On Saturday, May 18, 2013 hundreds of participants in the A Mile for Maddie walk were present for the grand opening of the Seaside Learning Center located in Dana Point, California, just a few miles south of Big Train’s headquarters. The Center is built along the Dana Point waterfront, and boasts exciting new facilities that will introduce oceanography, environmental science and maritime history to locals and visitors alike, but especially K-12 students in honor of the beautiful Maddie James.

Thousands of walkers have participated in A Mile for Maddie over the past two years, raising a total of $160,000. This money has gone a long way towards helping The Maddie James Foundation to achieve its initial goal of raising $1 million, in order to secure the naming rights to the Maddie James Seaside Learning Center (at the Ocean Institute).

Big Train was honored to be a part of the grand opening of this amazing endeavor. We were onsite, serving up samples of our Fit Frappe™ protein drinks to the hundreds of participants. Our healthy and delicious beverage was a natural fit for the crowd in attendance, as it offers a low-calorie and high-protein drink that’s perfect before or after the 1.2-mile walk.

Check out the slideshow below for some images of our booth, the crowd as well as the children of one of our very own, meeting marine life artist and conservationist, Wyland. We’ve added in some videos of A Mile for Maddie and also the grand opening.

For more information about Maddie James Foundation go to http://maddiejamesfoundation.org/

For more information about Big Train go to BigTrain.com or call 800 BIG TRAIN (244-8724).

Pomegranate and blueberries are both high in antioxidants. These two superfruits combine to make a delicious flavor. Even McDonalds is offering this new flavor combination for their fruit smoothies. If you love fruit and blended ice drinks then you’ll love this Pomegranate Blueberry Fruit Smoothie Recipe. For the DIY enthusiast, you can do it yourself– make these smoothies quickly at home. Home baristas can purchase Big Train’s Pomegranate Blueberry Fruit Smoothie mix concentrate here. At just $11.00 per bottle, it yields 16 8 fl oz servings, or just less than 70 cents per serving.  Just add water and ice and blend!

Big Train also offers foodservice operators a simple to use pour-over-ice Superfruit smoothie mix here. This product has blueberries and pomegranate and also includes Acai. Just pour over ice and blend. Voila! For more information about Big Train’s foodservice real fruit smoothie products go here. Big Train also has one of the most generous Commercial Blender Programs in the industry.

So make your Pomegranate Blueberry smoothies in a snap with Big Train Real Fruit Smoothie mix products. Enjoy!

Big Train has a smoothie program designed to fit your customers!

Summer is right around the corner and that means high demand for cold, refreshing smoothies! Give your customers what they want during the warmer months with help from Big Train’s smoothie program. Choose from our wide variety of products, flavors and equipment to design the program that is right for your and save $10 on each case of smoothies!

 

• Fruit Tea Smoothie Blast - Big Train Fruit Smoothie Tea Blast is a perfect fusion of real fruit or juice, green tea and Vitamin C. Not only does this better-for-you-smoothie contain 150% of your daily Vitamin C allowance, its fat free, Kosher Certified, and Antioxidant rich – up to 100 mg of Antioxidants per 16 oz serving! Fruit Tea Smoothie Blast beverage mix is a delicious addition to any frozen drink recipe and can be used as a base mix. Blast your taste buds with your own smoothie creations or just add water and ice for a refreshing treat! Try all nine flavors!
  

• Pour Over Real Fruit Smoothies - Nothing feels like summer more than an icy, refreshing real fruit smoothie on a warm sunny day. The taste of sweet fruit in a blended drink is the perfect treat for your taste buds! Big Train has introduced 6 Top Selling Real Fruit pour-over ice Smoothie flavors that taste as delicious as they are simple to make. Simply fill a glass with the desired amount of ice, pour your favorite Real Fruit Smoothie mix over the top of the ice and pour all the contents into a blender and blend! The texture and consistency of the smoothie is perfect every time you blend up any one of these lip-smacking fruity treats! Since this is a pour over ice and blend product, no water is needed – Saving time and money! Six flavors to choose from!
  

• Vanilla Smoothie Powder Mix - Big Train Vanilla Smoothie Mix and No Sugar Added Vanilla Smoothie mixes are the perfect bases for creating your own smoothies. Add fresh fruit, juice or flavor syrups or use these smoothie mixes as an ideal substitute for ice cream or yogurt in smoothies. You can also add this smoothie mix to our Fruit Tea Smoothie for an even creamier smoothie. Made without Trans Fat, caffeine or hydrogenated oils, Vanilla Smoothie Mix and No Sugar Added Vanilla Smoothie Mix create endless possibilities for your best smoothie creations!
  

• Big Train Blender Program - Big Train offers the most generous blender program in the industry and now so can you! When your customers purchase either a selected Blendtec® or Vitamix® blender from Big Train, they will receive 3 cases of FREE product plus 2 FREE pitchers. The Big Train Blender Program makes it easy for you and your customers to break into the smoothie business at no cost to you!

Don’t Forget…Big Train offers free point of sale items for all of our customers!

Not an OnTrack Rewards™ Member? Save $5-$8 Off Each Case

Get $5 OFF EACH CASE of Fruit Tea Blast, or Vanilla or No Sugar Added Vanilla Smoothie mix when you mention promo code P13014.

Get $8 OFF EACH CASE of Real Fruit Smoothies when you mention promo code P13015! Mix your purchase!

Learn about OnTrack Rewards, so YOU can save more money.

PLACE YOUR ORDER TODAY!
Call your local distributor or (800) BIG-TRAIN (244-8724)

Promotional offer ends April 15, 2013. Offer valid for cases of Real Fruit Smoothies, Fruit Tea Blast, or Vanilla or No Sugar Added Vanilla Smoothie mix only. Offer void where prohibited and cannot be combined with any other offer.

If you love Irish Cream and blended ice drinks then you’ll love this Blended Irish Cream Smoothie Recipe. Big Train’s Vanilla Smoothie mix is a delicious versatile base mix. (No Sugar Added option available too). Big Train’s mixes generally just require water. But feel free to add milk or milk alternatives for that extra creamy taste. Don’t forget the Irish Cream Flavor Syrup, too. Enjoy!

Big Train Caramel Base Mix – A Sweeter Way to Build Your Menu!

Caramel was on the list in 2012 for the top flavor trends and traditionally Caramel based drinks are the #2 selling flavor – right behind Mocha. To help you create yummy caramel drinks and capitalize on these trends, Big Train is introducing Caramel Crème Blended Crème – the ultimate caramel base mix!

This sweet, buttery flavor of rich caramel can be made blended, iced, hot as-is, or used as a delicious base to help you build your menus! Baristas – add your own espresso to Caramel Crème to create amazing Caramel Lattes or serve coffee-free and delicious caramel frappes!

Caramel Crème Blended Crème

• Can be made blended, iced or hot
• Great as a base for many different beverages
• Rich, sweet caramel flavor
• Gluten-Free
• No Hydro Oils
• 5/3.5lb bags per case
• Kosher Certified

Some Recipe Ideas Using Caramel Crème Base Mix

How Sweet It Is Recipe Contest

(For foodservice operators only)

Big Train Caramel Crème Blended Crème is the perfect caramel base mix that allows you to serve a sweet and delicious drink. There are so many unique beverage possibilities when a barista begins with the creamy taste of caramel and we want to hear about them! Click Here and submit your best caramel drink recipe it in the “How Sweet It Is” Big Train recipe contest by February 28, 2013 and you could win! Five lucky winners will be chosen to receive 3 FREE cases of the product of their choice and their store will be featured in a Big Train blog post. One Grand Prize winner will receive a trip to 2013 Coffee Fest Chicago. See the Terms and Conditions.

In order to help our customers keep their healthy New Year’s resolutions and reach their fitness goals, we are promoting Fit Frappé as a healthy way to stay on track in 2013. We are encouraging consumers to “Define the New You in 2013” by going to our landing page and telling us how they plan to achieve their goals in the new year.

As part of this promotion Big Train is holding a contest for consumers. Go to BigTrain.com/DefineTheNewYou to view the video (or see the YouTube video below) then head over to the Define the New You Contest page and enter to win! Consumers can fill out their name, email and phone number to be entered into a drawing to win one of over 200 prizes:

• 100 Fit Frappe Tumblers
• 100 Fit Frappe protein drink shakers
• Grand Prize: 10 Asics Fitness Packages

Promotion begins January 7th and ends January 31, 2013. Winners will be selected at random and will be notified after the promotional period ends. For giveaway details and terms and conditions go here.

About this Project.

The idea behind the “Define the New You in 2013” video was to showcase friends, customers and some of southern California’s brightest in the social media and health/fitness communities, asking them how they will be reaching their goals in 2013. In total, there were about 30 participants and their responses primarily focused on health/fitness and life improvement. The photo shoot itself was a blast, taking place near the train station in San Juan Capistrano, with a fantastic brunch at nearby restaurant, Sarducci’s.

It was drizzling a little, but that didn’t stop our all-stars from showing up with their optimism and advice in tow. Some of us grabbed some Chai lattes at Hidden House Coffee who proudly serves Big Train drinks by the train station. The photographs were taken by Dana and Jeff from Sipper Photography. They were great to work with! The music on the video is from an up and coming independent artist Wildon Ash. Thanks so much for letting us use your inspiring song “Shine On”!

Check out some behind the scenes photos from that day:

Some of the Faces You’ll See

Define the New You in the New Year and Win

Don’t give up on those 2103 health and fitness goals. Share them with us and win! Some say that writing down your goals helps people realize them. To enter the giveaway, terms and conditions or for more information go to BigTrain.com/DefineTheNewYou today. Hurry! Contest ends on January 31st. Good luck. Now go make it happen.

As the name implies Fit Frappe can certainly be made blended with ice or shaken over ice. Alas it can be served hot too! Simply add your hot water (but not boiling hot) to your mug of choice and stir in your powdered Fit Frappe protein drink mix. (See packaging or website for mixing instructions). Coffee lovers will enjoy the espresso, vanilla latte and mocha flavors. And if you have a special coffee or espresso, try adding Fit Frappe vanilla or chocolate to craft your own custom hot protein enriched coffee drinks (this author adds Vanilla Fit Frappe to a hot cup of coffee as a new routine replacing popular dairy creamers that are high in sugar and fat).

We recently received an email from a CrossFit enthusiast who stated:

I love FitFrappe as it has solved the needs for my morning Crossfit workouts. Before, I’d wake up at 4am and have a protein drink and pre-workout caffeine supplement.  Now, just a nice hot cup of FitFrappe.”
Steve N. Rogers, AR

To make the ultimate skinny latte, get one of those milk frothers (small battery operated blenders). Once you pour in the mix, froth away and enjoy! See the video below for a demonstration:

So, does serving Fit Frappé hot impact protein effectiveness?

Proteins are chains of large molecules made up of amino acids in different sequences. Denaturation of protein through such methods like heat, acid, or physical agitation is breaking the bonds between the amino acids. It is the amino acids that provide the nutritional benefits. Breaking the bonds can actually be beneficial because the body can access/use the amino acids much quicker than having the stomach acids digest or denature the protein.

For example, after a workout, some consume protein to build back the lean muscle mass lost during the workout. Consuming proteins that have been denatured is beneficial because the body will use/absorb the amino acids quicker.

So you can have your hot cafe drinks and protein too. Learn more about Big Train’s Fit Frappe gourmet protein drink mix line. Have a question or comment regarding Big Train? Have a protein drink recipe you’d like to share? Email us at fitfrappe@bigtrain.com

With the holidays right around the corner, we understand the importance of keeping your pantry or warehouse stocked with all of the delicious drink mixes and/or baked good mixes that your consumers love. They’ll need a place to get away from all the hustle and bustle the holiday season brings, and you don’t want to leave them out in the cold without their favorite beverage because of a missed order deadline.

• We’re accepting orders!
• We’ll be closing at 12pm PST for our company Holiday Celebration.
• Orders placed by 10am PST will ship the same day.
• Orders placed after 10am PST will ship on Friday, 12/14.

• We’re accepting orders!
• All orders placed after 1pm PST will ship on Wednesday, 12/26.

• We’re accepting orders!
• No same-day shipping available.
• All orders placed will ship on Wednesday, 12/26.

• Closed for Christmas day.

• We’re accepting orders!

Online Ordering is a Click Away

This is very exciting for me because I wanted to share this new coffee protein drink I’m diggin. It is called Fit Frappé by Big Train. Have you heard of this? It’s basically the same powder you use to make your frappés but it has protein AND caffeine (bOinGk!). The taste is amazing for the large amount of protein (20 g for 16oz!) and if you include it in your green smoothie like I did, it fills you up better than a protein bar with 20g of protein (yucky!). AND it wakes you right up! I highly recommend it!

If you were hoping that Big Train would be offering extra savings for Cyber Monday, then boy do we have some great news for you!

Cyber Monday Chai & Frappe Sale | Big Train Drink Mixes up to 50% off

Ends Midnight, Cyber Monday 11/26.

Mystic Chai, 2 lb Can
50% OFF
Only $6.25 + shipping (No promo code needed)
(normally $12.50)

Curl up with a delightfully delicious cup of Big Train’s Mystic Spiced Chai and unwind from your busy day. Simply add hot water, mix and enjoy your Mystic Chai tea latte. Mystic Chai can also be served blended with ice and water. This product has a very similar taste profile to Big Train’s legendary Spiced Chai drink mixes.

Blended Crème Frappe Gift Packs
50% OFF
Only $9.95 + shipping (No promo code needed)
(normally $19.95)

For a limited time and while quantities last get these limited edition specialty beverage frappe mixes that come in beautiful cans. These make great gifts for foodies, moms, kids, and well anyone that loves decadent rich and creamy blended drinks. Hurry, these flavors are usually reserved for our foodservice customers only so get them while you can. We have two wonderful options:

Fit Frappé Spiced Chai Latte
FREE SHIPPING
Only $19.95 (No promo code needed)

Skinny chai nirvana! Check out the latest gourmet flavor extension of Big Train’s Fit Frappé® protein drink mix line: Spiced Chai Latte. With 21 grams of protein, 19 vitamins and minerals, just 2 grams of sugar and only 130 calories, Big Train’s Fit Frappé Spiced Chai Latte drink mix tastes as delicious as it is easy to make. Big Train’s chai products are legendary and this new skinny chai option does not disappoint. Enjoy Fit Frappe Spiced Chai beverages three ways: Hot, Iced or Blended.

If you’re interested in these deals, please make sure to order during the promotional period! Heck, go order right now before you forget (it would be such a shame if you missed out on this).