2. Stop junk mail
Go to optoutprescreen.com to stop receiving pre-approved credit card offers and sign up on catalogchoice.org to reduce the amount of unsolicited catalogs sent to you. If everyone in the United States reduced the junk mail he receives every week, 100 million trees would be spared each year.

3. Buy green power
Visit the Green Power Network’s U.S. map at eere.energy.gov/greenpower to check out if your state offers green energy.

4. Reuse and Recycle
To learn which items you can leave out for curbside pickup, and how to dispose of those you can’t, log on to earth911.org for contact info for local recyclers of more than 250 materials―from cooking oil to hazardous waste (including batteries). Americans already recycle about a third of their trash (double what was recycled in 1990), but we can do more.

5. Carry a water bottle with you
Save some money and the consumption of plastic bottles- buy a “green” reusable bottle. Americans use 3.3 million plastic bottles every hour but recycle only one in five. We have one here and a cooler to match.

6. Buy local produce
Your last meal may have traveled 1,500 miles to get to your table. Find food near you. Green markets, farm stands,and conscientious supermarkets all offer locally grown produce. Buy it and you’ll conserve fuel, reduce pollution, and
enjoy fresher food.

7. Bring your own bags to the market
In an average year, U.S. households use about 100 billion plastic bags, 99 percent of which are never recycled. Stash some canvas bags in your car!

8. Give your car a tune-up
Tune up your car (usually every 30,000 miles) and raise your car’s fuel efficiency
anywhere from 4 to 40 percent. Go to greendrivingusa to find some great gas saving tips!

9. Turn off the water
The average faucet releases about three gallons of water a minute, so shut it off while you brush your teeth or shave.

10. Skip red meat once a week
It can take seven or more pounds of grain to produce one pound of beef, and livestock consumes 70 percent of America’s grain. Eat less of it (cut out one day a week) and when possible, choose pasture-fed, sustainably raised beef. If you alone gave it up once every seven days, you would save the 840 gallons of fresh water it takes to produce a single serving. Check out Meatless Mondays for great meal ideas or Dan’s Essentials recipes.

Click here to see the video.

Remember, the Recovery Shake is most important meal of the day. The body only has a 30 minute window to optimize its workout. If you miss this opportunity to give it what it needs, the window quickly closed. You will not be able to store as much glycogen as just prior to your workout because the cells that once contained your stored sugars have decreased slowing down your metabolism. By drinking a high Glycemic drink with 3 to 1 ration of carbs versus protein, respectively, immediately following your workout, the sugars race into your muscles replenishing the lost glycogen keeping your metabolism humming. This is key to weight lose or muscle gain, your body will not gain an ounce of fat but you WILL realize your fitness goals much quicker.

Your body runs primarily on glycogen. The best time to store glycogen is right after exercise. Timing is Everything!

Eat Well!

Pottstown, PA March 16, 2012: The Chefs in the world-class Vegas hotels Caesars and Aria were in search of an all-natural protein supplement to use in their restaurants and hotel room service smoothies, so they confided with Chef Chris Young, formerly the Executive Chef of the Mirage and sports enthusiast. Chris recommended Performance Food Center’s (PFC) Bio-Whey Protein as his Protein supplement of choice for its unique natural ingredient profile and ability to mix well with smoothies, oatmeal, parfaits, cookies and so much more.

PFC created their line of Bio-Whey Protein in order to offer a completely natural whey protein to people who care about what they put in their bodies. Generally, most protein supplements on the market today are not worth their weight in cheese. Most manufacturers’ protein labels claim that Whey is the main ingredient, but there are big differences between them all and choosing the right one could mean the difference between great absorption and utilization or high BV rating or low absorption, stomach aches and poor absorption. PFC chose to use the best concentrate available in their Bio-Whey Protein, which is 80% protein, replete with immune- supportive nutrient profile, immunoglubins, bovine serum albumin, beta-lactoglobulin, lactoferrin, lipolic acid and CLA. Guests of the hotel and restaurants report that they can taste and feel the difference.

PFC refuses to use any artificial additives or synthetic sweeteners; instead their Whey Protein Supplements are sweetened with low-glycemic fructose and the natural herb, zero calorie Stevia extract. All ingredients and flavor systems are whole-food compliant and PFC Approved for Living Well. They believe that you are what you eat AND what your food eats, so PFC has certified all farms that produce their whey protein to be free of all hormones.

PFC is proud to offer their natural Protein supplements in Caesars and Aria hotel and restaurants; after all, what a better place to recover and take care of your body then the Entertainment Capital of the World, Las Vegas.

Recently, we stumbled on an actual bottle of our competitor’s product. We have never denigrated another company, because after all,  these are all good people with good intent; however, the ingredients being served to their customers do not fit our definition of natural. They use ingredients like Sodium Benzoate, Caramel Color, Sucralose, Corn Syrup and many more – most can be found on the Bad list.

Look good for you?

Apple- Contains 50% Juice

Apple Juice, Fructose Corn Syrup, Filtered Water, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Citric Acid, Ascorbic Acid, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium, Metabisulfite, Caramel Color

Passion Mango- Contains 50% Juice

Fructose Corn Syrup, Pasteurized White Grape Juice Concentrate,  Pasteurized Apple Juice Concentrate, Filtered Water, Pasteurized Mango Concentrate, Pasteurized Passion  Juice Concentrate, Citric Acid, Natural and Artificial Flavors Ascorbic Acid, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium, Metabisulfite, Glycerol Abietate

Low Carb Guava- Contains 50% Juice

Filtered Water, Pasteurized Guava Puree, Pasteurized White Grape Concentrate and/or , Pasteurized Apple Juice Concentrate, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Citric Acid, Ascorbic Acid, Sucralose,  Ascorbic Acid, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium, Metabisulfite, Xantham Gum

PFC Approved for Living Well

We have cleaned out countless Juice Bars that were filled with syrupy products filled with ingredients like these listed above. They all ended up switching over to our Natural line of Juice Bar products and now their customers report that they can taste and really see the difference.

Just remember, you are what you eat and what your food eats. We understand this and that is why we have made it our mission to offer only Natural whole food Ingredients in all of our products.  The PFC approved stamp means that the product contains no artificial ingredients, synthetic sweeteners or additives of any kind. You can feel good about giving your customers food that is actually good for their bodies and helps them reach their performance and wellness goals.

Call/email us today to find out more about our Natural line of Juice Bar and Cafe supplies.

Did you know:
Peanuts are the most popular nut in the United States. They fall into the legume family and are cousins to the pea, the lentil and the garbanzo bean. They are composed of half fat (healthy monounsaturated fat), a quarter protein and a quarter carbohydrates. Consuming about 5 ounces of peanuts (or 5 tablespoons of peanut butter) per week can lowers one’s risk of heart disease around 21 percent. It also lowers LDL cholesterol and provides your body with protein, monounsaturated fat, and the antioxidant resveratrol.

Nutritionals:

• Biotin
• Tocopherols
• Folic Acid
• Vitamins B1 and B3
• Magnesium
• Phosphorus
• Manganese

Health Benefits:

• Harmonizes the stomach
• Increases milk supply of nursing mothers
• Lowers blood pressure
• Rich in antioxidants
• Reduces the risk of heart disease, stroke and colon cancer
• Helps prevent gallstones
• Protective against Alzheimer’s disease
• Lowers risk of weight gain

Our Peanut Butter (and Almond Butter too) is ground fresh weekly. You will never see your Nut Butter swimming in Oil; we leave that to the big companies who make it months before you buy.

Refrigeration may only be necessary if you plan to not consume or serve it for three or more months – which we would find hard to believe. It’s never been done!

Go ahead, go get your Peanut Butter, after all, they dedicated a whole day for this healthy nut butter!

Or call/email us to find out how you add our Natural Smoothie Ingredients to your Juice Bar or Cafe.

Dottie with the Denver Bronco Alumni

Our very own, Dottie Beck just returned from opening the new Bally’s sports club in Aurora, Colorado. For the opening, Bally’s featured fitness events, face painting, mariachi, and of course, sampling of our PFC shakes! The Denver Bronco Alumni were invited to sign autographs and talk to the members for the afternoon. Dottie’s job was to sample shakes with the staff all day and take care of the football players! The Broncos loved our shakes so much so that Dottie had to give them full size 12 oz “sample” shakes! The Berries Amore and the Tango Mango seemed to be the favorites among the group. Before long, the football players were hanging out at the Juice Bar instead of sitting in their station signing autographs. PFC stole the show this weekend!

Philadelphia Art Museum

Philadelphia, PA

Come one come all, join us for either a 5k run, 5K walk or 1-mile fun walk for the cure! Our goal is to raise over $1,000 for the cause.

To join or support the team Running for the Moments, led by our very own Robin Evans, please click here.

Ben Franklin Bridge

Philadelphia, PA

Join us this year for the 61 mile city-to-shore bike ride to support ACS!  Our goal is to raise $5,000 this year, help us get there!

To join or support our team, Riding for the Moments, led by our very own Joe Hocker,  please click here.

Summary: PFC, an industry leader in the planning, design, operation and supply of Juice Bars and Cafes across North America, expands their reach by creating an online Nutritional General Store, Dan’s Essentials, complete with over 800 Whole-food products for the whole family.

Pottstown, PA January 26th 2012- Performance Food Centers (PFC), a wholesale Juice Bar and Café distributor has been searching the world for over ten years, handpicking products that align with their philosophy of bringing whole-foods to people who care about their bodies. They distribute these natural whole-food products, along with a broad spectrum of services to over 1300 Juice bars and Cafés nationwide. Upon the launch of their new store in January, they have opened their all-natural product offerings via their online shopping store – Dan’s Essentials

Dan Young, Owner and President of PFC built the company with the belief that people were meant to consume products as close to harvest as possible, just the way Mother Nature intended. In 1995-97, Dan was stricken with life altering and ultimately, life threatening combination of diseases. The medical community threw up their hands and Dan was left to take his life into his own hands. He sought holistic doctors and began reading everything that was written on curing the body naturally. It took almost two years but Dan succeeded and he owes it all the power of whole-foods; his belief that the human body has the ability to cure itself of virtually every disease if given the chance.

Dan’s passion to help people spawned PFC. The company was created with one goal in mind; to give people access to healthy whole-foods free of all artificial ingredients, synthetic sweeteners and minimally processed foods while simplifying the complex world of nutrition. Juice Bars located in health clubs and wellness centers was chosen as the vehicle to deliver these all-natural product offerings and nutritional educational materials. Dan believed as he does today, that folks who workout are more apt to care about what they are putting in their bodies in order to achieve their fitness goals and general wellness, so why not start there.

Over the past ten years, PFC has worked very closely with many food and supplement manufacturers improving their ingredient profiles while eliminating the garbage our bodies don’t recognize as food. Many of the foods you may eat today are a direct result of Dan’s pressure on those companies. For instance, Dan has been removing hydrogenated oils and aspartame from foods years before the FDA recognized them as health risks.

PFC grew as a result of their commitment to providing whole-food products, while simplifying the complex world of nutrition through various educational channels. The company is continuing to grow today, as people are becoming more and more health conscience. Business owners more than ever feel the responsibility to provide healthy products to their consumers and people from all walks of life are improving their health. As a result of their growth, Dan wanted to share with the world the very products that helped him during those critical years as well as today as he competes in endurance events, hikes tall mountains and raises a very young family.

PFC’s hundreds of healthy foods and beverages offerings are now available to the whole family at home! It is called; what else? Dan’s Essentials – Whole Food Pantries for Life. Dan’s Essentials currently offers the following categories of products; Smoothie & Shake Ingredients, Natural Supplements, Proteins & Builders, Organic Coffees & Teas, Handpicked Healthy Snacks, Baked Goods, Whole Grains, Natural Sweeteners and Staples for Everyone’s Diet.

Dan Young mentions, “We are proud to offer our whole-food products online which focus on very specific nutritional needs such as; Organic, Gluten-Free, Vegan, Kosher, Lactose Free, High Protein, High Energy, Vitamin Rich and products that are Great for Kids!” He continues, “ We are continually adding new products to the site. Among the newest, PFC is featuring a line of about 120 natural sweeteners, whole grains, flours, dried fruits, nuts and healthy snacks. All of these products were handpicked from farms local to Berks and Lancaster Counties in Pennsylvania. Young concludes, “Enjoy all the good things that this life has to offer; fresh air, sunshine, children’s laughter and the bounty of whole-foods from our pantry I have created for you. Eat Well. ”

PFC invites you to eat Natural whole-food products and to visit their online shopping store www.DansEssentials.com.

Read more about Dan’s Story.