I used the Food Grinder to make my own ground beef. Initially I was somewhat put off by the fact that pushing the cubes of meat into the hopper (using the food pusher tool that comes with the grinder) required what seemed an excessive amount of force.
But that turned out to be my own fault. I'd failed to read the instructions specifying that the mixer should be turned to Speed 4 for grinding meat. I had it on the slowest speed, which undoubtedly made the task more difficult than it needed to be. Despite this, though, the grinder still performed admirably, churning through 2? pounds of beef chuck roast in about 10 minutes.
The grinder is also expandable with a separate fruit and vegetable strainer accessory that lets you make things like applesauce, baby food, jams and chutneys. And if you're into making your own fresh pasta, there's a separate pasta maker for making macaroni and round noodles like spaghetti. There's even a separate sausage stuffer kit available.
If you're looking for a tool with basic food grinding capabilities, but you don't have a KitchenAid mixer already, I wouldn't run out and buy one just to use the Food Grinder. Then again, it's almost unimaginable that someone who's into food and likes to cook wouldn't have a KitchenAid stand mixer.
