Equipment

Our final piece of major equipment came in the mail today, so I'll give a rundown of the things we've purchased:

1. Vita-Mix 5200 blender

This machine was our first must-have, because the idea of chunks of food floating in my smoothies makes me gag. According to the Vita-Mix website, the machine runs at 240 miles-per-hour at top speed. A co-worker asked if it will crush ice. I'm certain it will crush my soul if I look inside while it's running. The machine will turn nuts into butter and will make ice cream out of a little almond milk and a bag of frozen strawberries. We took advantage of the option to purchase a refurbished machine, which came sparkling, with a seven year warranty.

Vita-Mix website (videos, products and more)

2. Benriner Turning Slicer

Used to turn vegetables into thin strips of "pasta", I was a little disappointed at the quality of the equipment in light of its price ($70-ish). It seems to work very well, though. We've already made strips of carrots and covered them in an almond dressing that Kelly made in the blender.

3. Excalibur Food Dehydrator

As I write, I'm nodding off to the white lullaby noise of this 9-tray skyscraper of food dehumidification. After research, we learned that Excalibur is the dehydrating standard for raw foodists because it allows low-temperature settings that prevent food from cooking. Kelly's excited to make sprouted breads - a combination of blended sprouts and other ingredients - so we'll have something to work as a bread substitute.

Our kitchen:

Kelly enjoying a (disgustingly) pre-Vita-Mix smoothie:

Spikey and Emma, our moral support:

Our first batch of ice cream:

-Nathan