I went to a thermomix demo last night....

And...

I'm thinking of getting one.

But I'd love to hear other people's pros & cons - especially those who have one. These are mine so far:
PRO:
  • We have a heap of food restrictions in our house. I like the idea of using it to have more variety in our diets by easily replicating recipes with just a smidge of substitution to cater for our intolerances.
  • As my DS (allergic to treenuts & eggs) gets older, I may find I do need to do more baking to help ensure he's not "disadvantaged" IYKWIM.
  • I think we might become healthier cooks
  • I love the idea of making lots of new stuff more easily
  • Looks very very efficient
  • My DH's health isn't great, and he can be a bit of a "habitual man-style eater" - you know, the same stuff all the time. Maybe cooking more variety & more veg would be great for him.
  • Hiding veggies from the kids, could be awesome
  • Making veggie stock - I cannot buy ANY veggie stock I can eat.


CON:
  • We're not huge "baking" kinda people which is one thing that makes me nervous - would I get the value from it.
  • I think my DH thinks that we don't have time to use it to its full potential... I reckon maybe it would be enough of a time saver which is the whole point.
  • I also don't tend to do steamed food (but maybe we should more!)
  • Some folks are very passionate about additives & preservatives. On top of everything I already exclude, I don't worry about that stuff. If I can buy it in a jar easily, I will.
  • Cost.
  • All those appliances I already have!!! Blender, food processer, juicer... arrrgh. (yes, ebay I know!)
  • Some of the things you can make, we just don't eat a lot of - sauces, jams, custards, cakes... etc. Or just ONE of us eats it, cos the others can't eat that food. Plus both DH & I are trying to lose weight, I don't want to make a heap of biscuits, cakes, custards & icecreams!
  • Noisy (with kids sleeping in the house during the day?...)
  • I love having food labels on things, with ingredients. When you make everything from scratch & stick it in your own jars... don't have labels. Guess I could make my own... but I honestly, can't see that happening!
  • Things like making stock & dip - I don't do that now... would I enjoy doing it, or would I still say, well that's more work when I can buy it in a tub? Would be nice to have more than the 2 dips we currently can tolerate tho!


I think part of me is nervous do I just want it cos it's new & cool? I REALLY don't want to pay $2k for something then not use it fully! But it does my head in a bit to imagine using it all the time - as obviously I don't have one yet & so can't really imagine how it would change my days & weeks! I seem to have more cons than pros... hmm.

Anyway, next step is a demo at our place in July so DH can see it. In the interim, if you've stuck with my waffle, love to hear your thoughts - especially from those who have one.

TIA!