The Mighty Vita-Mix

This, amigos, is the mixer of mixers, the Vita-Mix 5200, with a 2-horsepower motor capable of either grinding avocado pits into pulp or, stuck on the back of a rowboat, bringing three small Cuban refugees from Havana to Miami. No, this is not that useless contraption you see on Letterman that shreds beer cans. Those, unlike avocado pits, have little to no nutritive value. The Vita-Mix blender spins its stainless steel blades at a dizzying 240 mph, fast enough to make hot soup out of raw vegetables. That's right, I said hot! Those broccoli molecules (for instance) do what amounts to a fire-walk across the blades and bing-bing-bong -- you go from pitcher to bowl in under two minutes.

Of course, it will do everything ordinary blenders do, from smoothies to purées to salad dressings, but will your blender turn whole kernel wheat into flour? The deluxe package comes with both wet and dry containers, the latter of which will grind grains, beans or rice into nutrient-dense flour. The wet one will do sorbets and even ready-to-serve ice cream. Take some bananas and sugar and milk, add three cups of ice cubes and sixty seconds later you're a virtual hometown Ben & Jerry.

And for all y'all nut-eating vegans and raw food enthusiasts, the ole VM-5200 will make juices and nut butters and soups without cooking away the nutrients. According to the literature, this machine will bust down the cell walls of raw foods and make the enzymes more 'bio-available.' Not only that, breaking foodstuffs down at a cellular level releases more flavor, so you can enjoy good healthful meals without that 'I just ate cardboard for dinner' aftertaste. That's worth the price of admission alone. See you in Habana!!