I have one, and yes I do enjoy it.. I make healthy smoothies for my self, and not so healthy milk shakes for my hubby. I like to make tortilla soup.I don"t follow a recipe per say.. just kind of clean out the frig. but use tomatoes, celery, onion garlic, carrots. what ever veggies you want. I also add at the end rice and black beans so they are still chunky. you want to add taco seasoning and corn chips as well for the flavor.
As far as making bread, I have never done that you need a diffrent blade system than the regular one that comes with the machine.
When I make soup, even tho the machine will make the liquid steamy hot... I usually add my liquids warm, just to save time... and to me, no since running the machine longer, when I can heat the liquids, for my soups I use water and broth or bullion.
Just play around with it.

Hubby talked me into buying one last year, and we both love it. We have green smoothies every morning (current favorite is spinach, pineapple, orange and flax seeds) and I can add the flax seeds, nuts, or whatever we want without having to pre-grind because it pulverizes them along with everything else.

As for recipes, haven't bought ice cream since we got the Vitamix, I've exclusively used frozen bananas, strawberries, raspberries and other frozen fruit to make sorbet. No sugar required, nothing except the fruit and a little bit of almond milk. You do need the tamper though.

Another thing I like to make is liquefy a couple of oranges, divide between 2 large glasses and top off with lots of seltzer. Very tasty and you get the fiber as well as the juice.

Hubby's favorite is a strawberry drink made from fresh or frozen strawberries processed with some spring water until they're completely pureed and then topped off with ice cold seltzer. You can add a bit of sweetener or leave it out.

Have used it for soup, but I don't care for the texture of the soup if it's been made entirely in the blender. If we want a pureed soup, I do use it to liquify everything once it's been cooked.

I've also whipped cream in it and have attempted to make nut butter, but that didn't go too well. They do sell a separate container for grinding dry nuts and grains and prepping/kneading dough, but I just have the regular container.

Have also made crepe batter, whipped cocoa, almond milk, salad dressing, apple sauce, tomato sauce, fruit toppings and probably other things I can't recall right now. I use it at least once a day, often more than that. So all in all, expensive, but a really great investment.

We don't have a Vitamix -- we're getting a Blendtec -- but I do have a great book on green smoothies on my Kindle. You can get the Kindle version for $9.99 or the paperback version for $11.35. It's called The Everything Green Smoothies Book and it has amazing recipes.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Everything Green Smoothies Book

I've had a Vitamix for many years. We used it a lot years ago, but I haven't used it in a long time due to the fact that it is heavy and my arthritic hands have trouble with the cleanup. I use the Nutribullet now. The Vitamix is a bit pricey but as I can attest, it will last for many, many years. Enjoy!

Petra, for nut butter, it's best to use roasted nuts--otherwise you might have to add oil to turn it into a nice butter. Also, it's best to use ~3 cups of nuts. Too little and the nuts will fly away from the blades without circulating, and too much and you can overheat the motor.

The thing I make most often is smoothies, but I make everything else as well.

Here is a link that might be useful: Vitamix Recipe Ideas

Haven't used mine in a while, I bought it in 1981...

I am debating about a Vitamix or one of the cheaper brands like the Nutribullet. I know the Vitamix is wonderful, but I don't really need the "Cadillac" of blenders! The main thing I want is to pulverize spinach, so I can add to smoothies or sauces. Can a Nutribullet do that?

Thank you for the links, I have been out of town so have not been able to respond.

Teresa, I have used my magic bullet to make smoothies, and I think a nutribullet has a stronger motor so I would think you could use it for smoothies.