To mix, or not to mix

In keeping with our current (and hopefully long term) plan for healthier eating habits, we decided to purchase a Vitamix blender.  The blender would be a great addition to our juicer and allow us to consume quite a bit of the fiber that we are losing with juicing and then composting the pulp.  We waited until Costco was hosting the Vitamix guy with a special deal on blenders and we headed over.  We decided on a sleek black model and quickly set it up as soon as we got home that night.
If you're not familiar with the Vitamix you would surely be impressed.  This thing is a food annihilator!  You can throw pretty much anything in there, peel or no peel, and come out with pure liquid - no straining needed.  The first thing we made was a blueberry banana orange smoothie.  Sounds simple enough, right?  It turned out great and we were excited for our next blending adventure.  The next morning, instead of our normal juicing, we cut up our fruits and veggies and just tossed them in the blender with some frozen bananas to sweeten it up (the leaves, stems, and peels can be fairly bitter).  The result was akin to applesauce in texture - not something I'm used to gulping out of a pint glass (yes, we are basically still living like college students who can only offer our guests a beverage out of a pint glass boasting the label of some beer or brewery) but knowing how beneficial my glass contents were for me I made it happen.
Fully energized, we went out for a hike in the woods on the most beautiful day we've seen for a while.  When we returned, there was more blending to be done!  What would you say if I told you that the Vitamix blends at such high speeds that it can actually COOK liquids!  Naysayers, prepare to be amazed!  We tossed in the ingredients required for tortilla soup, set the Vitamix to High, set about cleaning the kitchen, and 6 minutes later we had STEAMING soup in our blender!  Directly from pour spout to bowl and into our bellies went hot liquid soup!  Bizarre, yes. Delicious, yes!  We will certainly be making that recipe again - next time we plan to toss in some pre-cooked chicken, a few black beans, some corn, and bell peppers right before we flip to "off" for a little chunkiness.
Hungry? Come on over!  Soup's in the blender!