to Variable 10, then to High. Blend for 60 seconds.

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Vegan Vitamix Smoothie Recipes

A Little Bit of Everything Vegan Smoothie

Yield: 3 cups (720ml)

You will need for the following vegan Vitamix smoothie recipe:

• 1/2 cup soy, hemp or almond milk
• 1/2 cup red grapes
• 1 orange, peeled
• 2 baby carrots
• 1/2 peach, pitted
• 1 cup frozen strawberries
• 1/2 cup broccoli
• 1/2 cup spinach leaves
• 1/2 cup pineapple
• 1/4 banana
• 1 cup ice

Place all ingredients in the Vitamix 5200 blender in the order listed.  Secure the 2-part lid.  Select VARIABLE, speed #1.  Turn on the vitamix and quickly increase speed to #10; then to HIGH.  Run for 1 minute or until smooth.  Serve immediately.

Vegan Apple Ginger Snap Smoothie

Yield: 2 1/4 cups (540 mL)
Speed: Variable to High
Time: 1 minute

• 1/2 cup (120 mL) apple cider
• 1/4 (35 g) golden delicious apple
• 1/4 cup pineapple
• 1/8 teaspoon ginger root
• 1 1/4 cups (300 mL) ice cubes

Place all ingredients in the Vitamix 5200 container in the order listed. Secure the 2-part lid. Select VARIABLE, speed #1. Turn on the Vitamix 5200 machine and quickly increase speed to #10; then to HIGH. Run for 1 minute or until smooth. Serve immediately.

Vegan Banana Split Tofu Smoothie

Yield: 1 1/2 cups (360 mL)
Speed: Variable to High
Time: 1 minute

• 1/4 cup soft tofu
• 1/2 (60g) banana
• 1/2 cup frozen strawberries, unsweetened
• 1 tablespoon honey or other sweetener, to taste
• 1/2 cup (120 mL) ice cubes

Place all ingredients in the Vitamix 5200 container in order listed. Secure the two-part lid. Select VARIABLE, speed #1. Turn on the Vitamix 5200 and quickly increase speed to #10; then to HIGH. Run for 1 minute or until smooth. Serve immediately.

Vegan Banana Tofu Smoothie

Yield: 2 1/2 cups (600 mL)
Speed: Variable to High
Time: 30 seconds

• 3/4 cup crumbled tofu
• 2 Tablespoon sugar, optional
• 2 (236 g) bananas
• 2 cups (480 mL) ice cubes

Place all ingredients in the Vita-Mix 5200 container in order listed. Secure two-part lid. Select VARIABLE, speed #1. Turn on the Vita Mix and quickly increase speed to #10; then to HIGH. Run for 30 seconds or until smooth. If necessary, use the tamper to press any ingredients into the blades while processing. Serve immediately.

Vegan Basic Fruit Smoothie

Yield: 1 1/4 cups (300 mL)
Speed: Variable to High
Time: 30 seconds

• 1 cup (240 mL) soy milk
• 1/2 (60 g) medium banana
• 1 inch slice (84 g) pineapple with core

Place all ingredients in the Vita-Mix 5200 container in order listed. Secure 2-part lid. Select VARIABLE, speed #1. Turn on the Vitamix- 5200 and quickly increase speed to #10; then to HIGH. Run for 30 seconds or until smooth. Serve immediately.

Berry Delicious Vegan Smoothie

Yield: 3 cups (720 mL)
Speed: Variable to High
Time: 35 seconds

• 1 cup fresh pineapple
• 1 (110 g) ripe banana
• 1 cup frozen strawberries, unsweetened
• 1/3 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
• 1/3 cup cranberries, fresh or frozen
• 1/2 cup ice

Place all ingredients in the Vita-Mix 5200 container in order listed. Secure two-part lid. Select VARIABLE, speed #1. Turn on the Vitamix 5200 and quickly increase speed to #10; then to HIGH. Run for 35 seconds or until smooth. Serve immediately.

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