Kitchenaid mixer vs food processor and juicer/blending

[Mumof3darlings]

Hi

I was wondering if anyone could help me with how to decide on the above.

I enjoy baking (albeit I'm not great at it but would like to learn more).. I also have a family of 4 and so prepare meals each day for us all. I have used a food processor in the past when doing the likes of simple cake mixes and I have also occasionally used my food processor for chopping... I also used a lot a hand blender for soups etc (I find when soups are blended for the kids I can get a load of veggies into them)... I also have used a very small blender for mixing baby food.

OK so situation is this, all of the above have stopped working and in past 6 years I have gone through 2 food food processors, 1 hand blender and 2 mini blenders (for the baby food).. Never paid a lot for a food processor (Maybe about £80).

The other thing I must point out is that I have been thinking lately of buying a Juicer for health purposes.

Started doing a bit of digging about baking etc and processors and came across Kitchenaid's mixer and fell in lurve!!!!

I have managed to sell myself on how much more I could use it and how much time I could save on chopping etc etc by having one of these beautys on my worktop and throw in stuff for chopping.. I also am thinking maybe it would encourage me to do more things I have been interested in but never done (such as bread & pasta making and making things like mayonaise etc).

I like the idea of it being on my kitchen top so that I use it every day but I don't know if I am getting carried away with this and won't actually do this. Also thinking maybe long term its a better investment than buying cheap ones that don't last.

I also make soups a lot which I would still need a hand blender for... and if I go ahead and buy a juicer then the Kitchenaid doesn't do this so would need to buy this too...

So if I bought the kitchenaid mixer I would need to buy this, a juicer and a hand blender, right? Is there a better product on the market that would do all three???

I have also discovered that the juicers seem to be a minefield as some are better for health than others - is this true or just a gimmick?

Any help or guidance would be great..

Thank you x

[CogitoErgoSometimes]

I think a Kitchenaid is only justifiable if you're doing a lot of heavy-duty cake-mixing or kneading. As I make far more savoury dishes soups and bread items than I do cakes I got a sturdy Magimix for chopping, grating, mincing and kneading, a K-mix hand mixer for cakes and a hand blender with a mini food processor attachment for soups, smoothies, mayonnaise, small scale chopping et.

I happen to have a Philips juicer and, even though it's terrific, it is the one bit of kitchen kit that attracts dust because it hardly gets used.

[ScienceRocks]

I posted a question very similar to this recently and was recommended a Kenwood Prospero. Santa brought one and it's fab! I make bread dough, whisk stuff and mix cakes in the main bit, I have used the food processor bit that sits on top to great acclaim, and the blender is also great. It also has a juicer attachment, so maybe fits all your needs.

I simply couldn't justify the KitchenAid. I don't really have space in my kitchen for it to be out all the time, it really only does one thing and that comes at a huge cost.

[mummysmellsofsick]

I got a kitchenaid not because it was most useful & did more stuff but because its gorgeous and makes me happy every time I see it we used it a lot for baking bread and cakes. Not so much at the moment but we will agin when DS is a bit bigger

[WeatherWitch]

I've got a Kenwood Chef and I love it and use it all the time for cakes and bread, and I make soups in the blender attchment. You can also get a juicer attachment. The model up from mine (which I didn't get because I already have quite a good food processor) also has a slot for a food processor attachment. With one bit of kit therefore (and the appropriate attachments) you can do EVERYTHING, even down to making sausages and pasta. Not the cheapest option though, but my mother still has hers from 1972 and it gets used several times a week.