13 Days of Christmas (Party Prep)

How long does it take you to get ready for the office Christmas party? 2 hours? 3? Half a day? Try 335 hours. Yep you heard right, according to a survey commissioned by the Clothes Show Live, some women take up to 335 hours – that’s over 13 whole days – to get ready for the office Christmas party.

Unconvinced? Take a look at the breakdown and you may well change your mind.

Activity	Hours
Shopping for an outfit Finding the perfect dress can be a painstakingly long task.	72
Shopping for accessories Think how many times you’ve nipped out in your lunch break.	48
Looking for inspiration in magazines You can easily rack up 10 hours flicking through fashion mags.	10
Getting in shape Many women begin tucking into the office fruit delivery in a bid to get fit at the beginning of November if not before.	96
Beautifying This includes going for facials, manicures, pedicures etc.	23
Hair styling This covers dying, cutting, blow drying and styling.	12
Getting advice from friends From chit chat in the office kitchen to full blown style consultations – it all adds up.	63
Makeup Women take time to perfect the ideal party look.	6
Waxing No pain, no gain.	1
Exfoliating, moisturising and tanning         Important final touches to achieve the overall preened look.	2
Final amendments There are always a few last minute adjustments and additions.	2
Total	335

It is thought that women spend more time getting ready for the Christmas party than they ever would for a gathering with family or friends. This is because at the office Christmas party they get the chance to show off their style to their colleagues in a way that they normally can’t.

Even so, 13 days seems a little excessive if I do say so myself. 

LimeLight

Last week the Fruit For The Office had a glittering feature in the business section of the Evening Standard newspaper. The team at Evening Standard caught up with the company owner Daniel Ox (that's him in the picture!) over at Fruit HQ to find out the story of how the company all began.

Dan was interviewed by business journalist Ralph Miller who regularly writes articles for the paper on entrepreneurs in Greater London. The piece revisits the history of the company and the story of the Ox family’s involvement in the fruit and veg trade.

It certainly makes for an interesting read, so if you missed the paper last week, you can catch up online HERE.

Thanksgiving Fruit Gobble

Tomorrow, Americans across the land will be celebrating Thanksgiving. They will be dusting off their turkey baster and preparing to cook up a feast no doubt full of sweet, sugary fatty delicious goodies. Mmmmmm.

In an attempt for find a healthy offering for a Thanksgiving celebration, we stumbled across this cool Fruit Gobbler.

If you’re not celebrating Thanksgiving this year, you can pretty much do the same thing for Christmas.

We’ve fiddled with the recipe slightly to make it even more fruit friendly, however you can find the original HERE.

To create the FFTO Fruit Gobbler, here is what you will need

• Pear – for the head
• Melon – for the body
• Raisins – for the eyes
• Grapes – for tail feathers
• Cheese cubes – for the beak and tail feathers
• Slice green and red apples – for the side feathers and feet
• Wooden skewers and toothpicks – for attaching

Directions

1. Start off by cutting a slice from the side of the melon to create a steady base for it to stand
2. Take the pear and attach it to the front of the melon using a section of a skewer
3. Attach the raisins and cheese with sections of toothpick to form the eyes and mouth. Use a slice of red apple to make the classic turkey gobble
4. Create some tail feathers by alternating cheese cubes and grapes along skewers. Place these across the back of the melon body as pictured
5. For the side feathers attached slices of red and green apple to the side of the body
6. Create some feet using some slices of red apple

Stand back, admire your work, then let the masses indulge!

Happy Thanksgiving from FFTO

The 'King' Of Fruits

I use the word ‘king’ very loosely here. Across South East Asia, there exists a peculiar fruit called the Durian which goes by the largely inappropriate nickname ‘King Of Fruits.’ The Durian is a large round fruit with a thick green spiky outer husk cocooning a soft yellow flesh inside.

I bet you’re imaging something sweet, rich, full of flavour and oozing with an aroma that would make you want to eat more and more. Something regal, fit for a queen. Something delicious.

Well let me stop you right there, for the King Of Fruits is none of the above. In fact, the King Of Fruits is something that is regularly banned from hotels across Asia and would no doubt be banned from your office fruit delivery too. Not sounding so regal anymore is it?

The Durian fruit has such a repugnant smell, that you can find yourself slapped with a fine just for allowing it cross the threshold of a hotel in Malaysia, Thailand or Indonesia. Odour comparisons for this majestic offering have included vomit, gym socks, sewage and rotten onions. We assume the ‘King’ part of the nickname comes from the look of the fruit as it surely can not be for the smell!

Many people say that once you tuck into the flesh, it actually tastes delicious. I for one could not get past the smell so never did quite make it to the delicious part. I think I’ll just take their word for it.

Have a Heart to Heart With a Kiwi

Here on the FFTO blog, we’ve looked into many superfruits or ‘hidden gems’ as we like to call them. This week we stumbled across another one.

We’ve always thought that kiwi’s were special, but it turns out that the luminous green fruits have more to offer than delicious flesh that is joyfully devoured with a spoon. Kiwis are the latest fruit to join the superfruit club due to their heart related benefits, so are definitely something that should be added to your regular fruit delivery.

In a recent study in Taiwan, 13 men and 30 women took part in an experiment to test the health benefits of eating kiwis. Each of the participants had high cholesterol and were instructed to eat 2 kiwis every day for 8 weeks.

Blood tests were taken at the beginning and the end of the experiment and scientists found the following results in the subjects.

·         There was an increase in good cholesterol

·         There was a decrease in bad cholesterol

·         There was a boost in vitamin C and E levels

Another study in Norway found that eating kiwis regularly could help to improve the health of your heart. Scientists found that eating 2-3 kiwis a day lowered triglyceride (bad fatty acids) levels by 15%

Kiwis also contain lutein which is a brilliant antioxidant and is thought to help lower blood pressure – something that we all need if we want to maintain a healthy heart.

Obviously eating a couple of kiwis isn’t going to cure all heart related ails, however along with exercise and a good diet, they may help to prevent them in the future.

Are you working in the healthiest industry?

Since the birth of Fruit For The Office, we’ve always served clients from a wide range of industry backgrounds. Our fruit is enjoyed by everyone from shop workers to office workers, teachers and tech guys.

But we wanted to see which industry (if any) was more behind the Office Fruit cause than others. So, over at Fruit HQ we decided to look into our top 300 customers to find out exactly that.

We discovered that a whopping 24% of all orders came from clients in the creative industry.

The 300 clients came from 19 different industries all together including banking, non-profit and retail. Clients in the creative industry order 4 times the average amount of our fruit than clients from the other top industries.

If you’ve read our blog before, you’ll know how passionate we are about fruit and we really believe in all the benefits that providing office fruit can have. We spoke to one of our Fruit Ambassadors to see how our fruit benefitted them.

The Office Manager of Media Equals says ‘Our team looks forward to our delivery of fresh, chilled fruit for the office every Monday morning. They offer an extremely reliable and prompt service. We have changed our habits since getting our Fruit For The Office delivery and we are happier and healthier getting at least one of our 5 a day!’

Fruit for the Office deliveries also help to reduce the amount of sugary snacks that staff members consume. Sugary snacks often lead to a sugar crash and a noted slump in office productivity. Looking after employees’ health and well being is a benefit to employers as it can help to reduce sick days and improve over all motivation.

People in the creative industry have clearly cottoned on to this, and are treating their workers to a regular supply of delicious fresh fruit from Fruit for the Office. 

Notes 

• The 300 customers used for this study are the top grossing regular customers who have ordered fruit from Fruit for the Office in the last two weeks.
• Clients in the creative industry include media companies, advertising companies, communication companies and publishing companies.

FFTO Blogger Of The Week: Only Nature: Foodporn!

It’s that time of the week again. Once more we’ve been trawling the web to find a brand new Fruit For The Office Blogger Of The Week. This week, we stumbled across a blog by Kok-Loong Wong.

Kok-Loong began cooking at around the age of 10 and for the past 3 years has been documenting his tasty stories on the blog Only Nature:Foodporn! (a bit naughty I know!). His aim is to cook delicious meals that ‘satisfy not only out taste buds and our stomachs but also our eyes and imagination’

Many of his recipes draw on Malaysian/Asian inspirations and his recipes marry flavours together that many people would never think of. Kok-Loong also takes some classic food combinations and puts his very own, often fruity, spin on them.

One of his recipes is a Satsuma Marmalade Cake made with his very own home made satsuma marmalade. The cake is topped with a delicious dark chocolate and marmalade icing topping. Two ingredients which Kok-Loong says compliment each other really well.

Kok-Loong also recently teamed Roast Pork Belly with Mango Relish (pictured above) – another match that seems to be made in heaven. Sounds like a defiantly tasty twist on the classic pork and apple combo.

Congratulations Kok-Loong Wong!

LimeLight

Fruit For The Office have been featured on a great websiteonce again. 30 Days of Food and Drink is a month long celebration of all goodthings to eat and drink. Hosted by the National Magazine Company – the peoplethat bring you Cosmopolitan, Zest and Prima- 30 Days Of Food is back with abang this November.

This year FFTO are getting involved by giving away 10 Fresh10 boxes with deluxe berry upgrades. Visit the website and enter yourdetails if you fancy a chance of winning.

Stuck In A Frut?

We’ve all found ourselves in a frut – or fruit-rut – before were we end up eating the same fruits, day after day after day. This robotic like munching may be great for our 5 a day, but what about our taste buds?

By the time it gets to Thursday, the thought of facing another apple, banana and satsuma at your desk is enough to make anyone reach for the biscuit tin. So we thought that we’d suggest some fruit alternatives to help you to get out of your FRUT once and for all.

Figs – This fruit regularly crops up in recipe books baked with goats cheese and param ham. However, the humble fig will always be a sweet treat first. Fresh figs, eaten whole with the skin on, contain an explosion of texture and flavour.

Eric Hunt

Minneola – This citrus offering is a cross between a grapefruit and a tangerine and is named after the Florida town where it was born.

Amanda 44

Redcurrants – These small ruby red gems are an understated berry, and just like figs they are often cooked. However, redcurrants are great eaten just as they come and are a rich source of iron and vitamin C.

Lukas Riebling

Physallis – This tangy treats can be a welcome option for those who find grapes a little too sweet. They’re very pretty too.

Nicole-Koehler

Star fruit – Another sweet yet tart option, these fruits can be eaten whole, including the skin so are ideal for eating at your desk.

Fibonacci

The next time you’re putting together your fruit delivery order, try to mix it up a little bit so that everyone around you can dig themselves out of their FRUT!

New Fruit On The Block

We've covered a few interesting fruit discoveries over the recent weeks. We’ve seen cotton candy flavoured grapes and mammoth oversized satsumas, aptly names SATSUMOS! This week another fruity hybrid has been released – the Grapple.

As you’ve probably guessed, the Grapple is cross between a grape and an apple. The Washington based company state on their website that you get the ‘sweet distinctive flavor of Concord grapes combined with the crispness of a fresh, juicy Washington Extra Fancy apple.’

However unlike the other fruits that we’ve covered, the grapple is not the result of a cross pollination made in heaven. Instead this fruity marriage has been somewhat forced. The Grapple is created by soaking either a Fiji or Gala apple in complex liquid solution that includes concentrated grape flavouring and water.

The company insists that the process does no cause the apple to take on any extra sugar or calories, nor is it ‘genetically altered any way.’ 

The company feel that combining two fruits in one will help to encourage people to eat more fresh produce. Hmmmm, personally, I think I prefer my apples and grapes straight up.

Confused Fruits

Don’t worry, we’re not announcing a new range of icky fruit soups. We’re merely using the picture to highlight the purpose of this blog post. Today, we’re looking at confused fruits. Now this may seem like a ridiculous question, but I will ask it anyway. Do you know the difference between a fruit and a vegetable?

Just in case you don’t, here is a little definition.  A vegetable is the edible part of a plant, usually the root, leaf or stem and is always seedless. A fruit on the other hand is a structure created by the plant that holds the seeds.

However despite the definition being pretty clear, occasionally we get a few fruit sailors that jump ship and join the vegetable army. The classic tomato is first and often the only thing that springs to mind when we think of fruits that like to act as vegetables. However, in actual fact there are many, many more. Here are a few others to add to your list.

Avocado Pear – The clue is in the name really. Avocados are technically classed as fruits however they sit better when treated as vegetables…….particularly in a crayfish and avocado sandwich mmmmmmm.

Ackee – This is a traditional Jamaican fruit that is always served as a vegetable and goes particularly well with fish.

Beans – As beans and peas are defiantly the seeds of the plant, they should always be classed as a fruit.

Pumpkins & Squashes – These winter favourites are very big fruits indeed, however I’m happy for them to act as vegetables. I don’t fancy pumpkin soup for dessert!

Chillies - All chillies and peppers are actually fruits (the clue's in the seeds this time) including deadly hot varieties such as jalapeños and scotch bonnets.