Everything you Need to Know to Start Juicing

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The juicing diet is the healthy fad that won't go away - and for good reason! Not only does the combination of flavours taste delicious, juicing helps you get your 5-a-day (or 7-a-day!) and it's faster as it bypasses all that laborious chewing (because, really, who has time for chewing in our busy, office lives?!)

At Fruit For the Office we believe in a world where people enjoy their fruit however they like, whether it's whole, pureed, dried, in a cake, in a smoothie or juiced. So read on and we'll give you all the information you need to know about the easy and fast ways to start juicing.

Pros of Juicing

• If you're not a fan of your fruits and veggies (no matter how many times you try to do the aeroplane spoon to yourself with them) juicing is a delicious way to incorporate natural, healthy foods into your diet
• The last bits of office fruit going to go to waste over the weekend? No problem! Juicing is a great way to reduce food waste by using fruit that is just about to spoil - especially if you're one of those who are prejudiced against less-than-perfect fruit (Poor bruised apples, no-one will ever love you!)
• Studies show that eating more fruit and veg has a significant effect on your lifespan and all around health and wellbeing. So if you're finding it hard to get enough fruit and vegetables into your diet then juicing three, four or even five types into one juice will make getting your 5-a-day, easier and quicker
• Juicing your fruit and vegetables provides you with all the same vitamins, minerals and nutrients as if you ate them whole
• The high water content of fruit and vegetables keeps you hydrated
• As part of a balanced diet, fresh fruit and vegetables juice are an easy and delicious way to incorporate natural sugars, vitamins, minerals and general goodness into your diet

Cons of Juicing

• Turning fruits from a solid into a liquid concentrates the sugar content meaning that whilst a whole pomegranate, for example, only contains 12g of sugar, a glass of pomegranate juice has a whopping 37g of sugar. So if you're a calorie counter, add more vegetables to your juice mix. Also, make sure you keep looking after your teeth if you become a die-hard juicer!
• The sensation of chewing alone can make you feel more full so slurping your meals down through a straw may lead to you feeling less satisfied and will have you turning to bigger meals out of hunger in the long run
• Although people will pray to the altar of 'The Juice Cleanse' there really is no reputable evidence that consuming nothing but juice will detox your internal organs - they do that themselves. Fruit and veg will make you healthier and give you more energy but it really needs to be consumed as part of a balanced diet!
• We all need fibre and pulverising your fruits and veggies in a blender then removing the pulp means that you lose all the goodness of fibre in your glass of otherwise healthy juice. Fibre helps lower cholesterol, keeps you fuller for longer, maintains gastrointestinal health and regulates your blood sugar levels (which will spike sky high after consuming fruit, meaning juice without pulp will make that sugar rush - and inevitable sugar crash - kick in) 

Should I Buy a Blender or a Juicer?

The main thing that puts your regular office worker off of juicing is the cost of equipment. Both blenders and juicers can be equally as expensive as you will be paying for quality (and fancy settings) but whilst most people believe a blender and a juicer are interchangeable they are as different as an apple and an orange. They look similar but both have completely different insides, textures and tastes. I've broken it down as simply as possible to let you make an informed decision about whether you should be making juice in a juicer or a blender.

Blender

1.  Fibre

Whilst a high quality blender is generally cheaper than an equivalent high quality juicer, using a blender will give you a consistency much closer to a smoothie even if you add plenty of water - this is because as it blends the final product will retain all the wonderful fibre I've been harping on about. The inclusion of fibre is a bonus for some who are looking to add more nutrients to their daily diet but it can be a curse for those wishing to actually embark on a juice cleanse as it will activate your digestive tract and for those with sensitive stomachs who are not used to a high-fibre diet it may cause quite a few trips to the toilet for the first few tries. However, obviously, the fibre will keep you fuller and stop your blood sugar from spiking so it really depends on your body - and you know it better than anyone else!

2.  Prep

A blender may find it hard or even impossible to mash through whole fruits if you have a less powerful model whereas good juicers can suck in a whole apple and leave you with a glass of fresh juice. If you're low on time, having to peel, de-core and chop up each individual fruit and vegetable may not be right for your lifestyle.

3.  Easy to Clean

As blenders are easy to assemble, they're also easy to clean. Just a quick separation and run under the tap or if your blender has a clean function you can just add some soap and water and let it do its thing.

4. Supplements

Using a blender you can actually add supplements such as spirulina and maca root powder to your concoctions, ramping up the health factor even more.

5. Multi-functional

Not only can you make juices, you can make smoothies, soups, sauces, dips... anything that can be blended will be blended. If you sprung for a top notch model you can even start dropping iPhones in it*


*We are definitely not responsible for you blending your gadgets, so don't blame us for your curiosity!

Juicer

1. Stomach Shortcut

Due to the lack of fibre, fresh juice gives you all the nutrients without activating your digestion. This is ideal for people who have sensitive digestion and those who need to give their body a break to allow it to heal itself.

2. Energy Boost

Another positive for the lack of fibre contained in juice made in a juicer is the energy boost it brings about. The high sugar contain in fruits will get you wired - just make sure you've got an equal amount of veg in there to stop that comedown hitting too hard.

3. Unfufilling 

Juice can make you feel less full, in part due to the lack of fibre and also the lack of chewing involved. This could be a problem if you have a big appetite as you might start reaching for the snacks to get you through the day if you're embarking on a full-on juice cleanse.

4. Hard to Clean

With a lot of unseen innards and, of course, that pulp had to go somewhere, juicers can be a pain in the peach to clean. So both blenders and juicers have their time-consuming bits wherever it's chopping or cleaning.

5. Green without the Gag

Blending your fruits and vegetables, and thus leaving all the pulp in, makes the flavours much more pronounced. This means that if you try and make that Green Machine juice you saw on Pinterest that had a healthy dose of rocket in a blender you may be only taking one gulp of that before it hits the bin. However, juicing somehow makes it easier to disguise bad tasting veggies with good tasting ones as well as sweet tasting fruits than it does when blending. A good thing to know if your tastebuds are particularly sensitive!

Tweet us @office_fruit or Facebook us if you want to know more about juicing and whether this has helped you on your way to becoming a Green Goddess, or if you're still not convinced, a Peach eating Purist.

And as always, comment below! We love getting feedback and we may even write a blog based on any questions you've raised!

#FitFruitFriday - Healthy Eating Food Swaps

We've been experiencing some more than decent weather here in London and May Day Bank Holiday is approaching fast (Hurrah!) But it's made all of us here at your favourite office fruit supplier pretty wary of our bikini bodies. Here's our favourite food swaps to help us fight the cravings, keep down calories and have us all looking less apple and pear shaped (but just as delicious!)

Swap Chips                             For Sweet Potato Fries

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Chips (or French Fries) are the ultimate comfort food but while you are loving the taste they are hating your body! With around 350 calories for a medium serving, you're much better off with angelically light (and amazing tasting) baked sweet potato fries that barely weigh in at 180 calories.

Swap Jelly Sweets            For Dried Cranberries

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Both are sweet treats but only one is packed with natural sugars, fibre, antioxidants and count as one of your five - or seven! - a day. (If you haven't guessed which one yet, you should be chowing down on cranberries)

Swap Sugary Cereal            For Fruit Topped Porridge

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Most cereals boast wholegrain nowadays but they keep quiet about their sugar content and how they'll only keep you full for about an hour or so - just in time for you to succumb to elevenses! However, oat porridge is a great source of fibre and protein which will keep you going until lunchtime and beyond. Easy to prepare at work in the microwave, just top with fruit - anything from berries to bananas - from your office fruit supplier and you've enjoyed a serving or two of fruit before 9am!

Swap Orange Juice              For Whole Oranges

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You may be thinking: "Fruit for the Office, aren't these the exact same thing?" Definitely not! When oranges are squeezed into juice they lose almost all of their filling fibre but retain all of the sugar, leaving you with a high sugar beverage with barely any of the goodness. Solid food as well as chewing will also help you feel a lot fuller than if you drink your fruit.

Swap Yoghurt Pots        For Greek Yoghurt with Fruit

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Don't be drawn in by fancy packaging and promises made by Gok Wan adverts - low-fat yoghurt pots touted as a godsend by dieters are often hiding some dirty secrets - most notably sky-high sugar content and added ingredients. Greek yoghurt is so much better for you as long as you choose a low-fat and low-sugar variety, which almost always comes naturally but be wary of some brands and check the nutritional values and ingredients. It's filling, good for you and can be topped with so many varieties of fruit, our favourites at Fruit for the Office being honey and banana or strawberry and blueberry. Greek yoghurt (or natural yoghurt) also comes in big tubs so it's normally more cost-effective than buying multipacks of often psuedo-healthy yog pots!


Tweet us @office_fruit and let us know your favourite healthy food swap and we'll be sure to retweet you! Or leave us a comment below and we may feature your favourites on another of our blogs.

Is 7-a-Day the new 5-a-day?

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Once upon a time, an apple a day kept the doctor away.

Then came five-a-day - the recommended amount of fruit and veg to keep your doctor as far away as we thought possible.

But now it seems that seven is the magic number as new research suggests that 7-a-day might not only leave your GP writing forget-me-nots but will also keep death from knocking on your door too soon.


However, before this ground-breaking fruit news came to light Fruit for the Office HQ were already told on a daily basis that even 5-a-day is hard enough for most people, especially consistently busy office workers.

So now it's 7-a-day and with promises of living longer (no matter what age you start incorporating seven portions of fruit and veg into you diet) it just makes good sense to make today the day you start eating more fruit and vegetables!

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Pure Fruit Juice



None of that watered down, from concentrate nonsense. Get out the juicer and go to town on your fruit bowl or even just head to your local supermarket and keep an eye out for any juice that is 100% fruit - no filler, no sugar, no rubbish - or it won't count!

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Soup Bases



Not reserved for use only in vegetable soups, you can easily pack a portion (or two or even three!) into your soup. Most packaged soups contain sugar, salt and additives so dust off the slow cooker and add as many vegetables - and/or meat, stock and seasonings - as you like! Soup is cheap and almost impossible to get wrong and it's perfectly easy to pop into a tupperware and heat up on your lunch break!

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Don't Forget Frozen

There seems to be some kind of stigma against frozen fruit and veg but for an office employee who's always on the go, there's no reason to not have some freezer space reserved for a bag of frozen fruit to top yoghurt, frozen spinach to mix in with an omelette or even frozen stir fry veg to save you from retrieving a questionable bag of brown beansprouts from the back of the fridge a week later.





Tweet us @office_fruit if you've been trying to make the move from 5-a-day to 7-a-day!
Also, let us know in the comments if you think having an office fruit supplier would help most office workers to achieve this - or if Fruit for the Office already supply your London office, tell or tweet us if you think it's making a difference to your health!

#FitFruitFriday - Healthy Paleo Protein Pancakes Recipes

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At Fruit for the Office HQ, it's unanimous that pancakes are the best of the best when it comes to breakfast food.

And we're not talking about those thin, flimsy crepe pancakes - oh no - we're dreaming of their big, chunky, fluffy, melt-in-the-mouth American counterparts. 

Of course, these babies have had to sit tight in our subconscious as our new years resolutions put such delicacies on an indefinite hiatus.

But this was until we discovered the wonderful world of paleo pancakes: pancakes which are good for you and packed full of our favourite fruits. Control yourself, people, because we're about to share the secret to the world's best breakfast (Don't say we aren't good to you)

Lemon, Raspberry and Strawberry Pancakes

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Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups very fine ground blanched almond flour 
• 1/2 tsp baking soda 
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 large eggs 
• 5 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup raspberries
• 1/4 cup strawberries
• Butter or oil for frying

Method:

End of Three Fitness - Paleo Lemon Berry Pancakes Recipe

Banana Oat Pancakes

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Ingredients:

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 1/4 cups milk (nut or dairy)
• 1 ripe banana
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 egg
• butter or oil for frying

Method:

Beauty That Moves - Banana Oat Pancake Recipe

Apple, Banana and Cinnamon Pancakes

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Ingredients: 

• 2 eggs, whisked
• 2 bananas, mashed
• 1 peeled apple, diced small
• 2 tbs almond butter
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Butter or oil for frying

Method:

Paleo Newbie - Apple Cinnamon Banana Pancake Recipe

Paleo is essentially a low/no carbohydrate diet - also referred to as the caveman diet due to it's emphasis on cutting out processed food and grains.

It's really easy to stick to and has a huge focus on 5-a-day, so start hoarding the spoils from your office fruit box before the other fitness warriors in your office catch wind of your pancake plans...

Tweet us @office_fruit with your favourite fruit pancake toppings and we'll get searching for the perfect recipe for you! Also, let us know in the comments if you want some more fruity paleo recipes for other meals - we'd be happy to oblige once we've finished our third stack of pancakes.

Easy Ways to Make Kids Want to Eat More Fruit and Veg

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It may be a struggle to get your children to eat right at the best of times but there's nothing worse than when the little sprogs just outright refuse to have their 5-a-day. Try your London office fruit supplier's 5 easy tips to get your kids on the track to a healthy diet, just like their mums and dads.

1. Get Rid of the Junk Food - You're the boss of the house and no matter how much you push fruit and veg onto your kids, they're hardly going to want it when they know the cupboard is stocked full of crisps, chocolate and biscuits. Lower the amount you buy and don't treat junk food as a treat they will receive if they eat all their greens, it will only encourage the child to think that fruit and veg is a punishment - try giving fresh strawberries or pineapple fingers as an after-school treat rather than a chocolate bar.
2. Persevere - If you haven't started your children on fruit and veg from a young age, it's really unlikely they're going to enjoy it straight away. Keep serving up veg at dinner and fruit in their lunchbox, eventually they'll eat it and hopefully enjoy it soon enough! But of course, not everyone enjoys the same taste so if your kids are adamant after the 20th helping of brussel sprouts that they hate them, maybe it's time to try something else!
3. Make it Fun - Kids are more likely to eat something if it looks more appealing so try cutting up fruit and veg using cookie cutters into fun shapes or arrange different pieces on a plate to make it look like a face or an animal. This can also work with sandwiches and pizza by giving your child different coloured veg, letting them decorate with it and then they can enjoy their hard work afterwards!
4. Change the Way You Serve it - Not everyone enjoys the texture or taste of different fruits or vegetables and neither do your children. With fruit, try blending them into a smoothie, freezing bananas or berries as a cold treat or make fruit sandwiches. With veg, blend them into a soup, serve raw with dips or just try different ways of cooking e.g. mashed, boiled, roasted etc.



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5. Grow Your Own - There's nothing better than watching your hard work come to fruition and if you let your children grow their own fruit and veg, they'll be more than willing to tuck in. Some of the easiest plants to grow include beans, peas, courgettes, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, strawberries, apples, blackberries and cress.

How do you get your children to eat their 5-a-day? Tell us in the comments below!

#FruityFriday - Go Bananas!

World Cancer Research Fund released figures this week revealing that the majority of people in Britain do not manage to eat their 5 A Day. The survey questioned over 2000 adults and found that only 22% of people eat 5 portions of fruit and veg every day.

These shocking figures have been released prior to the WCRF’s annual Fruity Friday campaign on 18th May.  Once again the World Cancer Research Fund is asking everyone to wear yellow, go bananas and donate £2 to the cause. The moto for the day is ‘Just One More’ as they attempt to encourage everyone to have just one more piece of fruit and veg.

WCRF say that upping you daily fruit and veg intake is a simple step towards reducing your cancer risk.  

As a nominee for the 5 A Day Supporter of the Year Re:Fresh Award (winner will be announced tomorrow!), we have always passionately encouraged people to eat their 5 A Day. If office workers replaced sugary, fatty desk snacks with fresh or dried fruit they would be more productive and - according to the WCRF - helping to reduce their own risk of cancer.

The WCRF survey also found that income had an effect on how much fruit and veg people were consuming, with higher earners being more likely to achieve their 5 A Day. Employers providing fruit in the office is one way for companies to support staff in difficult times.

For more information on how you can take part visit fruitfriday.org. If you’d like an office fruit delivery in time for Fruit Friday visit www.fruitfortheoffice.co.uk of call 0800 019 4037.

5 Steps to 5 A Day

The verdict is out – in fact it has been for some time now – we should all be eating 5 portions of fruit and veg a day. To many, this number still sounds pretty daunting however if you break it up throughout the day, you’ll soon be reaching 5 A Day, every day in no time.

Breakfast

Most of us tend to rush breakfast in favour of a few extra minutes in bed before the daily commute begins. Therefore an easy option is required if we are to get the first of our 5 A Day in before 8.00am. Dried fruit is one of the easiest ways to get one of your portions in the morning. It can be bought in bulk, lasts for ages and can be added to other things or eaten alone.

Suggestions

·         Add a handful of dried berries to your cereal or porridge

·         Grab 3 dried apricots as you head out of the door

·         150ml of any pure fruit juice

Morning snack

For those who need caffeine hit as soon as the get to the office, add a piece fruit to your routine. Not only will you get your second portion in before midday, it will also give you  an extra energy kick. Two down, three to go!

Lunch

Lunch time in the office; try adding some simple extras to your staple office lunch.

Suggestions

·         Slice 1 tomato and add it to your sandwich

·         3 carrots

Afternoon snack

If you feel like you’re starting to lag in the office, reach for potassium packed banana from your office fruit delivery to give you a much needed energy boost

Dinner

Round off your day with a well balanced dinner, including one or two portions of veg.

And you’re done! You’ve achieved your 5 A Day in 5 easy steps. To order the right amount of fruit for the people in your office, take a look at our fresh range. Having two FRESH range deliveries a week will ensure that each person in the office can get two pieces of fruit every day.

50% Off Your First Order

Get 50% off your New Years Resolutions with the Fruit For The Office discount code - NEWYEAR

Over the weekend, millions of people across the country made the vow to get healthy, get fit and lose some weight. And whilst the intentions are good, we know that it can be difficult to know how and where to begin.

We say, start slow and start small. A full blown lifestyle overhaul on the first of January can be very hard to maintain longer than a few weeks (or days!). A few gradual changes made throughout the month will be much easier to stick to and will hopefully last the whole year.

Adding more fruit to your diet can be a simple way to embark on a healthier lifestyle. Replacing the usual fatty, sugary snacks that you eat at your desk with fruit will make you healthier, and help you to lose weight. It will also give you more energy and increase your productivity at work (great news if you’re other resolutions include getting a promotion!)

That’s why we’ve put together the discount code NEWYEAR for anyone wanting to sign up to Fruit For The Office throughout January.

This will give all new customers 50% off of their first order with us*. The code will be valid until the end of January. So whenever you’re ready to take the plunge this month and embark on a healthy eating plan, we’ll be here.

Pass the word around the office and get your colleagues on board.  You can use the discount code online or over the phone so feel free to give us a call to discuss what’s right for your office or team.

Happy New Year!

0800 019 4037

info@fruitfortheoffice.co.uk

www.fruitfortheoffice.co.uk

*50% discount can be used for the Fresh Range only and excludes upgrades. Free delivery only available to corporate address within Greater London. Offices outside of this area will incur an additional delivery charge. Discount valid until 31^st January 2012.

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!