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What RAW appliance do you use the most?

MOTHMOTH Raw Newbie

Hey! I’m looking into purchasing some raw appliances, namely the Green Star juicer, the Excaliber dehydrator and the Blendtec blender.

Which is most vital to your raw recipes? And does the “breadmaker” on the Green Star actually work?

Comments

  • germin8germin8 Raw Master

    I don’t have a Green Star Juicer… just a regular Juiceman Jr. I often wonder if I should get the Green Star to make smooth nut butters and ice cream. However, the high-speed blender I have does a good job with the ice cream. I use the high-speed blender to make sauces, ice creams, soups, pies, etc. High-speed blenders do oxidize food a lot… (downside). But, a juice from the juicer oxidizes within the hour (unless you have one of those that press juice out). Also, making juices with high-speed blenders results in juices with the fiber in the drink… whereas juicers don’t have that fiber. Depends what you want/need.

    The dehydrator is good for keeping foods longer… for weeks! This is great when you can’t eat all your raw food before it goes bad. :o) If I were in an area with fresh produce year round and don’t mind going to the grocery store often, I vote for the high-speed blender. Otherwise, I vote for the dehydrator.

    However, my most used appliance is my food processor… to make sauces, soups, pates, spreads, etc. It’s the one I appliance I would not want to part with. Next is the blender.

  • I love my Vitamix Turbo Blend 4500.

  • Number one is my high-speed blender. I use it every day. Second would be the food processor, third is the juicer (it’s a basic juiceman), and last but not least is my dehydrator. I suspect the dehydrator will see more use during the summer and fall when produce is fresh in my area; I just got it about a month ago so I haven’t used it much.

  • I’m with shane – I use my vitamix turbo blend 4500 at least twice a day. It makes green smoothies fine enough so my son can drink them in his sippy cup. That’s why I bought it. Next would be my processor and hand blender. The dehydrator I only use a couple of times a week, if that.

  • I forgot about the juicer! I use it every day, but only have a cheapy Kenmore centrifugal:(

  • MOTHMOTH Raw Newbie

    Hmm…I didn’t even consider the food processor. Can you guys recommend a top-notch brand? I’m trying to save my money for all the highest quality equipment so that they’ll last for decades.

    Thanks for the replies! I love hearing about what other people use daily for RAW.

  • stylistchickstylistchick Raw Newbie

    JUICER!!

  • RawVoiceRawVoice Raw Newbie

    I use my vitamix every single day. Second place lately would be my dehydrator because I soak and dehydrate nuts a lot and make crackers, too. Tied for second place are my food processor and saladacco (I love zuccini angel hair pasta). In third place is my mandolin.

  • deborahanndeborahann Raw Newbie

    I use my vitamix everyday. I try to keep a batch of flax crackers around so dehydrator would be #2. I use my food processor occasionally and my juicer about the same (except on cleanses where I use it a few times per day) Right now I have a Jack Lalan but I really want a green star!

  • I use the blender the most, maybe 2-3 times a day. The food processor gets used almost daily as well. It’s a cheap Black and Decker with a 10 cup container. It works great, but I wish that I had gotten one with a larger container.
    A good chef’s knife and cutting board make a difference too. I love the Global stainless steel knives. If you don’t have a great knife you can still take it to a cooking-ware store to get it sharpened, so at least that way it’s working its best.

  • queenfluffqueenfluff Raw Newbie

    My BlendTec Total Blender!

  • KristensRawKristensRaw Raw Newbie

    1) I use my MAC knife the most! Chopping all those veggies has never been so fun as when you’re doing it with a beautiful, sharp knife.

    2) I use my Blendtec blender next.

    3) While I definitely love and use my food processor a lot, I actually use my Food Saver a lot! This helps increase the shelf life of many of my raw foods. For info about how I use my Food Saver, check out my blog and search under Food Saver.

    4) I love my GreenStar but I don’t use it daily.

    Cheers! Kristen Suzanne

     

  • MOTHMOTH Raw Newbie

    Cool info, thanks!

    Kristen, what type of food processor do you have? Which brand is the best for processing raw foods?

  • I have a Green Star juicer, which I LOVE and use profusely as my husband is juicing carrots in his battle against cancer. I’ve made bread sticks with it and dehydrated them using my Excalibur dehydrator and we also have a Vitamix and a Cuisinart food processor. I don’t know which I use more, because they all have different functions. The Green Star juices don’t oxidize for quite a while so we juice for a day or two at a time. The Vitamix is great, but I find when making almond mayonnaise etc., it’s much easier to get it out of the food processor than the Vitamix. We use the Vitamix to make V8 type smoothies, but for optimal, cellular nutrition the Green Star is the way to go…I guess the short answer is that I love and use them all!!! No much help eh? :)

  • germin8germin8 Raw Master

    I have an 11-cup Cuisinart food processor. But, I wish I had the 14-Cup one to make more batches and to dehydrate. I make food for 2.

    As for the food savor… I like it too, but never use it… except maybe for travel. Otherwise, it just doesn’t seem cost effective to me.

  • This is all going to depend on what you eat! I have them all, and here is my opinion:

    1 – Blendtec blender. I use this every day for green smoothies, which are the world’s most perfect food, IMHO. I can also do nut butters and pates with it. It has a big container, is easy to clean, and can do most food processing and several juicer functions once you learn to use it on different speeds.

    2 – Dehydrator – but that’s just me. I am big on convenience raw foods and also on eating locally grown when I can. They dehydrator helps with both of these goals. I do a LOT of buckwheaties for my family. The oven can work, though, if you’re careful. Get the big Excalibur if you want to save time with batches. Don’t get a clear one – light can damage food.

    3 – Food processor. I use it A LOT, but could live without it using the Blendtec, mortal and pestle, hand grinder, etc. It is fast, efficient, and fun. Get the BIGGEST container you can find. I got the 2nd biggest KitchenAid and wish I’d gone all the way.

    4 – Juicer. I have an Omega 8005 and we used to use it daily. It is a fabulous juicer! I still think it makes the best homogenized frozen fruit, but I no longer juice at all. Now we do green smoothies in the Blendtec and use ALL of the parts we used to try to find a use for and end up composting. Green smoothies taste better and are more natural since they’re whole foods. Nut butters are easy with the Blendtec as well. We put the frozen fruit in smoothies now so we aren’t making sorbets anymore.

  • omshantiomshanti Raw Newbie

    vitamix, excalibur, and a good sharp knife! I also have a food processor and juicer both not used as often i make my nut butters in my vita mix and my ice creams in an ice cream maker… oh and a coffee grinder too!

  • I love my Samson juicer – it’s very similar to the Green Star but less expensive I think.

    My husband and I use our Blendtec blender daily

    Our Excalibur dehydrator is wonderful and I don’t know what I’d do without it

    I have a low end food processor and can’t wait to upgrade – will probably do Kitchen Aid based on reviews and I like the flat panel controls so I don’t get food stuck in between knobs and stuff.

  • PamPam

    Moth, I use my KitchenAid 7 cup food processor with 3 cup mini-bowl the most. I like it because it is very quiet, the control panel is flat as bellamojo mentions, and the mini-bowl makes it easier to do small portions. However, if you are preparing larger quantities, you may find that the 7-cup bowl isn’t sufficient.

    Next, I use my Blendtec and love it for green smoothies.

    Then, my Excalibur gets the biggest workout. I am getting so I don’t care much for dehydrated food other than crackers, breads and cookies. Oh, and I also love my “meatloaf.” If I didn’t have it, I would buy crackers at Whole Foods (which I do most of the time anyway) and go to an undehydrated cookie recipe.

    And, finally, my Greenstar which I only use for homogenizing. I don’t really drink much juice and if I need pulp for a recipe, I am most likely to use my cheapy centrifugal juicer. However, I must note that my Greenstar gear broke after 4 years of very infrequent use. The company is sending a replacement. So, if you get the Greenstar, be sure to register it. Of course, not registering it doesn’t void the warranty but I couldn’t even remember where I got the thing, let along find the receipt!

  • KristensRawKristensRaw Raw Newbie

    Hi Moth,
    I like both Cuisinart and KitchenAid. I like the 11-cup or larger if possible. Cheers!

  • elizabethhelizabethh Raw Newbie

    i dont have a superhero blender like a vitamix or ktech, but i have a pretty good one i bought at a high-end kitchen store that works fine, and i use it every day for green smoothies.

    • 1/2 gal wide-mouth mason jars (from Ball) with sprout lids (from Texas Best Unlimited)

    - everyday use for sprouting assorted legumes & grains

    • 7-cup KitchenAid Food Processor (with 3-cup mini bowl)

    - everyday use for banana ice cream, and slicing veggies (mushrooms, celery, carrots)

    • Spiralo spiral slicer (from Lurch)

    - everyday use for apples

    • 8” Chef’s Knife (from Forschner, also sold as “Victorinox”)

    - everyday use for cutting fruits & veggies

    • Coffee grinder (from Krups)

    - everyday use for grinding flax seed (to top “spiral” apples & banana ice cream)

    ============

    • I have a KitchenAid blender that I hardly every use – I prefer the food processor
    • I had an Excalibur 9-tray dehydrator that I returned – I prefer food with a high-water content
  • ZoeZoe Raw Newbie

    I have a Champion juicer which I love and it is great but if I could go back in time I would have splashed out on a Green Star instead. I am craving green juice and the Champ just won’t do it.

  • Vitamix (everyday)
    Cuisinart food processor
    My knives http://www.metrokitchen.com/cutlery/
    Excalibur Dehydrator (for raw gourmet foods)
    Spiralizer
    and a Jack Lalane Juicer

    I wanted to get a greenstar too, but found out that there is too many parts and hard to figure out how to put together again.

  • vitamix and green star- everyday, for green smoothies and juices.
    i use the dehydrator about once every couple weeks, and same with the cuisinart.

  • Food Dehydrator – Blender – Food processor – Hand held mixer – Juicer

  • I use my KitchenAid blender every day. It’s easier to clean than the food processor, and I usually only cook for myself.

    My Nesco dehydrator gets a lot of use, as does my Cuisinart coffee grinder.

    And no juicer for me. I think I may be the only one around here who detests smoothies.

  • alpdesignsalpdesigns Raw Newbie

    Blender and Cafemill. Lately, I’m hooked on my new Saladacco!

  • FreesiaFreesia Raw Newbie

    I’m a bit of a raw food gadget junkie!
    Excalibur, vitamix, spirooli, saladaccio, green power juicer, 4 cutting boards and great kitchen knives. I use the juicer the least, the rest I use every day, I am on a roll with the spirooli at the moment, so everybody gets vegetable pasta a lot.

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