A friend of mine is a professional chef and wears by it. Although I cook often, I can't justify the expense, especially when I have a decent blender and an awesome food processor. As PP stated, if $$ is not an issue, then I would get it.
I have one, not sure of the model at the moment but it was around $550. My MIL is a Costco member and you can get pretty good deals through them, that's where I got mine. My package came with the dry blender as well, which is great because being gluten free I grind a lot of my own grains. I use it almost everyday, some days more then once. I make pancake and cake batter in it as well as quick breads. I haven't tried any soups that you make using just the blender but I do blend up peas and squash to put in other soups. I also use it for the first thing everyone thinks of..smoothies and frappe's. :-) For me the price was worth it. I also asked for it for mother's day so I think that helped as well. :-) They do last forever, my grandma has had one for 10 years and it is still going strong.
I bought the model they were selling at Costco on a special that was about $500 (like the earlier post). I made smoothies with spinach, grapes, and pineapple every day for two weeks and then took it back because I just couldn't justify spending that much on a suped up blender.
That said, I think about getting one again when money is less tight.... but I will get a less expensive model. The $500 model had these settings (soup, smoothie, etc.) that vary the speeds for you, but Costco sells a model that is less than $400.
I got mine about a year ago and love it! My favorite thing to use it for is green smoothies. It's a great way to clean the veggeis out of the fridge and I love that I can just put whatever in there and it always blends perfectly. I also use it to grind flaxseed, coffee, make fruit smoothies, and for soups and dips. I use it at least 3-4 times a week, sometimes more.
It is worth it and I'm thrifty. I use it to make baby food in batches. I also use it as a mixer, chopper, etc since don't own one. Worth the investment.
I absolutely love mine, I bought it 9 months ago and have pretty much drank a smoothie a day and lost a lot if weight on it. It is fast and even cleans itself. I bought mine for 500 on eBay and it is usually 750.
Re: Is vitamix worth it?
I bought the model they were selling at Costco on a special that was about $500 (like the earlier post). I made smoothies with spinach, grapes, and pineapple every day for two weeks and then took it back because I just couldn't justify spending that much on a suped up blender.
That said, I think about getting one again when money is less tight.... but I will get a less expensive model. The $500 model had these settings (soup, smoothie, etc.) that vary the speeds for you, but Costco sells a model that is less than $400.
May Siggy: Baby in disguise