By Chef Debby

One of my favorite holiday cookies, these bars have a tangy cranberry filling that keeps the ultra-rich crust and streusel topping in check.Yields about thirty-five 1-3/4-inch-square bars.

For the crust and streusel:

10-1/2 oz. (1 cup plus 5 Tbs.) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to just warm

1 cup granulated sugar

3/4 tsp. table salt

2 large egg yolks

14-1/4 oz. (3 cups plus 3 Tbs.) unbleached all-purpose flour

Tip: For the best results, measure your flour by weight instead of volume. (1 cup of all-purpose flour equals 4-1/2 oz.) If you don’t have a scale, be sure to use the proper technique when filling your measuring cups.

For the cranberry topping:

12-oz. bag fresh or frozen cranberries, picked over, rinsed, and drained

1 cup granulated sugar

Make the crust:

Line a straight-sided 13x9-inch metal baking pan with foil, letting the ends create an overhanging edge for easy removal. In a medium bowl, stir together the butter, 3/4 cup of the sugar, and the salt. Whisk in the egg yolks. Stir in the flour to make a stiff dough. Transfer about 2 cups of the dough to the prepared pan, and press the mixture evenly into the bottom. Prick the dough all over with a fork. Refrigerate the pan for 30 minutes (or freeze for 5 to 7 minutes), until the dough is firm.

Meanwhile, position a rack near the center of the oven and another near the top. Heat the oven to 325°F.

Bake the dough until the crust begins to set but does not brown at all on the edges (the center will not be firm yet), about 20 minutes. While the crust bakes, prepare the streusel and the topping.

Make the streusel:

With your fingers, combine the remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar with the reserved dough until crumbly. The mixture should hold together when pressed, but readily break into smaller pieces.

Make the cranberry topping:

In a medium saucepan, bring the cranberries, sugar, and 1/4 cup water to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium high and continue to boil until the liquid is reduced to a thick syrup, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let the mixture cool 5 to 10 minutes—the syrup will continue to thicken as the mixture cools.

Spread the cranberry mixture evenly over the hot crust. Scatter the streusel over the cranberries (don’t crumble the streusel too much or the texture will be sandy). Increase the oven temperature to 350°F and bake the bars near the top of the oven until the streusel is golden and set, about 25 minutes. (Baking these bars at the top of the oven helps the streusel brown faster without overbrowning the crust.)

Place the pan on a metal rack to cool until the crust is completely firm, at least 1 hour. (For faster cooling, put the bars in the fridge once the pan is no longer piping hot, or even outside in winter.)

When the bottom of the pan is cool, carefully lift the bars from the pan using the foil sides and transfer them to a cutting board. Separate the foil from the bars by sliding a spatula between them. Cut the bars into 1-3/4-inch squares.

Make Ahead Tips

The bars will keep at room temperature for one week.

nutrition information (per serving):

Size: per bar; Calories (kcal): 150; Fat (g): 7; Fat Calories (kcal): 60; Saturated Fat (g): 4.5; Protein (g): 1; Monounsaturated Fat (g): 2; Carbohydrates (g): 21; Polyunsaturated Fat (g): 0; Sodium (mg): 50; Cholesterol (mg): 30; Fiber (g): 1;

Debby Poe

Personal Chef

805-908-1845

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www.chefdebby.com

Originally published in Medical News Today.

Pilates and yoga, often referred to as "mind-body" activities, show promising benefits which include increased flexibility, improved quality of life, relief of the symptoms of menopause, and some reduction of lower back pain. The findings came from two studies presented today at the 52nd American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) annual Meeting in Nashville, Tenn.

One study looked at the effects of yoga on quality of life and flexibility in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women. Researchers at Richard Stockton College of New Jersey in Pomona studied six women, ages 44 to 62, who participated in a one-hour-long yoga class twice a week for eight weeks. Participants were also given a home exercise program, and instructed to practice on the days when they were not in class. The yoga program used in the study was lyengar, which focuses on a specific sequence of poses that address menstrual disorders, menopause and pregnancy.

"Five of the six women who participated in the yoga program had an increase in low back flexibility, and five out of six had reduced menopause symptoms," said M. Alysia Mastrangelo, Ph.D., PT, lead author of the study. "Those who experienced menopause relief had a decrease in hot flashes and night sweats."

Mastrangelo points out that a benefit of increased flexibility is that this often helps reduce lower back pain. In addition, more flexibility can one to more easily perform activities of daily living such as housekeeping, gardening and shopping.

The study that looked at benefits of Pilates-based mat exercises involved 22 people over a 12-week period. All participants had experienced some lower back pain. Fifteen participated in an hour-long Pilates-based mat exercise program, while the other seven continued their normal daily activities but did not participate in Pilates. At the end of the study, both groups had a decrease in lower back pain, but those who participated in the Pilates program had a greater reduction in pain.

"We also saw that the lower back pain was significantly decreased in certain areas of the lower spine," said lead researcher, Susan Graves, Ed.D. "The study really raised a number of questions, and we would like to study Pilates exercise further, with larger groups, and be able to look at how different age groups do with this type of exercise as a method to control back pain. We know that many exercises are effective in helping reduce lower back pain, when done in a controlled setting. Clearly we need to understand more about why, and if there are particular techniques that provide greater benefits."

ACSM's 52nd Annual Meeting is going on now at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center. For more information on the event, or to speak with ACSM Communications and Public Information staff, please call (615) 458-0996.

The American College of Sports Medicine is the largest sports medicine and exercise science organization in the world. More than 20,000 international, national, and regional members are dedicated to promoting and integrating scientific research, education, and practical applications of sports medicine and exercise science to maintain and enhance physical performance, fitness, health, and quality of life.

Looking to get in shape?  If you are in Camarillo, visit Leslie Brangham's studio, Just Breathe Pilates, in Westlake Village, visit Karen Harrold's Skin and Wellness Center in the Watercourt, for a dance workout visit Esta McIntyre's My Health Studio,  Oakpark, visit Anne Brohms Timefighter Fitness and in the San Fernando Valley, contact, Michele the Trainer

By Tom Martin
Originally Published on Social Media Examiner October 8, 2010

Is your social media program fully integrated with your traditional marketing program, or are you just bolting on “Follow me on Twitter/Facebook” to your ads and fooling yourself?

The Integration Question

If you’re running a truly integrated program, congrats. You’re among the elite. Like the Marines, you’re part of the few, the proud, the enlightened.

But for everyone else, the question that constantly floats around boardrooms, ballrooms and conference panels is “How do I integrate all of this new social media with my traditional advertising and public relations campaigns?” Yes, social media is growing up, and in 2010, marketers don’t just want to know how to use Twitter and Facebook, marketers want to know how to integrate Twitter and Facebook into their advertising, direct marketing and public relations campaigns.

I think the problem is that most people are asking the wrong question. When you ask someone to tell you how to do something, you’re asking for a process that you can replicate. But that is just one process. Sure, it worked for them (and maybe you) this time, but is it truly replicable? Will it work tomorrow or the day after that?

Consumers are a lot like bacteria. Just as bacteria can evolve and eventually grow resistant to antibiotics, so too can consumers grow resistant to current forms of marketing, including social media marketing.

So instead of asking how to integrate all of it, maybe a better question would be to ask “how to think” about integrating social media, digital media, old media and the blending of all of it. We need to be asking for a framework, not a solution.

If someone gives you a framework for thinking, they’ve empowered you to think for yourself. If they give you a process to replicate, well, they’ve just made you reliant on them to give you a new process when the old one finally fails to be effective (because those pesky consumers, like bacteria, will grow immune).

A Social Media Framework

So what does a framework for looking at the integration of social media and traditional media look like? Let’s start with the base.

The Achilles heel of advertising is truth. A 2007 Nielsen Report showed only 55% of Americans trust advertising.

That same report found that overall, consumers trust other consumers above all else. 78% of respondents said they trusted – either completely or somewhat – the recommendation of other consumers. This is social media’s strength.

However, social media’s Achilles heel is scale. Because exposure comes one person at a time, except for the rare meme, it can take weeks, months, even years to scale an effective social media program.

Thus, a good starting point for a framework for considering how you should integrate social media with traditional media might be to think in terms of yin and yang. Social media and advertising are not mutually exclusive. In fact, it’s probably best if all marketers move away from replacement thinking, and focus instead on complementary thinking.

Under the complementary model, we look for ways that social media can leverage advertising and vice versa in order create a more impactful and effective integrated campaign. Let advertising offset social media’s scale issue and allow social media to bring believability back to an advertising campaign.

Pepsi Refresh Project home page.

A number of marketers are already experimenting with this approach. From announcements like Pepsi’s decision to forgo Super Bowl commercials in favor of its Refresh Project to smaller efforts like Tabasco’s decision to support a social media experiment to try to change the Mardi Gras brand from crazy/tawdry to more family-friendly. These marketers are using advertising or public relations efforts to drive consumers to online destinations where conversations are built to deliver long-term brand results.

Advertising Age breaks the news of Tabasco’s unique Mardi Gras partnership.

The Social Media/Advertising Integrated Planning Framework

I noted earlier that we need a framework for planning truly integrated campaigns. Over the years, I’ve developed a simple 6-question integrated marketing development framework that helps me get started. Today, I’m sharing it with you as a starting point for the development of your planning framework.

#1: What is the goal?

You’d think this is an obvious one… but you’d be surprised how often people skip this step. Another tip: start with the business goal, not the communications goal.

#2: Who is the audience?

Give yourself some depth here. Go beyond demographics and ask yourself what do they look like, sound like and whom do they hang out with when they’re using your product?

#3: Where is the audience?

This an obvious question, especially when you consider social networking platforms. But go beyond the obvious to the not-so-obvious, as in where they are in their lives. It will add a lot of depth to your analysis.

#4: How can I connect with my audience?

Don’t just define this in terms of channels. Ask yourself – from a creative, offer or conversation perspective – how can you best connect with your audience?

#5: How do I extend the conversation?

This is where that yin and yang thing really comes into play. Once you’ve made that initial contact and gained permission to have an ongoing conversation, what do you plan to do next?

#6: How can I get my audience to introduce me to others?

When was the last time you saw this section in a marketing plan overview? Don’t let that be a reason to leave it out of your plan. If you’re going to do something truly integrated, you have to think beyond the conversation to the recommendation. Recommendation is where the real money lies, so think about how you can get your customer to give you one.

The Value of Integrated Thinking

Which do you think would be more effective today – simply pushing the same message in all channels or customizing the role of each channel (and the message) to fully leverage the power and limit the weakness of each channel? And if the answer is obvious to you, why do you think more companies and brands aren’t doing it?

Originally published on Squidoo.comby Launch Marketing

Five Key Components

Successful marketing starts with a successful marketing plan. By developing and following a marketing plan that integrates all of a company's marketing efforts, many companies increase revenue by 15-20% compared to when they execute marketing campaigns in a more ad hoc fashion.

An integrated marketing plan outlines the marketing activities that will deliver the greatest impact on the target audience and produce the maximum return on the marketing investment. An integrated plan blends research, marketing and communication strategies together to ensure that every aspect of marketing your business is executed in a cohesive fashion. This article outlines five key components to defining and driving a successful integrated marketing plan.

Contents at a Glance

1. 1. Define Your Destination.
2. 2. Analyze the Map.
3. 3. Chart the Course.

1. 4. Drive Your Message.
2. 5. Track Your Mileage.
3. Pave the Road, Then Drive.

Contents at a Glance

1. 1. Define Your Destination.
2. 2. Analyze the Map.
3. 3. Chart the Course.
4. 4. Drive Your Message.

1. 5. Track Your Mileage.
2. Pave the Road, Then Drive.
3. The latest from Google about this
4. Reader Feedback

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1. Define Your Destination.  

You must first identify where you want to go before you can strategize on how to get there.

All good plans need a clear vision. Take the time to focus on both long-term and short term goals. Identify key business drivers and defining elements to your company's success. Think about ways that your marketing efforts can aid critical corporate growth. Think big picture.

2. Analyze the Map.  

Know your target and know how to get there.

Marketing is about getting as close to the target audience as possible, truly understanding their needs and providing a product or service that meets those needs. A successful marketing plan is based on knowing how to reach and communicate with your target. Arm yourself with knowledge. Think about tactics you have used in the past, what worked and what didn't. Brainstorm new and innovative ways to reach your destination. The world of marketing is constantly evolving. Stay on top of trends. Take advantage of available resources, reach out to experts. Understand your target and identify ways that you can reach out to them. Make sure that you are headed in the right direction.

3. Chart the Course.  

What is the best path to get from point A to point B?

Now that you have set your goals and know your target, it is time to get started on your integrated marketing plan. When building your plan, you will first need to determine the vehicle(s) used to deliver the product or service to customers including direct sales, online sales or selling through a sales channel. Next, you will need to identify and select the methods used for getting the word out about the products or services, such as advertising, PR, online marketing, telemarketing, direct mail, events and more. The key to building an integrated plan is finding the right mix of marketing activities to most efficiently reach your target and deliver your message.

4. Drive Your Message. 

Drive until you have successfully reached your target.

Each marketing campaign should be highly distinguishable and should be implemented similarly across all mediums alike. It is key that your campaign resonates with your target, and there is no better way to aid this than to have a consistent message and brand. This is important because if a prospective customer receives the same message and visual clues in multiple places, they are much more likely to comprehend and retain the marketing message. This practice is critical to building brand awareness and ensuring that your product or service remains top of mind with your target.

5. Track Your Mileage. 

Are we there yet?

Once executed, continually tracking and measuring the success of campaigns within an integrated marketing plan is a critical step that will help to plan future programs with more accuracy. The more quantifiable the objectives are in the beginning, the more tangible the results.

It is very important to keep the momentum of the marketing plan going by:

- Continually monitoring your plan so you can make needed adjustments

- Gathering data along the way to help predict the performance success

- Revisiting your objectives and strategy at the end to determine what went well, what you would do differently next time, etc.

Pave the Road, Then Drive. 

Generating an integrated marketing plan is a key driver for successful marketing. To ensure that you get the most return on your marketing dollars, you must be prepared to do your homework first. With careful planning and evaluation, companies can maximize the effectiveness of their marketing programs.

Don't jump into ad hoc marketing activities that have not been mapped back to your big picture corporate goals. Map out your destination, pave the road and then drive your marketing success.

In a move that could bring millions of local and small business advertisers to the social network, Facebook launched a deal service for Places today. The service lets merchants push deals to their existing customers and attract new ones, according to Tim Kendall, Facebook’s director of monetization.

When users open up Facebook Places, they will see a listing of nearby venues, some which will have special icons indicating deals. They can pull up the deal, and with two clicks, they can claim it. When they go to the store or restaurant later, they can show the staff their Facebook app to redeem the deal.

The most interesting part of the product is that Facebook isn’t taking a cut of revenue for these discounts, posing a challenge to smaller competitors that use deal revenue as part of their business model. On a business’ Places page, they can set up an offer. There are four kinds:

• Individual deals, which reward a customer if they check-in once.
• Loyalty deals, which reward customers for a certain number of purchases or check-ins.
• Friend deals, which reward customers if they bring in extra friends.
• Charity deals, which allow businesses to donate to charity for every check-in they attract.

Facebook attracted more than 20 initial partners to launches the deal service. Gap is one of the first; the clothing company is giving away pairs of blue jeans to the first 10,000 customers who check-in.

Another partner is North Face, which will give $1 to support National Parks for every customer who checks-in. The Palms Hotel will be giving away a free third hotel night for people who stay two nights. The Golden State Warriors basketball team will let fans who check-in during November go to an exclusive event after the game with a player.

Facebook is opening up deals to 20,000 businesses initially and then will make it available to everyone over the next few months. The new deals service puts Facebook in even further competition with predecessors like Foursquare and Gowalla, which have offered similar coupons for months.

It also makes Facebook a potential rival to another big social deals company, Groupon, which is backed by the same venture investor Accel. Groupon offers a select number of deals a day in specific cities and it is reportedly working on a self-serve model, which will let store owners create their own deals.

Founder Mark Zuckerberg said Places deals are free now, which could undercut Groupon. But he said the company could consider making money from it in the future if it’s in the interest of the user community.

#1: Buy local to support yourself

Studies show that when you buy from a locally owned business, rather than a nationally owned business, significantly more of your money is recycled into the community throug purchases from other local businesses, service providers and farms strengthening the economic base of the community.

#2: Keep our community unique

Local businesses showcase the unique personality of our community. One-of-a-kind businesses are an integral part of the distinctive character of our town.

#3: Be friendly to our environment

Locally owned businesses cut down on the impact of transporting goods.  Shopping locally helps the environment as well as your pocketbook.

#4: Local businesses create more jobs

Small local businesses are the largest employer nationally.  Small businesses will be the engine to turn our economy around.

#5: Get better service

Local businesses are often more motivated to keep you coming back.  Employers often have a closer connection with their employees, than a corporate HR department.  These “team players” are interested in ensuring your experience is a good one.

#6: Put your taxes to good use

Small businesses require relatively little infrastructure investment and make more efficient use of public services, compared to nationally owned stores. 

#7: Invest in the community

Local businesses are owned by people who live in this community, who are more invested in the community’s future.

#8: Support community groups

Non-profit organizations receive an average 250% more support from smaller business owners than they do from large businesses.

#9: Competition leads to more choices

A marketplace of tens of thousands of small businesses is the best way to ensure innovation and low prices over the long-term. A multitude of small businesses, each selecting products based not on a national sales plan but on their own interests and the needs of their local customers, guarantees a much broader range of product choices.

#10: Encourage future investment

A growing body of economic research shows that in an increasingly homogenized world, entrepreneurs and skilled workers are more likely to invest and settle in communities that preserve their one-of-a-kind businesses and distinctive character.

Why Locally Owned?

Locally owned businesses help the local economy. Chain stores don’t. A study done in Chicago found:

• For every $100 in consumer spending with a local firm, $68 remained in the Chicago economy vs. $43 for spending at a chain store.
• For every square foot occupied by a local firm, local economic impact was $179 vs. $105 for a chain store.

Locally-owned business owners are our friends and neighbors. They have the same stake in the health and success of the community as we do. They participate in the community, giving far more generously than chain stores to youth groups, non-profits and schools. When times are tough, they don’t fire everyone, close down, and flee to their other stores around the country. They stay, because it’s their home.