Ladies Who Launch

Fun, Healthy, Delicious Food – Can You Really Have it All?

by Sahar Aker, FatFighterTV.com blog - Fitness. Food. Fun.

Is there really such a thing as food that is fun, healthy, and delicious? So many people think grub that’s good for you automatically takes all the fun out of eating. After all, healthy food can’t possibly taste good, can it? Of course it can! 

I have been busy gathering some ideas for fun, healthy, delicious foods to share with you. If you have kids, these are recipes I think they’ll like too. And here’s another bonus – they are all easy to make:

•    Have you seen those “Flatout Mini” soft wraps? I love these! They are small-size wraps that are low in calories, convenient, and very versatile. Try this easy recipe – all you need are the wraps, cooking spray, Mrs. Dash, and Parmesan cheese. Cut each wrap into 16 wedges and place on a cookie sheet coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with a little Mrs. Dash and a bit of Parmesan. Bake at 350-degrees for about ten minutes or until lightly brown and crisp.

•    Fruit kabobs – This is a fun alternative to a plain old bowl of fruit. Just pick a few of your favorites – maybe apples, pineapple, bananas - and cut them into chunks. Slide the fruit onto a skewer. Next, roll the skewer in a plate of nonfat yogurt… then roll again in a plate of shredded coconut. Voila! A fun, healthy, delicious snack!

•    Sandwich kabobs - Cut whole-grain bread, low-fat cheese, and your favorite deli meat into cubes. Slide them onto skewers along with some veggies like grape tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, and olives. Dip into fat-free or low-fat Italian dressing.

•    For a quick mini-pizza, top an English muffin (go for the whole grain ones) with spaghetti sauce and a little shredded low-fat mozzarella. Broil until the cheese melts.

•    Pop a frozen waffle or pancake into the toaster and top it with warm applesauce and cinnamon. Too easy, huh?

•    Freeze some grapes, bananas, cherries, or maybe peaches and blend with yogurt for a fruit smoothie.

•    Yogurt pops – fill paper cups with your favorite non-fat or low-fat yogurt and put a popsicle stick in each cup. Freeze and enjoy!

•    Creamy Coolwich (from Nabisco World) - put 2 tablespoons of sugar free Cool Whip in between graham cracker squares. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze for three hours or until firm. Yum!

•    Blueberry Cracker Bites (from Kraft Foods) – spread 1 teaspoon light cream cheese on a reduced-fat Ritz cracker and top with 5 frozen blueberries. Too fun!

So, you see – healthy foods can be fun and delicious. Check out more recipes here.

Now, I am a firm believer that the key to a successful, healthy lifestyle is to choose fun good-for-you foods and exercises when you can.  It’s a tough enough fight out there whether you’re trying to lose or maintain weight. But enjoying the journey is half the battle.

10 Tips for a Sane and Stylish Holiday Season

10 Tips for a Sane and Stylish Holiday Season

by Marianne Merritt Talbot, Modern Venus Ltd., Lifestyle Coaching that Empowers Women to Live Bigger

It’s mid-November . . . time for the full slide into the Thanksgiving and December holidays! The holiday season challenges us both professionally and personally.  On the personal front, it tends to be the busiest social season of the year.  On the professional side, now is time to really hunker down at your desk in order to meet end-of-year billable hour requirements, and prepare for lurking year-end reviews (why do they have to do them before the holidays, anyway?), raises, promotions, etc.   Is it possible for anyone to not feel occasionally overwhelmed and cranky?

Following are a few tips I share with my clients on how to handle the holidays with sanity and style.  The trick to successfully and enjoyably maneuvering through holiday madness largely boils down to eliminating doing anything you absolutely don’t have to do, avoiding big projects, giving back to others, and adding a little sparkle to your everyday routine.

1. Start a “Holiday Master File.”  In it, place the lists of people you intend to buy presents for, gift ideas ripped from catalogues and magazines, holiday invitations, recipes for your own holiday soirees, receipts, etc.  Keeping one centralized file can keep paperwork in check and will make you feel more organized.

2. Sparkle—go buy yourself some sequined items (sweaters, scarves, etc.) and wear them every day.  Yes, even to the office (to make them office-appropriate, layer a blazer over a sequined sweater or a scarf over a suit).  Yes, wear them even to the grocery store or doing chores (doesn’t that seem so decadent?).   I often have my clients buy sequined items and I suggest they wear them on days they feel particularly non-sparkly.  Notice how this makes you feel better.

3. Start buying presents now.  The lines at stores are not yet too long and your energy level is not yet stretched to its limit.  Make lists of whom you have to buy for, and budget what you want to spend.  Starting the process now will save you stress when December hits and you have even less time to think about these details.  And buy in bulk.  For example, pick up several bottles of your favorite olive oil or champagne and keep a bunch with ribbons and labels at easy reach, so you are never caught off-guard without a present!

4. Philanthropy, Part I:  When you are feeling particularly cranky or tired, do an Act of Anonymous Good.   Leave some chocolates on the desk for a coworker who is having a hard time this season, buy some food and self-care products (face and body wipes, toothpaste/toothbrush, etc.) for a homeless woman in your neighborhood, buy 5 dozen roses at your local bodega and drop them off at a nursing home to be distributed among the residents.   Notice how this lofts you and really connects you to what the holidays are all about.

5.  Create an “Elegance is Refusal List” (described in September's Modern Venus newsletter), where you put on it anything that drains your energy around the holidays.  It can be decorating your home, baking holiday cookies, writing out endless cards, feeling obligated to go to every holiday party and to throw your annual bash, etc.  Write it all down and then start eliminating what you can.  Perhaps you’d rather send out Valentine’s Day cards (like Julia Child did with her husband); perhaps you want to do an “undress the tree” party in January versus having a pre-holiday Christmas gathering; deciding to forgo baking cookies; choosing just to go to parties you know your favorite people will be attending.  Be creative but at least eliminate what you can.

6. Straighten up.  Nothing frazzles you like clutter all over your house or office, does it?   Now may not be the time to renovate your closets, go through all your papers that are cluttering your desk, etc.  A little trick:  Go to the Container Store or other shop and buy some multi-use storage containers.  Put everything that is cluttering your house (yes, everything that is sitting on your desk, shelves, etc. that doesn’t yet have a home) into those boxes, close the lids, and either stick ‘em in closets or cover them with pretty cloths, candles and holiday cards (perhaps fashioning it into a holiday shrine!).   Come the cold days of January you can open the boxes and then embark on finding them proper places.  Right now, just get it out of your eyesight!

7. Go to bed.  Specifically, retire one hour early on all those evenings you can.  Cozy up during this extra time with a good book and cup of tea.  Or just go to sleep.  Now that the clocks have been set back, our bodies are trying to adjust to this shift.   It becomes harder to get out of bed when the sun isn’t even up yet and to leave the office when the sun already set.  Be gentle with your body and nurture her through not only the change in time and season, but also the physical and emotional energy it takes to get us from today through New Year’s!

8. Go for a walk.   Eating and drinking too much food and/or wine can make us feel (and sometimes look) like Jabba the Hut.  Go for a brisk walk at least once a day to keep everything circulating properly.

9. Schedule your beauty appointments now.   Salons during the holidays book up fast.  Pull out your calendar and book all your pampering and maintenance appointments in advance.

10. Philanthropy, Part II: plan your charitable giving and volunteering. ‘Tis the season to give back to others who have less than you, and I guarantee you will be elevated by this experience more than you can imagine.   Check out local churches or food kitchens for what you can do to serve them, budget what you can give to your favorite causes (they count on you in particular during the holidays!), or even volunteer to help out friends or family, like volunteering to baby-sit for a girlfriend who has 3 kids and could really use a date with her husband because she’s going crazy, too.

New Retirement Plan Available for Solo Practitioners

From OSI Business Services:

If your business is essentially a one-person operation, there's a relatively new option to help you save more money for retirement: The Solo 401(k) plan.

Ordinarily, traditional defined contribution retirement plans allow annual contributions of either 25 percent of salary if you're employed by your own S or C corporation or 20 percent

of self-employment income if you operate as a sole proprietor or single member LLC. But traditional profit sharing plans, Keoghs or SEP plans are subject to a $45,000 cap for 2007 (up from $44,000 in 2006).

Not bad, but with a Solo 401(k) plan, you can probably make substantially larger contributions that lower your tax bill and generate more tax-deferred earnings for retirement.

A Solo 401(k) is made up of two separate parts. Together, the two parts make the plan advantageous:

1. Elective deferral contribution - In 2007, as much as 100 percent of the first $15,500 of your salary or self-employment income can be put into an account (up from $15,000 in 2006). That amount increases to $20,000 if you are 50-years-old or older at year end. 

2. Additional employer contribution - Your employer (your company or you personally) can contribute an additional 25 percent of your salary or 20 percent of your self-employment income.

The sum of the two parts is capped at 100 percent of your annual employee compensation or self-employment income, or $45,000 in 2007 ($44,000 in 2006) whichever is smaller. (However, the cap is higher for people age 50 or older). A Solo 401(k) doesn't force you to contribute more than you can comfortably afford:

Contribution Cap Here is the annual dollar limit on combined elective deferral and employer contributions:   For 2007, the cap is $45,000 or $50,000 if you are age 50 or older (up from $44,000 and $49,000 for 2006, respectively).

The plan lets you rack up major tax savings in good years, by making maximum contributions, but gives you the option of contributing less - or even nothing - in lean years when you need to conserve cash.

Plus, you generally get the benefits of traditional 401(k) plans, such as the ability to borrow from your account.

Establishing and operating any 401(k) plan means some up-front paperwork and ongoing administrative effort. With a solo 401(k), however, the administrative work is simplified since you are the only participant.

There are a couple of caveats:

If you earn a very high income and are younger than 50, the Solo 401(k) may not permit larger contributions than a traditional plan because of the annual $45,000 cap in 2007 ($44,000 in 2006). In general, you should only set one up if it allows significantly larger contributions because a Solo 401(k) costs more to operate.

If you have employees (other than your spouse), you may also have to contribute to their accounts. In this case, you have a regular 401(k) plan that is subject to a bunch of complex rules.

Ask your tax adviser to sort out the complexities of various retirement plans and determine whether a solo 401(k) is right for you.

How to Unleash your Inner Sexpot

Would you like to unleash your inner Sexpot?
Pole dancing is the latest trend in workouts it is true. It is Audacious. It is bold.

And fun.

It makes me feel juicy, bodacious and empowered. It trims my waistline and causes me to think differently about who I am being in the world. All that from 2 hours in a very intense and pleasurable workout?

Yes.

So consider this.
If all matter is energy and the Law of Attraction says that like
energy attracts like energy, then imagine the kind of gorgeous
energy you can create by giving the pole a whirl?

There is much to be said for my pole dancing classes and I have
noticed a change in how I approach everything in my life.

As Sheila Kelly, the founder of SFactor has said, "Soak in the
pure, unadulterated flow of your life. Breathe it in and exhale
everything in your mind until your entire being is just bliss. Let
your body float with soft, languid moves that are simply organic to
your being. When you step outside into your day you will notice
something has shifted."

I think I am (finally!) becoming the exquisite creature I was meant to be.
When you uncover your inner sexpot you also uncover your creative
center, which helps you to think of great new ideas for your
business and gives you the lift-off to actually complete what you
start!

Imagine that?

One of my coaches, Andrea J. Lee of Vancouver, British Columbia often speaks about doing activities that open you to your most sensual and creative self. For me it comes from movement and there is nothing like gathering the courage to dance with a pole...and do it gracefully. And also not be afraid to flop on the floor and try again.

If you are looking for a way to shape up your body, mind and spirit
then the Sfactor may just be the thing for you. They have intro
classes and studios are opening all over the place.

Even Oprah loves it.
You will too.
It's Pure Audacious power.

Go on check it out. You know you want to.

http://www.sfactor.com

Nancy Mindes, Chief Audaciousness Officer
Audacious Ladies Coaching Company
http://www.NancyMindes.com

Links You Can Use

A community for divorced women: First Wives World

A network of blog/websites for fashion lovers: Glam.com

A magazine with  so many contests that you can win cool stuff: Quick and Simple

The Spacialist's Crash Course in Kicking Kitchen Chaos

Ladies Who Launcher Erica Ecker of  The Spacialist, offers  tips on organizing everything in your life. Sign up for The Spacialist’s weekly tips, "Space Treats", delivered fresh every Friday morning into your e-mail box.

Crash course in kicking kitchen chaos.

Strap on your apron and grab your water bottle – we’re going to whip your kitchen into shape!
This organizing adventure has 5 different components:
• Food
• Cooking
• Serving
• Storing Food
• Clean Up

Let’s get started with your food.  It lives in the fridge, freezer, and the pantry. The first step is to remove, compost and recycle any expired foods.  This chart published by the government and this chart about pantry foods will help you determine your food’s edibility.

Fridge Food:
• Dilemma:  You don’t have adequate storage on the door for condiments.
• Remedy:  Use a low rectangular bin to unify jams and jellies.  Use another one to unify mustards, relishes, ketchups and chutneys.  Of course slap a label on to identify the categories.

• Dilemma:  You never know where to look for the yogurt, tofu, cottage cheese or cooked carrots. 
• Remedy:  Use each fridge shelf for a different category of food.   For example, use the top shelf for all leftovers.  Use the middle shelf for all bread and dairy products. Use the bottom shelf for all meat, poultry and fish products. Label accordingly so you never have to hear you spouse say, “Honey, where’s the butter?”

Salad for Working from Home

By, FashionMista

Life here at Katie James took a pleasant but unexpected turn for busy! Now that Katie James has expanded to include website design, I can't let a little P&J fuel my brain for dealing with site designs and other issues. Food is very important to me, so thank goodness my office is one step away from my kitchen. For easy digestion that won't knock me out like pasta, and is tasty with vegitables, I've entered the world of salads. I've always stayed away from this world, not wanting to invest the time to make a salad, but it's not bad! Here is my first salad recipe so far:

The Working Girl Salad Recipe with Tuna Ginger Salad

Note: helpful to fix salad while listening to The Little Willies.
This salad will be mainly fresh tasting vegetables and a scoop and a half of tuna salad.

Prep time: 7 minutes (if you've prepared the tuna salad already)

1 cucumber
1 small squash
1 small root of ginger
1 New Jersey vine tomato
1 avocado
1 lemon
1 bunch of cilantro
generous amount of Kraft parmesan
2 cans Bumblebee Tuna (or if you do organic or brand of choice)
1/2 tablespoon butter
2 spoonfuls mayonnaise
lettuce that is purple on top
lettuce that is very green and leafy
15 spinach leaves (for folic acid)
Balentino sea salt (don't fear the salt)
Ziploc bags

Prepare the tuna salad in advance (click here for Katie James tuna ginger salad recipe). You can keep scooping from it.

In a small pan on medium heat (high heat if you have an electric stove), spread melted butter over the surface. Slice about 9 slices of the squash, and spread evenly in the pan. While it is cooking, put the amount of lettuce onto your plate that you want, and rip into bite-sized pieces. Slice about 5 thin slices of cucumber and put onto the salad. Cut the tomato in half and put one half in a Ziploc bag. Slice the other half into thin slices and place next to pile of cucumbers. Halve the avocado by cutting into it lengthwise and cutting around the pit. Twist the avocado apart and put the half that has the pit in it into a ziploc bag and into the fridge. Salt the other half of the avocado and lightly cut into 8ths. Run the knife under the avocado (but above the skin) close to the skin to scoop out the slices you just created, and lightly squeeze them onto the lettuce.

Oops, don't forget about those squashes. Turn the squashes with a fork and knife, and let the other side absorb the butter. Let sit for about 2 minutes, and then sprinkle with Kraft parmesan to taste. The parmesan should absorb the butter and start to look golden. That is when you know they are done.

Scoop the tuna salad into the center of the lettuce. Scoop the amount of tuna salad that you feel like eating. The squash should be done, so turn off the stove, take the pan and spread the parmasan squash over the salad. This puts the salad over the top!

You need dressing. Squeeze a thick slice of lemon over the entire salad. Voila! Make sure to get a bite of tuna with every bite!

Relief is just a thought away

Dear Audacious Ladies who Launch

Consider this.
Your thoughts and fears are like outdated computer programs that jam up the works
and cause your machine to crash.

But you can always upgrade by getting into action.
Affirmations are a great way to do it.

Try this:
Before you jump out of bed and race off to start your day
take 5 minutes to just close your eyes again and breathe.

First take a moment to say "thank you" for having this wonderful day stretched out before you.
(even if you have a crazy one coming at you, be grateful anyway the universe will notice)
then
Take long slow deep breaths and notice your thoughts;
Avoid making lists or plans just follow the breath and watch your thoughts roll by and let them go.
They will keep coming, keep allowing them to come and go like waves on the shore.

Notice what comes up for you.
What would you like to create for the day?

Now to create a new program to replace your outdated software, create an affirmation that  you can repeat
throughout the day.

Affirmations enable us to let go of negative programming and make space for that which propels you forward.
Here's one to get you started from Louise Hay, from her bestseller, You Can Heal Your Life.

For self criticizing: "I am willing to release the need to be unworthy. I  am worthy of the very best in life, and I now lovingly allow myself to accept it."
Keep it with you.
Post it somewhere and everywhere.
Say it often. SAY IT LOUD.
Step into your Audacious Intention with GUSTO.

A BIG audacious hug to you,
Nancy

Nancy Mindes, coach
Chief Audaciousness Officer
Audacious Ladies get your Success In Style.
How audacious do you want to be?
516.705.8823

Go here to join my Audacious E-Zine http://www.NancyMindes.com

"Boldness has genius, power and magic in it." `Goethe

Travels With A Perfumer: Isabelle Aurel

Travels with a Perfumer
Originally uploaded by Ladies Who Launch.

Isabelle Aurel is a natural perfumer who creates couture perfumes for her company Desire in Sunlight and for private clients. She is a member of the Seattle Incubator.

Have you ever wanted to capture the scent of a place and take it with you to enjoy later?  Fragrant spaces draw me to them with a magnetic attraction. When I worked as a photographer, the visual element resounded with light, colour and shape.  Yet I felt that the image always remained somehow aloof without the sensorial dimension of scent.  Fragrance is key to bringing that incoherent joy to life; it’s like touching with the spirit.

The sense of smell is fabulous the way it can instantly transport you to a
certain time and place.  Every time I pick up and sniff a bottle of Cote
Bastide Figuier room spray I am standing outside a sleepy boutique in
Provence photographing ripe figs, melons, and olives in a stone courtyard,
it’s the summer of 1998, a memory of unforgettable, ravishing beauty.

I remember dark pink sandy beaches just north of Big Sur on the California
coast where the alluring scent of rugged chapparal, mossy pines, and softly
decaying windswept wood mix with ocean spray that holds the barest hint of
seaweed.  Inland hiking gives sumptuous vistas and the gorgeous smell of
blue amethyst coloured lupines basking in the heat along with bright poppies
and soft gray-green leafy plants that when brushed give off a strong odor of
turpentine.  As one’s breathing deepens to move briskly upwards the
fragrance of the air ripens appreciatively.

New Venture - LetsMeetOut.com

I'd like to introduce my new venture LetsMeetOut.com, a new web site based on groups of friends meeting other groups of friends.  The idea came about because that's how my husband and I met, I was out with a group of my friends and he was out with a group of is friends.  It was such a casual and natural way to meet – no expectations for anybody and a lot easier to get to know each other since it was a group setting.  After our groups got together a few more times, the interest between Ed and I sparked and as they say, the rest is history.  I realized that this is the new wave of “social networking,” actually meeting in person.

LetsMeetOut.com isn't focused on dating; it's about having fun and expanding your social network – in real life.  We want to give New Yorkers an alternative to making virtual friends through online social networking site and awkward one-on-one meetings from blind or online dating.

As an added bonus to our members, we've partnered with bars around NYC where members receive their 2nd round of drinks on the house when they make plans to be at one of the bars through the web site.

The site just launched, so right now you can sign up at LetsMeetOut.com and become a member for free!  Please tell me your stories of meeting out...friendships, employees or even romantic relationships.