Leah’s Vitamix Strawberry Daiquiris and Good Greens Smoothies

This post may contain Amazon or other affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This post is not sponsored or endorsed by Vita-Mix Corporation. But just as friends chat about stuff that makes our lives easier, and more fun and meaningful, I’m excited to hear all about Leah’s experience with her new blender—as she says, “the kitchen tool I never knew I needed.” 

It’s the kitchen tool Leah Brink never knew she needed.

Her boyfriend, Josh, gifted her the Vitamix Pro 750 Heritage Series blender (affiliate link). In a conversation we were having between friends, she and our friend Jen Miller were talking about how much they like their Vitamix® machines and that they use theirs nearly every day.

Since I don’t have one, I asked Leah to join me for an episode of Funeral Potatoes & Wool Mittens to share a few Vitamix recipes and talk about what she likes most about her high performance blender. I still use a plain old blender. The kind that can barely blend frozen chopped strawberries. Let alone ice cubes.

Not only did she talk about it, but she packed up her blender and came to my house and whirled us up an icy batch of strawberry daiquiris. It’s a beast of a machine! On this episode, we talk about all kinds of things.

Listen in the Spotify player below. Or listen wherever you get your podcasts.

On the Podcast with Leah and Her Vitamix

Leah speaks frankly about the influence her mom had on her philosophy regarding food, and how her short-lived rebellion led to her own goal of fitting more fruits and vegetables into her and her family’s lifestyle, in more of a lifelong, enthusiastic way.

But don’t worry. Along with the nutrient-packed smoothies Leah starts her day with, and the salsa, soup, Caesar dressing, bean dip, and hummus she makes in her Vitamix blender, we still talk about Cajun cream sauce, chicken Alfredo, decadent fudge, and Taco John’s.

Smoothies in Her Vitamix

Perfecting her smoothie game is what Leah has found to be the most healthful benefit from her Vitamix blender. She’s using mostly fresh fruits and vegetables where she can, occasionally adding unsweetened frozen fruit when necessary.

Leah’s Good Greens Smoothie

Red Fruit Smoothie

Strawberry Margarita

Growing Real Food with Leah Brink

Leah says, “It’s kind of fun to see how real people are incorporating growing real food into their lives.” Here’s what she’s been up to:

1. I had an onion sprouting in my cupboard one day so I looked up how to plant it and the green onion shoots are the result (currently sitting outside near my untilled garden!!).

2. In this tray, I started a couple dozen tomato plants and hot pepper plants. The hot peppers took forever to germinate and they’re just more finicky when little than the tomatoes.

3. When the sprouted seeds grow a little bit, have to transplant to larger containers which will eventually go into the ground.

4. The aerogarden has been amazing and I highly recommend them; I’m eating as much fresh mint and basil as I want every day, and the tomatoes are starting to bear regularly. 

5. Tomato plants being prepped for going in the ground! (In the bucket next to it you see one of 2022’s outdoor hot pepper plants that I over-wintered inside and now is bearing again.)

A Little About Leah

Leah is a second-generation South Dakota State University alum, with her daughter, Maddie, a junior SDSU Political Science major with a goal to attend law school. Her son, David, will graduate Brookings High School in 2024, so she has one year left of being a busy baseball and hockey mom.

She has spent her professional life in a variety of careers, from property management and owning and operating a restaurant, to international services which gave her the opportunity to travel to London 15 times, to corporate recruiting, and most recently, a marketing and training executive. She also earned her SHRM-CP (Society of Human Resource Management Certified Professional).

But she doesn’t limit herself to whatever her current job role is. Leah commits to understanding her community and using her skills to play a part in it, like serving on countless boards and commissions, and performing as her church’s pianist and organist for 14 years. In addition, she served three years as an elected city councilor on the Brookings City Council.

Every community needs people like Leah. She’s one of the smartest, polished, and energetic people I know, yet, she humbly champions for her family, friends, and community of entrepreneurs.

Leah loves being a South Dakotan. She cherishes her childhood memories of picking potatoes, and tending to the raspberries and strawberries at her grandma’s farm in rural Trent. 

Vitamix

Remember, Vita-Mix Corporation is not sponsoring or endorsing this post or podcast. I don’t own a Vitamix. But if ever anyone sold me on this appliance, it’s Leah. Anyway, one of the first questions I asked her is where does Vitamix manufacture its machines?

We did some research and it looks like Vitamix machines are manufactured in the United States—in Strongsville, Ohio. Yay for Made In America!

She knew a lot about the company’s history—specifically that the company has been around for more than 100 years (it began in 1921) and that it was built on the belief in whole-food nutrition and how overall health benefits from it. So I found this original 1949 Vitamix infomercial with the founder, William Grover Barnard, “Papa Barnard” selling the Vitamix for $34.95.

P.S. I want the kitchen sink in his infomercial kitchen.

See Leah’s Vitamix recipes for good greens smoothies and strawberry daiquiris on the recipe cards below. And when you have a little time, I hope you listen to her Funeral Potatoes & Wool Mittens episode wherever you listen to podcasts.

Sweet wishes,