The FruitLife
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010
Bob: “Jane, we’re here in client services where Engineering is finally getting the chance to redeem themselves against Outbound Marketing. It’s been a tough winter Olympic season for Engineering whose last encounter with marketing in the pairs fruit-figure-impersonating performance was a disappointment. Their two-star fruit impersonators missed on a daring grapefruit-triple-eyebrow-axel that cost them a win and ended for one young engineer in an annoying, but not overly debilitating, eye twitch.”
Jane: “Well Bob, Engineering gets another shot today in a different event as conditions couldn’t be more perfect for fruit curling. Client services has been preparing for this match now for the last 15 minutes—raiding all the mini kitchens around the office and gathering up ice to line the hallway between the bathrooms for the first curling match. The break only has five more minutes left so this match is going to be a one-push contest.”
Bob: “They’re picking their ‘rocks’ now at The FruitGuys crate. Steve from marketing, who has been known to curl with apples, says he likes the grip of the stem and that afterwards he can munch on something cold, crisp, and energizing. He’s reaching for his tried and true Gala. Though personally I would have gone for the Pinova, a relatively new variety with lineage from the Cox Pippin and Golden Delicious”
Jane: “Karla’s at the crate picking a Minneola Tangelo – she’s a California girl originally and likes to curl locally—so this beauty from Porterville’s Cruz Farm with it’s sweet and juicy tangerine/grapefruit cross is a perfect pick. The nib on the top of the fruit is said to give a very specific curling action. Let’s see what happens.”
Bob: “Marketing is pushing off first and here comes the Gala. The sweepers are rubbing printer cleaning brushes furiously in front of the Gala – oh what great glide this rock has and it looks like, yes, it’s in the in house resting nicely in the center blue circle.”
Jane: “Karla’s up next and she’s – wait a minute. Look at that push off! I can’t believe how much heat she’s putting on this throw. It’s headed right for Marketing’s Gala! It’s looking good. Yes! It’s right on the nib and pushes out the Gala leaving the Tangelo in the blue circle!”
Bob: “Well that’s the match and Engineering is celebrating by eating their curling equipment. Wow, does that Minneola look good! Tune in tomorrow for the finals of the fruit eating slolem. It will be Lindsey, our CFO, vs. Jack in Facilities. Don’t want to miss that one.
Don’t miss what’s in your crate this week. Check out the mixes at www.fruitguys.com and read about fruits and veggies and find recipes in our growing Almanac section: “The produce library.”
Enjoy and be fruitful!
chris@fruitguys.com
Tags: apples, break, citrus, cruz farm, Gala Apple, minneola, Minneola Tangelo, olympics, Pinova Apple, sports, winter season
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Sunday, February 21st, 2010
Day 26: The marsh of cubicles has cursed our party. We lost Lenny two days ago to the gurgling fried dough found in the quicksand pits of a budget-planning meeting. Sue has been eating the native Bundt cake that grows wildly here and drinking soda like it was stagnant stump water. Her sugar crash-induced lethargy is so bad that we had to build a makeshift sled out of paper towels, binder clips, and copy paper. We dragged her through an area that Ponce said was called “accounting.” The locals didn’t attack but spoke a language of debits and credits that nearly drove us mad.
Day 27: Ponce rescued Sue from the copy machine. We think she is only temporarily blinded. New rule: don’t copy your face without protective eye gear.
Day 28: Ponce set off on his own this morning. We’ve been camping in cubicle 27-605b. I sent up a signal flare that ignited the ceiling tiles. We’re tired, wet, and dying for nutrition.
Day 29: Ponce returned this morning with a Minneola Tangelo – a cross between a Duncan Grapefruit and a Dancy Tangerine. He said that he found it in The FruitGuys crate in the west coast and central region mixes. I can’t believe that he traveled thousands of miles in just a few hours. His hair wasn’t even mussed. He said that eating this great fruit would transport us to new places too. I’m hoping to find a pear that will take me to Omaha to see my cousin Darryl.
Day 30: Ponce finally led us to the worksite wellness clearing where he found the fruit. It was filled with light and warmth. In the center of this oasis known only as Kitchenette 12 was a fountain of office fruit in a FruitGuys crate. We gorged on fresh tree fruit. We were revitalized and snuck into the server room and looked up www.fruitguys.com to find what was in each regional mix. We clicked on the ladybug icon in the right-center of the home page and were transported by region just like Ponce said. I didn’t get a chance to see Darryl but I forwarded my mix to him from the mix page with the new FruitGuys mix forwarding button. Sue gorged on citrus the whole time. She said her eyesight is starting to come back. I haven’t told her yet that the conquistador hat she thought she was wearing is really a toaster.
Enjoy and be fruitful!
chris@fruitguys.com
Tags: citrus, copy machine, cubicle, fruit, grapefruit, minneola, Nutrition, office, Tangelo, Tangerine
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Monday, February 15th, 2010
Lily, my four-year-old niece, who says things like, “Daddy are you satisfied?” or “Mommy what does the word ‘comely’ mean?” decided last weekend that when going to swimming lessons one has a duty to wear not only the prettiest bathing suit but all of the bathing suits at the same time.
She started with last year’s floral two-piece that was a size too small; pulled on a red one-piece that came with a swim skirt, added another bikini (which took some doing as the poufy skirt didn’t want to scrunch into the bikini easily), threw on another one-piece and finally topped it all off with a multicolored sun shirt just to make sure she didn’t get sunburned at the indoor pool.
Knowing that she has a pretty good fashion sense (and a whip-sharp vocabulary) I asked my sister how she looked in her five-layered suit. “Like a duck,” she said. “But believe it or not, she matched.”
I have to admit that I felt like my niece this week even though I don’t wear bathing suits and goggles to work. I was wondering to myself what is the right combination of layers that will keep our bodies fit and healthy for the long run. An article I read in the January 31st New York Times Magazine titled “Internally Fit,” discussed an ageing study that found that the cells of older athletes were “younger” than those of their peers who didn’t exercise. Another study I read about described how a Mediterranean-style diet – one rich in olive oil, whole grains, fish, and fruit – may protect ageing brains from damage linked to cognitive problems.
So what keeps us healthy? Wearing five bathing suits may make us laugh – and that’s an important part of our health too – but finding that perfect mix of activity and diet is a lifelong experiment that may evolve with age. (I can’t play rugby anymore regardless of how much I might want to). Fruits, vegetables, humor, fitness, reduction of stress, and avoiding negative environmental factors are the important layers in my mind. Finding the way to fit them (and have them match) in our modern, busy, and stressful lives is the great challenge for all.
We hope the fruit helps you on your healthy path. Check out our mixes this week at www.fruitguys.com – click on the ladybug.
Enjoy and be fruitful. chris@fruitguys.com
Tags: activity, ageing, aging, clothing, exercise, fit, fitness, fruit, health, healthy, humor, stress, stress reduction
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Monday, February 8th, 2010
Jonathan Sauer, in his book Historical Geography of Crop Plants: A Select Roster, notes that, “Almost nothing is certain about the natural geography and ecology of truly wild citrus. Both the distribution and genetics of the genus have been drastically modified in Asia by human intervention.” Citrus is believed to have originated somewhere in Southeast Asia or Southern China but it has naturally evolved and hybridized itself so that it is hard to find its pure roots. Generally speaking, however, there are some types of citrus that have emerged over time into distinct groups.
Limes, Pommelos, and Mandarins are three main groupings of citrus that can be seen as parents to some of the modern citrus we eat today. Lemons are natural hybrids of Limes and Citrons. Grapefruits are crosses of Pommelos and sweet oranges. Mandarins are the family from which most of the orange fruits originate. From Tangelos, a cross between a mandarin and grapefruit, to Satsumas and Valencia Oranges (another Pommelo and mandarin cross), variations of mandarin citrus are grown and enjoyed worldwide. Mandarins were cultivated widely in Asia early on which gave us the many variations we eat today. It wasn’t until the 17th century that citrus was cultivated outside of Asia.
I think that one of the most interesting distinctions in terms of taste is the comparison between Tangelos like the Minneola or the Royal Mandarin (in which you can pick up a grapefruit note pretty clearly) and the more tangerine-kinds of mandarins such as the Satsuma, Pixie, or Murcot (which have more sharp and sweet flavors). Both are considered mandarins but their tastes vary wildly. I recently explained the different varieties on a Fresno morning show. You can watch it in our Press section at fruitguys.com. Many of these citrus have been featured in our crates lately. Also, as always, check out our website to see what’s in your mix this week at www.fruitguys.com – just click on the ladybug on the center right of the home page. We have updated our mix format recently so that the images are easier to see. We’re still making tweaks to it so feel free to let me know what you think. Enjoy and be fruitful. chris@fruitguys.com
Tags: citrus, grapefruit, lemon, lime, mandarin, minneola, murcot, Murcott, orange, pixie, pomello, pomelo, pumello, pumelo, Satsuma, Tangelo, Tangerine
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Monday, February 1st, 2010
When we look for lessons in life, it’s not often that we can say: “Hey, check with the slime mold.” However last week in The New York Times science section, there was a story about how researchers in Japan conducted an experiment in which a slime mold developed a network that mirrored the Tokyo rail system (which took humans many years to develop) in just 26 hours. By placing food sources on a map in the same places as major cities around Tokyo, the slime grew tubular connections that nearly matched the rail links among the cities. “The researchers found that the slime mold network was as efficient as the rail network, it tolerated breaks in the connections just as well, and it was created at reasonable cost to the organism,” reported the Times. “Using the slime mold’s performance as a guide the researchers created a mathematical model that they say may help people design other networks like those used in mobile communications.”
It’s good to be reminded that humans can learn something from nature (and good to know that slime molds can’t gloat). Last week Rebecca, one of our farm direct fruit buyers, was busy learning from nature at the EcoFarm Conference in Monterey, California. Next week, members from our east coast team (Benn, Jessica and Kim) will attend PASA’s (Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture) annual meeting. Both conferences focus on the methods, lessons, and stories around organic and sustainable farming. There is a lot of direction that we can take from the way the natural world works in thinking about how to solve problems. Just this week for example we heard from Kauffman’s Fruit Farm in Bird-In-Hand, Pennsylvania, a century-old farm in the middle of Amish country, which supplies many of our east coast summer peaches and other stone fruits as well as apples and pears in the fall. Kauffman’s will be our first east coast Farm Steward project in February when they receive barn owl boxes for rodent control in their orchard. Barn owls are considered a species of special concern in Pennsylvania because they migrate through Lancaster from early spring through late fall in this region. We hope these boxes will not only provide a sustainable method for rodent control but also a nesting area for the owls. Thanks for the great idea nature! The FruitGuys Farm Steward Program sponsors projects that solve farms’ problems using sustainable methods.
On the fruit side of things – check out our mixes at www.fruitguys.com to see what’s in your region’s mix. Just click the ladybug icon on the right of the home page.
Enjoy and be fruitful! chris@fruitguys.com
Tags: eco farm, ecofarm, Farm Steward, FruitGuys Farm Steward Program, Kauffman's, Kauffman's Fruit Farm, natural world, nature, owl, owl box, owl boxes, owls, PASA, peaches, rodent control, science, stone fruits, sustainability, sustainable
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Monday, January 25th, 2010
Maybe it’s the rain, or the cold, or the winter light, but at this time of year those Calgon-take-me-away-moments seem nearer. One of the best for me was a few winters back: at a small restaurant I was helping my twin toddlers and my young son, who was wearing his favorite stuffed green parrot wrapped on his arm, to use the restroom. The room was small. My son handed me the parrot because – well, you can’t use the restroom with a parrot looking over your shoulder – and was now washing his hands. The twins were squirming like fish. As I tried to manage one and then the other in each arm, and then wash their hands while “Hey, stop opening the door” and “Don’t fill the back of your sister’s pants with air from the hand dryer,” I leaned over and, in the slowest of slow motion, with little helpless plastic parrot eyes looking up at me whispering “Why?,” the parrot, my son’s constant pirate companion, slipped from my hands into the depths of Davey Jones’ porcelain commode. There was a muted splash and then a moment of shocked awe. Kids were frozen in place, one was wrapped in toilet paper, another had washed and dried her hands, but her clothes were soaked. My son just stared in horror. All three opened their mouths and sucked in air to power the loudest cries of horror that the 10’ x 6’ restroom had ever known. Trudging home in the rain, parrot finally blown dry but forever changed, kids red faced and still crying as passersby asked if they were alright, I wanted nothing but to be taken away. I’m sure the kids felt the same way. Winter and just the complexity of life can often fray our nerves. But whatever triggers stress for you, remember this: get your Folic Acid, it may make you happier.
B9 & Depression: The B vitamins help your body convert food into energy. B9 or Folate (Folic Acid is the synthetic form) is important for proper brain function and research has shown there may be a link between depression and low Folate levels. The University of Maryland Medical Center says folic acid is key for mental and emotional health. “Some studies show that 15 – 38% of people with depression have low folate levels in their bodies, and those with very low levels tend to be the most depressed. Low levels of folic acid have also been associated with a poor response to antidepressants.” There are a number of foods that are great deliverers of Folate.
Fruits and Veggies: Spinach, broccoli, and peas are great sources of Folate. But most of us cook these foods before we eat them and that can destroy almost half the amount of Folate. Beyond eating green leafies raw, increase your intake of oranges, bananas, grapefruits, and strawberries to get to your RDA of 400 mcg of Folic Acid.
Enjoy and be fruitful! Chris Mittelstaedt chris@fruitguys.com
Check out the section on our site that explains what each fruit is: www.fruitguys.com. Click on the ladybug to see what’s in your mix.
Tags: angst, depression, folate, Folic Acid, frustration, health, kids, Mental health, parenting, parrot, parrots, vitamin b
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Monday, January 18th, 2010
Once upon a time there was a little girl (she was a Libra for those who follow that stuff) whose mother was an amatuer meterologist. She dreamed of growing up and becoming the best weather person/astrologer she could ever be. “Meterologist is the term,” her mother told her when she was six. “Meterastrology,” she repeated. By the time she was 16 she was telling fortunes through a complex system of measuring the barometric pressure inside a person’s aura while charting their horoscope as cross-referenced with Poor Richard’s Farmer’s Almanac. She became famous for her talent of accurately telling people when the intersection of weather and fate would deal them a bad card thus allowing many to avoid forgetting their umbrellas in a rain storm or making sure that folks put on enough sunblock to forgo the results of a sunburn. But it wasn’t until her 21st birthday, when she successfully predicted tornados in Tulsa while reading Janet Jacobson’s tarot cards that predicted the return of the female kitten she had misplaced two-years ago, that she uncovered the truth about her power. “You have a gift child,” Ms. Jacobson said while Cirrus turned over card after card. Thunder crashed above. Ms. Jacobson rubbed her bejeweled and knotted knuckles. A calm came over Cirrus. A cool breeze blew through the parlor. Dew condensed on the blue wedgewood plates mounted on Ms. Jacobson’s wall. Cirrus was having a vision (in rhyme no doubt):
If ever the weather, due to rain or cold,
Should put your fruit in harm then behold;
The FruitGuys will always make things right,
Call 877-Fruit-Me day or night;
If delicate bananas in Wisconsin sub-zero cold,
Should look pale instead of a yellow so bold;
If Satsumas picked in a winter gale,
Should soften too fast then do not fail;
To call The FruitGuys they stand by what they do,
Just pick up the phone and speak on through;
They will guarantee your fruit happiness and joy,
And by the way, your cat is really a boy.
We know that the weather has been rough lately in many parts of the United States. If ever you find that our fruit has been exposed to conditions that have jeopardized the quality of our fruit (or if for any reason you aren’t happy with what we do), please let us know so we can fix it for you. Learn more about what fruit is in your crate by clicking the ladybug icon at www.fruitguys.com.
Enjoy and be fruitful! chris@fruitguys.com
Tags: astrology, cirrus, cold, fruit, guarantee, meterology, Weather, winter
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Tuesday, January 12th, 2010
I was already on my second cup of hot water with lemon when the phone rang. “FruitGuy, are you experienced with Vegans?” The voice on the other end didn’t sound alien but I wasn’t taking chances. Creatures from the Vega star were known natural mimics and sadistic practical jokers. I still wake up with night sweats thinking about the abduction – the weeks with electrodes on my head while they made me watch rows of goldfish exercise on tiny treadmills.
I tried to play it cool. “Sure kid,” I said. I’ve been around the galaxy. “What-cha need?” Twenty minutes later I was walking in the back door to studio #3. Up against the wall was a gal in a fish suit sitting on a motorcycle. “Thanks for coming?” She burbled. “We’re making this film – sort of like a musical-vegan-horror-protest movie – think ‘Tommy’ and ‘Easy Rider,’ but we’re all fish.” There was a shrill cry. The director was on the ground in a brown fish suit, wriggling in agony. “Why’s he floundering?” I asked. “He’s a Snapper,” she corrected. “And someone stole his favorite pear from The FruitGuys crate. We can’t go on until he’s fruitified.” He was puckering fast now and waving his hands at his neck like gills in distress. The band in the back was just watching the scene like fish at a traffic accident; the Bass on the drums stared blankly, the manager, a salty old Cod, just “humphed” and the Groupers stood there waiting for autographs. It was mayhem. I pushed past a school of Tetras all playing Tetris on my way to the kitchenette.
Thinking fast I opened The FruitGuys crate on the counter and grabbed a blood orange. Blood oranges look like an orange but have a purple and red blush to their peel. When cut open they have a dark, nearly blood-red juice. The juice has a wonderful citrus and slightly raspberry flavor. I peeled it and ran back to the director. I knew this would get him swimming again. I held his head up and dripped juice into his mouth. He pucked. “Who took the pear?” I said. He looked around and pointed. “That fish,” he whispered. I should have known – Koi. “Well kid,” I said walking over to the fish. “It’s now or never. You’re just gonna have to Carp to it.”
Ah the surreal inspiration of the blood orange. Must be the antioxidants coursing through my system. If you’ve never tried a blood orange, give it a go. It’s a great and healthy treat. Learn more about what fruit is in your crate by clicking the ladybug icon at www.fruitguys.com.
Enjoy and be fruitful! chris@fruitguys.com
Tags: antioxidants, Blood Orange, citrus, fish, fruitguy noir, motorcycle
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Monday, January 4th, 2010
At dinner a few months back I announced a grand holiday idea: “I think we should road trip this year when we go visit my folks,” I said enthusiastically. My wife and kids just stared. “Come on! No airports. No lines. No hassles.” Crickets. The sound of a tree felled in a forest by the motion of one hand clapping. “Guys. Seriously. It’s gonna be fun.”
Seven hundred and twenty miles and five vacation days behind us we start out from the Arizona desert heading west back to California. “Dad,” my daughter says as she looks at the back of my head with her new super-spy-binoculars. “I have evidence that you have gray hair.” My other daughter starts singing: “Diiiidddd. . . you get the memo that my sister’s a crazy kid? Oh yes she is! She’s crazy and here is the memo to prove it!” She’s keeping a pretty good tune as she scribbles on a pad of paper and rips off the memo and gives it to her siblings. “Plus she smells like garlic!” My other daughter yells: “Mom!” Then the shoving starts. I’m starting to feel kind of tired after the long drive (I can’t imagine why) and since I’m on a no coffee diet, I turn to my tried and true choice to start me up. An apple.
I’ve read online once or twice that apples have more caffeine then coffee – let’s set the record straight. Apples don’t contain caffeine. What the writer was most likely trying to say is that the energy that you get from eating an apple seems to be greater than the energy derived from drinking a cup of coffee. My New Orleans, chicory coffee-drinking grandmother may have disagreed but my body seems to react like it’s true. For me, apples give me steady and consistent energy that actually wakes me up and makes me more alert than coffee. While coffee can have this affect too, I find that after the first 30 minutes to an hour afterwards I start to get racy, then crash, while an apple gives me sustained and smooth energy that doesn’t crash my system later. Skeptical? Try it for yourself. Substitute that after lunch cup of coffee with an apple and see how you feel.
Remember, if you want to identify that piece of fruit in your hand from The FruitGuys crate, you can always see what’s in your mix on our homepage: just click on the ladybug at www.fruitguys.com or give us a call at 1-877-FRUIT-ME.
Enjoy and be fruitful! chris@fruitguys.com
Tags: apple, caffeine, coffee, energy, kids, new year, road trip
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