Hip Hip Hooray!  We can no longer hide our excitement; it’s time to shout!

FruitFast introduces its newest CherryFlex product, an extra strength tart cherry gel, called CherryFlex ProSport Shots.  Each ProSport Shot is conveniently packaged in a 5 gram individual tear pouch – just squeeze and enjoy the fruity taste and healthy benefits of Montmorency Red Tart Cherries.

Designed to go-anywhere and to be used by active people of any age, CherryFlex ProSport gel shots contain our proprietary paste made from whole fruit – including the skin and pulp – to speed relief from muscle fatigue and help maintain a normal sleep cycle.

Response from our test group to CherryFlex ProSport Shots has been overwhelmingly positive.  Whether you are in school sports, a weekend warrior, collegiate or pro athlete, or active senior, we think you will find CherryFlex ProSport Shots irresistible.

We plan to have CherryFlex ProSport Shots available no later than March 17th, so look for an upcoming announcement that the new CherryFlex ProSport Shots have arrived!

Making your shopping experience the best it can be is what we strive to provide our customers.

Brownwood Acres/ FruitFast is always looking for ways to improve our services and that’s why we have added PayPal to our list of online ordering options.

We, of course, will continue to accept credit card purchases through Discover, Visa, Mastercard and American Express.  In addition to these current payment options, we have now added PayPal as another alternative for shoppers.

It’s our way of making your visit to Brownwood Acres/ FruitFast as pleasurable, secure and simple as possible.

The “Cherry-T Ball Drop” is scheduled on New Year’s Eve 2009.

“It will be like Times Square, just a bit smaller, with a Northern Michigan feel,” jokes Brian Sweebe, one of the organizers of the event. “We are going to have a giant Cherry drop from the sky as the clock strikes midnight.”

The 200 block of Front Street will be blocked off at 6pm New Year’s Eve, where a stage and tents will be erected. A live band takes the stage at 10:30pm.

Although there is no admission for the event, Goodwill Industries will be on site collecting canned goods and personal hygiene items for the local needy.

As we close 2009 and welcome the New Year, we would like to thank each and every one of you for your business over the past year.  With so many changes occurring in our country and around the world that are out of our control, one thing we do have some say in are our own bodies and how we take care of them.  The fact that many of you count on Brownwood Acres/ FruitFast products to help you down the path of good health is more rewarding than we can express in words.

Our pledge is to continue to listen to your requests and develop products that will add to your quality of life.  We have spoken with many of you over the years and truly enjoy the personal relationships that have been cultivated.  To hear of your successes provides the incentive to continue researching, manufacturing and offering quality products made from premium, USA grown fruit.  That’s our priority for 2010.

Whether it’s Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas or simply Happy New Year, the Brownwood Acres/ FruitFast Family wishes you and yours a joyful, peaceful and spiritual holiday season.

This Thanksgiving holiday, when gathering with family and friends, remember your many blessings and the countless freedoms we enjoy as Americans.

All of us at Brownwood Acres/ FruitFast appreciate your business and value your continued trust and patronage as we welcome the holiday season.

Award-winning columnist Regina Brett, age 90, of The Plain Dealer newspaper in Cleveland, Ohio wrote the following “45 Lessons Life Taught Me”  – her most requested column.  We think her lessons are worth sharing again.

Happy Thanksgiving !

1.   Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
2.   When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3.   Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4.   Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5.   Pay off your credit cards every month.
6.   You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7.   Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.
8.   It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9.   Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10.   When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11.   Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.
12.   It’s OK to let your children see you cry.
13.   Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14.   If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.
15.   Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never blinks.
16.   Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17.   Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
18.   Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.
19.   It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20.   When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.
21.   Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22.   Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23.   Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.
24.   The most important sex organ is the brain.
25.   No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26.   Frame every so-called disaster with these words ‘In five years, will this matter?’
27.   Always choose life.
28.   Forgive everyone everything.
29.   What other people think of you is none of your business.
30.   Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31.   However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32.   Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33.   Believe in miracles.
34.   God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.
35.   Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36.   Growing old beats the alternative — dying young.
37.   Your children get only one childhood.
38.   All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39.   Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40.   If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.
41.   Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42.   The best is yet to come…
43.   No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44.   Yield.
45.   Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.

During the giving season, spreading good news makes a lot of good “cents” for FruitFast customers.

It’s the right time to replenish your personal supply of some of FruitFast’s popular supplements and to give the gift of good, healthy eating at the same time.

FruitFast’s Black Raspberry Softgel Capsules and our newest product, Great Lakes Cranberry Softgels, are both discounted 50%.  Made from USA grown premium fruit, both softgels are manufactured using our proprietary process that utilizes the whole fruit, including the pulp and skin, and contain naturally-occurring antioxidants.

Black raspberries help maintain healthy cardiovascular function* and support a healthy immune system*.   In the case of Great Lakes Cranberry Softgels, this well-known fruit helps maintain healthy urinary tract function* in every 800 mg capsule.  Now is the time to stock up while prices are low and supplies last.

FruitFast has not forgotten another important member of the family.  CherryFlex® for Dogs has also been reduced by 50% for our furry friends for a short time.  That is a savings of $10 per bottle of 60 capsules.  What a wonderful stocking stuffer for the dog lovers on your list!  Learn more about the advantages of this pet product developed and offered exclusively by FruitFast.

We welcome your toll free calls and inquiries about our family of quality fruit products – including Montmorency tart cherry juice concentrate and CherryFlex® softgels.

Our staff is waiting to assist you when you call  toll free 1-877-599-3101.

Despite bumper crops of many food commodities this year, most Americans still are not eating enough fruit on a daily basis.   Among the largest group of violators are the ones who should be building strong bodies and bones and stand to lose the most in later years:  America’s teenagers.

The Center for Disease Control found troubling results for teens who don’t appear to be eating the proper amount of fruits – or vegetables.

Under 10 percent of US high school students were getting the recommended daily amount of fruits and vegetables.  That’s a statistic that FruitFast is working to improve.

Only 13 percent of teens are consuming the recommended three helpings of vegetables each day and about 32 percent are eating at least two servings of fruit.  Click here to see how your state’s adults and teens compare to the national average.

State Indicator Report on Fruits and Vegetables 2009

According to the Associated Press, the federal nutrition goals set for 2010 demand at least 75 percent of Americans consume two servings of fruit each day and at least 50 percent to eat three vegetable servings.

“This is a call for states, communities, schools and families to support increased fruit and vegetable consumption,” said Heidi Blanck, with the CDC, who worked on the State Indicator Report on Fruits and Vegetables, 2009.

The CDC says that fruits and vegetables are vital for optimal child growth, weight management and chronic disease prevention.

Whether the fruit and vegetables you eat are fresh, frozen, dried or in some other uncompromised form, it’s important to eat well-balanced meals.

FruitFast promotes healthy living with all our products – for people and pets – believing in the adage “you are what you eat.”

On-the-go, too busy, or out-of-season no longer are good excuses.  We offer an assortment of ways – from juice, liquids, softgels, bars or dried fruits – to enjoy healthy fruits every day.

Visit www.brownwoodacres.com today!

October’s falling temperatures signal the end of the growing season in northern parts of the country.  This bumper crop season for tart cherries, apples and wild blueberries in our fruit-producing region has been a result of near perfect growing conditions.

Fall also signals the harvest of pomegranates in the San Joaquin Valley of California where another plentiful crop is expected.

During October, FruitFast’s featured special is our Wonderful Pomegranate Liquid Fruit Supplement at a 25% savings, only $14.95 per 10 ounce bottle. Each bottle contains 60 teaspoon-sized servings that are 10 calories each and offer 150 mg of Anthocyanins. Made from a combination of our Wonderful Pomegranate Juice Concentrate and our Wonderful Pomegranate Fruit Paste, it mixes into your favorite beverage, yogurt or smoothie. Many of our customers take a teaspoon straight from the bottle or add this healthy liquid to recipes.

Just as delicious and versatile are FruitFast’s CherryFlex and Mixed Berry Liquid Fruit Supplements, an innovative way to pass along the health benefits of these dark-skinned fruits to keep your family in peak condition this winter.

Special pricing continues of $15.95 for our Cranberry Softgels, and we want to remind you of our new, lower prices for most of our fruit juice concentrates.
Like tart cherry juice and wild blueberry concentrates, FruitFast is passing savings on to customers this month as a result of these plentiful fruit harvests.

Wait no longer!  Contact us today and enjoy the harvest.

Tart Cherries were touted again this weekend when Parade Magazine ran an article regarding a study of runners who drank tart cherry juice before a relay race and experienced less discomfort after the relay than those that drank a placebo.  Parade Magazine reported, “Researchers believe the difference may be attributed to flavonoids and anthocyanins with high antioxidant and anti-inflammatory powers.”

These are important findings and sound very familiar to those of us at Brownwood Acres/FruitFast®. These study findings are similar to the research results from Winona State University’s double blind study conducted on our CherryFlex® softgel product in 2008.  The Winona State study results found that our CherryFlex softgels, (Montmorency red tart cherry fruit supplement) significantly altered muscle soreness following strenuous exercise.

Science continues to unlock the secrets to why dark-skinned fruits – like tart cherries, wild blueberries and wonderful pomegranates hold so many beneficial properties. In the case of the Winona study, the subjects were not aging seniors, but active, healthy college students.

It’s always reaffirming to have our studies confirmed by notable and independent sources.

In the meantime, check out the many ways you can enjoy and benefit from FruitFast’s dark-skinned fruit supplements, including our juice concentrates, potent liquids and full line of super fruit softgels.

It’s Back to School for all five of our boys after summer days filled with working jobs, trips to the beach, skateboarding with friends, attending sporting events, hockey practice and taking a break from the regular scene.

Coordinating schedules, providing transportation and making sure everyone eats healthy meals is a full time job for my wife – and I suspect for a lot of parents.

Keeping tabs on our children’s physical and emotional health is an important parental responsibility.

FruitFast Fruit Supplement Bars

Case in point:  American parents rated childhood obesity as the No. 1 health problem for kids in this country in a 2009 poll conducted by the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital.   All ethnicities – Caucasians, Hispanics and African-Americans – ranked child obesity at the top of the list.

Concern for overweight kids and poor diets are not new issues.  And I believe that as parents, we need to set the example.

In the deTar household, we make sure our kids have balanced meals, limiting their intake of fast and processed foods.  We make it a point to have fresh fruit and vegetables on hand for snacks.  You can always find FruitFast juice concentrates in the refrig instead of pop and a handy jar on the counter filled with FruitFast bars – the favorite of the neighborhood.  They’ll be packed into their gym bags and lunch boxes as they head back to the classroom.

These are healthy childhood eating patterns that we think will stick with them, through their lives and will be passed down to their kids. It’s all about creating good habits and promoting the right choices.