After much indecision, we finally bought a Thermomix. Twelve years ago, we went to a demo party and were impressed with what we saw. We loved how quickly it blitzed veggies and how it could perform so many functions. The food was delicious.

My husband was sold. He loves gadgets and rather enjoys cooking. He likes learning new things and figuring out the technology. He enjoys the challenge of cooking and trying out new recipes.

Me? I wasn’t so sure. I have my handwritten recipe book, many copied from my mum’s and grandmother’s favourite dishes. I didn’t see the need to bring in new recipes and a way of cooking. It was a lot of money to spend. I didn’t like the idea of it taking up so much bench space. It was another gadget to learn and I didn’t have the energy for that.

We heard mixed reviews. Some people seemed to swear by them and spent hours in the kitchen preparing yummy treats and meals. Other people had good intentions but weren’t won over by it. Their Thermomix collected dust and barely got used.

Life got busy and work became all-consuming. As a classroom teacher I had a lot to do and my mental load was immense. The last thing I had energy for was learning how to use a new machine.

In hindsight, a Thermomix could have been super helpful during this season, along with the baby puree stage, but alas we left it on our list of things to buy one day.

Fast forward to a few weeks back. Again the discussion turned to meal planning and prepping. With the rising cost of living affecting groceries, we seemed to spend a lot of money and did not have much to show for it.

Our eating habits have been pretty poor. I have good intentions but cooking just isn’t my passion. Throw in a fussy toddler and picky eaters, and it’s made for frustrating meal times.

My husband and I wondered if perhaps a Thermomix would help to make a difference. After a few weeks of discussion and asking friends around us, we decided to buy one. I googled to find a consultant near us. She seemed nice and sent us a purchase link.

Given that there was just one day left until the current promo ended (a second bowl for $29), it was the push we needed. We finally took the plunge and bought a Thermomix.

How Much Does It Cost?

The current price of a Thermomix is $2579 (AUD). This includes delivery. Depending on the month you purchase, there might be a promotion that offers a discounted item or a freebie.

Cost Per Use

The older I get, the more I see the value in cost per use.

If I buy a KitchenAid mixer for $600 but only use it to bake cupcakes, it may last a long time but it also sits in the cupboard unused a lot of the time too. If I buy a food processor for $200 but it seems like too much effort to get it out of the cupboard and put all the attachments together, the cost per use doesn’t seem so good.

If I buy a Thermomix new, use it once every day (very conservative estimate) and keep it for 6.5 years, it is around $1 a use. If we kept it for the same period of time but used it twice a day, it works out to around 50c. Use it 4 times a day and its around 25c. You get the picture.

When we buy quality items that we love, enjoy using and last, we are more likely to use them. I’m all for owning less and owning quality. It’s good for the environment, better long term for our bank balance and easier to keep a minimal home.

Here Are 7 Reasons Why We Love Our Thermomix:

1. Minimalism

By choosing to buy a Thermomix, it meant we could declutter other appliances. We gave away our food processor and blender (couldn’t sell them as they were slightly damaged). I think we will sell our stick blender but I want to make sure I won’t need it first. We’ll keep our rice and slow cooker because they are handy, saucepans and frying pans too.

I like that one appliance can take the place of several. As I work to declutter our home, this will help to keep our kitchen minimal. Less in our cupboards meant there was space to collect the random kitchen items that had been stored in our laundry. It is nice to everything kitchen related in one place.

2. It Saves Money

With grocery prices going up, we are determined to do what we can to save money at the checkout. This means only buying what we intend to use. With a Thermomix, it’s easier to prep healthy meals and snacks. We can cut up any vegetables that are starting to go bad to add to soups and curries or freeze for later.

A Thermomix saves money on ready made food kits like Hello Fresh. Don’t get me wrong, they have their place, but when ordered full price they are expensive, not to mention all the packaging they come in.

Rather than opting to buy ready made meals and snacks, it seems more achievable to do it at home. We hope to make dips, sauces, pizza dough and bread. I want to cook delicious food for school lunchboxes. Doing so will reduce waste from plastic packaging and we will know exactly what ingredients we will consume.

3. It Saves Time

I like that the Thermomix saves busy people time. Rather than having to peel and cut the vegetables, or get out the food processor, you can chuck it in and let the machine do it’s thing. It weighs ingredients as you go, cuts, heats, boils and mixes. It’s incredible and hard to believe that one appliance can do so much.

I like the idea of spending less time in the kitchen. Get it, make the stuff, clean up and get out. Some people just love cooking and creating but it’s just not for me. The Thermomix will be a good investment for me to spend more time doing the things that I love, with the people that I love.

The variety of functions include sear, sugar, ferment, sous vide, slow cook, kettle, thicken, rice cooker, egg boiler, warm-up, blend, beat, chop, crush, ice, cook, grate, emulsify, knead, mill, mix, stir gently, steam, weigh, whip and precise heating (taken from website).

4. Easy To Learn

I was definitely sceptical before purchasing a Thermomix. It looked complicated and a little intimidating to use. It was nice having our own in our kitchen and being able to play around with it without anyone else watching. I admit that I took a few days to warm to it. My wonderful husband made four different dishes in it on the first day, and similar amounts on subsequent days. He was so excited with what it could do.

It wasn’t until he was at work before I felt brave and ready enough to give it a go myself. I needed to do it in my time and on my terms without feeling rushed. It surprised me. It was so easy, so much more than I thought. I loved how user friendly it was. I loved the LED display and the simple steps, one to a page. I couldn’t actually believe how easy it was. This motivated me to use it more.

5. Helps To Get Children Involved

Most children enjoy cooking. They like to be involved by putting in ingredients, licking the beater and sampling the finished product.

Having a Thermomix is no different. I think it just increases the appeal. My boys are drawn to the shiny new appliance and screen. My eldest enjoys reading and following the steps. He already thinks he is an expert and likes to tell me when I am doing something wrong (I guess all kids do!).

Children love the tech and having the screen. They are able to follow along the steps. Whilst I’d always recommend supervising your child while they help to cook, it is a great way to get them involved. They can learn valuable cooking skills. In my experience, when children are invited to have a say about what to cook and can help in the process, they are less resistant to try the dishes. This is helpful for fussy eaters.

My boys even seem to enjoy putting in vegetables and watching them disappear. They call this magic. It’s one way to get more veggies into them!

6. Cook From Scratch

As someone who has coeliac disease, purchasing gluten free products is expensive. It sucks. I have to pay more for smaller products with less taste. It is likely that at least one of my boys will have a food allergy, as coeliac is hereditary, so this is more reason to make more food from scratch.

I like the idea that a Thermomix can help with this. I hope to grind my own flour, try making my own bread and pizza dough, and maybe even puff pastry. I am realistic about how much I will try right now in my current season but know that as my boys get a little older, I will have more capacity to experiment with new recipes.

I hope to buy more whole foods to work from to enable our family to eat less processed food, sugar and additives. This has shown to improve behaviour in children and increase focus. As our focus switches from home and backyard renovations, we really want to spend more time and energy eating better.

7. Easy To Clean

I love that when cooking with a Thermomix, you don’t have all the normal dishes to clean. My hubby commented on this, saying that after an afternoon of cooking, there wasn’t the sink full of dishes awaiting him. There is an ‘easy clean‘ function on the Thermomix. You simply pop a drop of dishwashing liquid into the bowl, pour in 1L of water and replace the lid. You can then select the appropriate cycle from the menu depending on how dirty it is.

While it self cleans, I like to wipe down the bench, stack the dishwasher and put things away. It’s motivating seeing the timer and I try to get as much as I can done before it finishes. My eldest likes it too. He’ll often ask to go outside to play for the few minutes to wait for the timer and then race inside to help again.

A Few Cons To Consider

As this is not a paid review, I want to make it as balanced as possible. I want you to have all the facts to make an informed decision. There aren’t many negatives to owning a Thermomix but here are the few that I came up with.

• It takes up bench space. For those who are aspiring minimalists, having appliances on the bench can feel cluttered. For those with a small kitchen, this can be problematic. It is worth looking around to see if you have space to store it on a bench before purchasing. It is recommended that the Thermomix stay in the same spot as moving it can alter the inbuilt scales.
• It is noisy. The Thermomix is noisy to use, especially when using high-powered settings. It is a high powered machine. However, it is not as loud as I thought it would be. I simply try to plan my cooking to avoid nap time and bedtime.
• It is expensive. For a single appliance, the Thermomix is a lot of money to fork out. This is one of the reasons that we put off buying one for so long. It is not for everyone. Interestingly enough, the people I know who opted for a cheaper multi cooker got fed up and ended up buying a Thermomix later on anyway (but lamented the fact that they wasted money beforehand). Others like me purchased a food processor, blender and mixer. These were frustrating at times to use, took up space in my kitchen and cost money.

Should You Buy New Or Secondhand?

Whilst I cannot tell you what to do, I will give you a few things to consider.

Buying Secondhand

• If you buy a Thermomix secondhand, it is cheaper. This is helpful for those individuals and families who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford to get one. Buying secondhand can be a way to test out whether a Thermomix is right for you. If you decide it’s not, you can always sell it for a similar price to what you bought it for.
• Buying secondhand means you don’t get a warranty. If you buy new, it comes with a 24-month warranty.
• An older model doesn’t have the new features that new ones do.
• You might be unsure of how it was used by the past owners so it comes with risk. You might need to pay for servicing to get it working well.
• My mum has a TM31. She needs to refer to the cookbook which is falling apart. She has to put on her glasses and admits that puts her off using her Thermomix more often.

Buying New

• By buying new, you support a consultant and can have a demo. This can be beneficial to get to know your machine, tips and tricks and often get gifts or discounts for hosting. It is delivered for free and you know exactly what you are getting.
• Buyers often get access to perks and discounts. We bought a second bowl for $29, purchased a discounted cutter (available months before the rest of the public) and a bonus wash cloth and brush.
• The new ones have built in wifi and larger touch screen. A 6 month subscription to Cookadoo is included in purchase.
• Many who sell mention in their descriptions that they are upgrading to the new machine.
• The newest version TM6 is great for those with poor eyesight, kids who want to learn and people who don’t enjoy cooking. It is just so easy! It’s all there on the screen. It is so easy to use, especially for someone like me who doesn’t enjoy cooking much as it gets in the way of what I really want to be doing.

The Indoor Tool You Didn’t Think You Needed

I realised that I am quick to give my husband blessing to buy a new tool for his shed, especially if he is doing a project at home that saves money on having a tradie in. We try to get good quality tools that work well and save time.

For some reason, I found it difficult to give myself permission to do the same with inside tools. I had a rubbish sewing machine that used to pull on the fabric. I had a cheap mixer where the beaters wouldn’t reach the bottom of the bowl. This meant it wouldn’t mix up ingredients properly. The mixer before that used to smoke when the mixture got stuck in the motor. This didn’t encourage me to spend time cooking in the kitchen.

Whilst I regret taking so long to make a decision, I am genuinely pleased that we bought a new Thermomix.

What have we used it for so far?

• Cutting up veggies
• Zucchini slice
• Cheese Puffs
• Pasta sauce
• Risotto
• Tomato and basil soup
• Chicken curry
• Vegetarian sausage rolls
• Bliss balls
• Berry dream
• Strawberry milkshakes
• Muffins
• Chocolate cake
• Buttercream icing
• Chocolate chip biscuits

Hindsight is a beautiful thing. Had I realised just how useful it would be and how easy it would be to use, I would have bought one a decade ago. It would have made making baby food, school snacks, birthday cakes, meals and desserts so much faster.

I can’t change the past. I’m just stoked that we finally have one now and I have been telling everyone about it. Already we have used it so many times and have lots of recipes saved to try. I know that we will save money and eat better. It’s going to be a game changer for our family.

Questions?

Have any questions? Thermomix has an extensive list of FAQs here. Alternatively, reach out to your local Thermomix consultant. If you are looking for a consultant, you could try searching in your local area. You can search via the Thermomix website to book a consultant or a demo.

I have a growing directory of consultants from around the world. I follow many amazing consultants who post fabulous recipe ideas and tips for using their Thermomix. It’s worth giving some a follow.

Keen to make a purchase? I now have a referral link. I am still not affiliated with Thermomix and anyone can apply for a link (even you!). It simply means that I receive a $50 voucher for the Mix Shop in return for spreading the word. This would be a lovely bonus for our family (but not expected by any means). You can still add the name of a consultant to support them too, without it costing you any extra.

I’ve written some other articles if you wanted to find out more.

How To Afford A Thermomix

How Thermomix Can Help With Food Allergies

Why Thermomix Is Great For Kids

35 Things I No Longer Buy Now That We Have A Thermomix

Unsponsored Thermomix Review

Thermomix Consultant Directory

Thoughts? I’d love to hear in the comments below or connect with you over on Instagram or Facebook.

P.S. Edit to say, 16 months later, I am seriously considering saving up for a second Thermomix. It sounds ridiculous but it would be super handy. I could be making sweetened condensed milk with one and salted caramel slice in the other, or meatballs and sauce in one and risotto in the other. It is simply the best machine and I can’t help but tell everybody about it.

Apparently, I could become a consultant and earn another one pretty easily, but then I would be affiliated. That would go against what I have been telling people. I admit it’s tempting though…!

Melanie Wegener

(This is an unsponsored post. We saved up to purchase our Thermomix in full. I don’t receive anything for writing this, except for yummy food that we make ourselves using it.)

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