While we are just getting into this New Year it's exciting to think of all that can be accomplished. Success, happiness, relationships, and all the things that we find joy in. Personal health tends to be something that we do take a lot of time thinking about but eventually put off for various reasons.

So what is a key way that we can continue the energy that we feel early on when setting goals? It takes a daily commitment to an adjusted life style that makes time for the strengthening and general health of our bodies. Incorporate this with a regular diet of fruits and vegetables that provide your body with essential nutrients to remain healthy and stave off outward stresses and threats. Think of fruit as the Homeland Security for your body.

Below are some ideas for making 2010 a healthy and prosperous year.

• Healthy Additions: Add one extra portion of fruit and vegetables to each meal. Not only is fruit rife with vital antioxidants and vitamins, but they also are a wonderful source of dietary fiber, essential in proper digestion. It's very easy to leave those off the menu when a person is busy or rushed. You will find that the addition of fruit and vegetables o your cooking routine will become second nature after a few weeks. Try including fruit in your breakfast cereal, or frozen and blended with a healthy smoothie. Fresh or dried fruit make great snacks any time of day, and satisfy that craving for sweets.


• Time with your pets: Animals are always a bright spot to one's day. Do you walk your dog on a regular basis? If not, try setting several times daily that you spend time out walking or running with your pet.


• Daily Exercise: A lot of times people find this to be boring or that it takes too much time from their day. The key is to find something that you enjoy. Some prefer a competitive environment. Others prefer a solo workout. Group dynamics (classes, etc.) are always a great experience and working out with other people that share similar goals can really encourage you to stick with it.

Right now we are busy pruning in the orchards. Pruning is one of the most important foundation stones in producing top quality fruit. Proper pruning eliminates old fruiting spurs, opens up the tree to better light penetration, and eliminates limb rub (fruit marketing caused by having too many limbs that rub against the fruit as it grows).

Once we finish a block of fruit trees, we rake the prunings and mow them up, leaving a clean orchard floor below beautifully manicured trees.

It's quite a sight and a sign that spring and the 2010 crop is just around the corner.

One of the strangest fruit that we have come across here at The Fruit Company is the Miracle Fruit. A hot topic in the 1970's, this fruit has once again increased in popularity.

What's so special about this fruit? The berries of this plant are special because after you partake of the fruit anything you eat afterwards tastes sweet. No matter what you eat the fruit convinces your tongue that the item you are eating is sweet. West African tribes were the first to discover the wonderful use of this fruit. Adventurers came across multiple tribes chewing these berries before meals. They were astonished to learn of the marvelous benefits of the berry and word spread from there.

The berry actually has a very low sugar content. It has a glycoprotein called Miraculin that binds with the taste buds making even the sourest of foods taste deliciously sweet. What an amazing "miracle"!