I have a KA and food grinder attachment already, so I'm trying to decide whether it would be more economical/beneficial for me to get the KA strainer attachment over the Villaware. I've read all threads that mention the two and really can't see a big difference for what I would be using them to do. I am a fan of chunky tomato sauces, salsas and apple sauce. I'm thinking that neither of these is going to accomplish that AND get the seeds out, so I'm going to have to de-seed and hand chop for the chunky parts. I am also not going to be making jam for people that have to have all seeds removed from the jam. Therefore, really for me as a small time canner, I think going w/ the strainer attachment is a fine choice. However, I just wanted to see if anyone has a different opinion.

I don't have anything against juice. Except that you aren't getting all the benefit of the veggies, so maybe a combination of fresh and juiced might be more healthful. I don't actually like vegetable juice. It's not the world's best flavor. Fruit juice, I love, but that is mostly water and sugar, so a bit too fattening and probably not good for diabetics. I don't find 11 servings of fruit and vegetable to be all that difficult. A serving of vegetable is pretty small and most of use have at least a double, and maybe a triple, serving anytime we spoon veggies onto our plate. I put dried fruit into my granola, so there's a serving or two. Plus I have a piece of fresh fruit with breakfast, so I'm up to 2-3 servings. I like veggies and salad, so several servings there every day. Scoop up a plate of green salad, and that might count as 4-5 servings. After every meal, I have a piece of fresh fruit (recommended by The Harvard Medical School Food Pyramid). That's 3 more servings every day. Spaghetti for dinner might be 2-3 servings of veggie. It's got a couple of servings of tomato, and probably a serving of onion and garlic. If someone isn't a veggie fan, you can try raw vegetable sticks dipped into ranch dressing. Even anti-vegetable little kids will gobble that down.

Last year I did a ton of research on food processors - I had decided to buy one after only having a mini attachment for my blender. I never used it that much - an occassional batch of pesto or hummus - but I see a lot of recipes that call for it, my mom was saying it's the way to go for pie crust, etc., so I decided I must have a FP. I read a ton of reviews on Amazon and other sites (ePinions), etc. - it seems that the Cuisinart company was sold a few years back and the new products from them have slid very badly in design and quality (this is from reviewers who had older Cuisinarts). Some models of the KA got good reviews, but there was always that "but". I remember liking one, and almost buying it, but then reading that you couldn't fill it with liquid because the way it was designed it would leak out. There always seemed to be some design flaw revealed. Then, there is the size question - how big is big enough, but not too big? None of the manufacturers have common sizes. Arg! I don't know about you, but I figured if I was going to spend $100-150 for this appliance, it better be near perfect. I ended up buying a Black and Decker PowerPro II for like $40 at Target. It's great! I love it, it's done everything I want it to do, it cleans up easily, I think it's an 10 cup capacity. And, the best part is that - if it does die in a few years, I won't care - it will have given me every penny I paid for it. Here is a link that might be useful: B&D Power Pro II

when i was home from school (a number of years ago!) i worked at a deli. i sliced stuff all day and well into the evening. never had an accident as i was absolutely certain i wanted to keep all my fingers in tact. that said, the pro models are as safe as they come (for something meant to slice through a 20 lb slab o' beef like a sheet of paper) so they are HEAVY. they don't move around at all or jiggle. they're not really meant to be moved around a lot so i'm not so sure you'll be able to find a true professional slicer that will be convenient for home use. i wish i could give you more specific info on models, but i never really considered bringing one home with me! will you let us know what you come up with?? good luck!