Friday, November 23, 2007

Homes for the Holidays - Smart Start Meals






The Rotary Centre for the Arts is pleased to announce that this year's Homes for the Holidays event raised $42,432 in support of Community Programming at the RCA. We would like to thank all of the generous supporters and sponsors who made this year's event such a success.
The 8th Annual Homes for the Holidays dazzled all who attended. Individuals touring the homes had the opportunity to visit some of Kelowna's most beautiful and unique homes, each brought to life for the holiday season by some of Kelowna's most talented interior decorators.
The event showcased some of the city's finest talent in entertainment and design. Each location was adorned with in its own unique décor. Highlights of the tour included the striking Cannery Lofts Penthouse with its modern black & white theme. Guests were also intrigued by the décor found within the Woodland Hills home which featured a majestic chandelier created from delicate white boughs, small lighted accents tucked away in each corner and a gentleman's garage stocked with Harley Davidson motorcycles and accessories.
For those searching for a more traditional holiday atmosphere, the Hedeman Court home tucked away in the Kettle Valley showcased warm hues, sinks filled with velvety rose petals and the entire home adorned with fresh greenery. Similar to this style, Lindsay and Steve Fenwick's home on Kloppenburg Road greeted guests with its warm glow and classy feel. Inside, the décor featured greenery, with a multitude of boughs and berries adorning the kitchen, living area and bedrooms. Lights bundled in jars illuminated rooms, accenting the deep brown and red hues of the home.
Both the Benvoulin Church and Anne Dyck's charming home on KLO Road offered something new and delightful to the tour. The charismatic church featured simplistic décor with fresh greenery intertwined with lighting accenting the time worn pews and vaulted arches. The church common was transformed into several room-scapes surrounding a magnificent Christmas tree.
Tasty aromas filled the rooms as organic bite-sized treats were served on-site courtesy of Smart Start Meals.
Romance filled the air throughout Anne Dyck's precious dream home. The décor was charming, with the kitchen featuring homemade gingerbread and traditional holiday wreaths. Each room captured the essence of the holiday season, recapturing the true romance of Anne and her late husband.
The Rotary Centre for the Arts would like to thank Kelowna Mountain for their title sponsorship of this year's Homes for the Holidays event. In addition to the generous contribution made by Kelowna Mountain, the RCA would like to acknowledge all of the amazing businesses and individuals who helped create such a magical event.

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Smart Start Meals - Beyond 50 Article

Gone are the days when Grandma had the time to cook up a big meal for the kids and grandkids, and grandpa too. It wasn’t long ago that 50 years of age was old and most people had at least two or three grandchildren. As more and more men and women put off marriage and parenthood until ‘later’, it is not uncommon to be over 50 with teenagers in the house.

Today’s over 50 population is busier than any generation before, and don’t show any sign of slowing down. 50 is the “new” 30, and despite all the activity people still long for the days of the leisurely meal, with family and friends catching up on the days events.

The stresses of the modern day need to be countered with relaxation. People need time to connect and share the day’s experiences, and meal time has a long history of being the best way to do that. One option is to reach for the phone and get something fattening, lacking in nutrition and loaded with sodium and trans-fats. That choice has some serious drawbacks. There are obvious health benefits to eating nutritious foods cooked at home; but who has the time?

A solution to all this and a way to take off the stress of not having enough time can be found in the form of companies like Smart Start Meals, who provide delicious, nutritious ready-to-cook dinners for busy people. This is the wave of the future, and is long overdue as a service. They do all the advance preparation - recipe planning, testing, shopping, chopping, measuring and portioning, without using preservatives or unhealthy additives. The dinners are then frozen, packaged, and delivered right to your door. The only thing you have to do is follow a set of simple instructions to enjoy cooking one of these complete dinners in your own kitchen!

As boomers become more aware of the dangers involved in eating mainstream convenience foods like take out, prepackaged meals and TV dinners, our options have become rather limited. More and more in the news we hear about imported foods being tainted with harmful bacteria, chemicals or being mislabeled. We’ve built a life style around quick and easy and yet long for the days of slow-cooked home prepared meals. We want it all – convenience, ease of preparation, great quality, high nutrition, variety, and organic if possible. Today’s health conscious consumers are almost forced to find the time to get back into the kitchen and prepare meals from scratch.

With the boomer generation having to care for elderly parents and often having teenage or adult kids still at home, meal time doesn’t need to be an additional stress. Our aging parents used Meals on Wheels to help them, and now our generation has the opportunity to use companies such as Smart Start Meals - simple, highly effective and quite affordable.

By slowing down at mealtime and enjoying a healthy meal you improve the quality of your life, not just with the food, but also with the good company that surrounds you at the dinner table. Now there is a way to reconnect and enjoy the satisfaction of providing a good dinner at home on a regular basis – easier than ever, and with much less shopping, chopping and cleanup. Bon Appetite!

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Focus on Entrepreneurs - Smart Start Meals - What's for dinner?

By Steve MacNaull
The Daily Courier

Imagine coming home from work and having dinner already prepared.
That's what Smart Start Meals of Kelowna is delivering to busy households.
"Our target is families and people that have a lot going on, " said Ken Scott, who owns and operates Smart Start with his wife Susanne.
"The most popular offering for a bsy family of four is the 12-meal package, which means 12 fully prepared meals that serve four to six people for $259. That means for three of the busiest nights of the week for the entire month, dinner is taken care of." Customers choose from a varied menu and Smart Start does the shopping, chopping, and preparation. Full dinners of a meat rice or potatoes and vegetable are packaged, frozen, and delivered. All you have to do is pull the meal out of the freezer when you want to cook it.
Dishes for the fall include stews, roast chickens, Basa Italiano, Indian and Asian favourites, and vegetarian options. "Our emphasis is on healthy, wholesome foods with no trans-fats or additives and as much organic as possible," said Scott.
Smart Start has operated since January, and has a client base of about 100.
It is hoping to expand by having a booth at Saturday and Sunday's Ski show and Swap at the Kelowna Curling Club.
"Skiers are a perfect target market for us," said Scott. During the week they are busy at work and with their kids sports, and on the weekend, they are at the ski hill and don't want to have to shop and haul food up there to prepare.
Skiers can order their dinner packages and take them up the hill or leave everything up to Smart Start and have the meals delivered to an address at Big White Ski resort for a fee.
Meal preparation is quite a life change for the Scott's. They used to live in Vancouver where Susanne was a dental assistant, and Ken worked for video game company Nintendo as a computer networker.
They used to visit Kelowna every summer and wanted to move here for the smaller city recreational lifestyle and a crack at self-employment.
They modeled Smart Start on similar preparation businesses in the UK and US.
For now, the Scott's are using a rental kitchen at a downtown church for all their order preparation while they have a commercial kitchen built.
"We have creative minds, and know this service is needed in Kelowna and we are dedicated to preparing fresh, nutritious meals," said Scott. "So, it's already going well and will only get better."


Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Media Release - Smart Start Meals

MEDIA RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE













Contact: Ken Scott
Email:
info@smartstartmeals.ca
Phone: 250-869-7678

It’s not too early to plan dinner for this winter!

Summer still has some sizzle left in it, but it’s not too soon to start planning for a winter on the slopes. After a great day in the snow and the sun, the last thing you want to think about is “what’s for dinner.”

That’s where Smart Start Meals comes in. They are one of the exhibitors at the “Show & Swap" on September eighth and ninth at the Kelowna Curling Club. The event is in support of the Canadian Ski Patrol (CSP), a non-profit organization. The CSP volunteers are mostly Alpine skiers, boarders and Nordic skiers from every age group and every walk of life. They provide volunteer first-aid services at many non skiing events through out the summer and work closely with all season resorts in providing year round services like mountain bike patrols.

Ken Scott of Smart Start Meals is excited about being there this year. “Susanne and I are avid skiers and realize the importance of supporting the Canadian Ski Patrol to ensure the safety of all on the slopes,” he says. “We are participating at the swap to show our support. We'll be giving out samples of our dinners to people at the show, and holding a draw for a dinner package featuring six dinners from our fall or winter menu.”

Ken and Susanne officially opened Smart Start Meals in January of this year, providing busy Okanganers with nutritious, delicious, ready to cook dinners for their busiest days or special occasions. They have a wide and varied menu to choose from and all food is prepared to maintain the highest levels of nutrition.

They believe their participation in the ski swap is a perfect match. “It lends itself towards a more stress free ski vacation,” explains Ken. “Instead of having to go on a huge shopping trip prior to heading up the mountain for a weekend, you get your dinner packages delivered by us – before your trip or up at the mountain.” We provide incredible ready-to-cook dinners that can be made in a fraction of the time normally required for a full dinner - giving the vacationer more time to relax and enjoy their chalet or cabin.”

For more information on Smart Start Meals please contact Ken or Susanne at 250-869-7678 or visit them on the web at
www.smartstartmeals.ca

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Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Event! Weekend - Smart Start Meals - Restaurant of the Week


Restaurant of the Week - Smart Start Meals


The Chefs: Ken and Susanne Scott

What Smart Start is all about:

Smart Start Meals provides delicious, ready-to-cook dinner packages for busy people and families. They design and create a fantastic variety of selections and meal plans to give customers a convenient, easy way to enjoy delicious, healthy meals at home.


All dinners are made with the freshest ingredients possible, using only healthy oils, no trans-fats or MSG. Using a simple web or phone based order process, customers select from 12-18 different dinners (western, ethnic, vegetarian, and organic), pick and available delivery time, and have up to 12 full-size or 18 half-size dinners delivered to their door - available for the busiest nights of their week!


Specialties this month:

Moroccan Chicken
Cuban Goulash
Herb-Balsamic Roast Chicken
Ginger Cashew Stir-Fry
Chili-Honey Beef Fajitas
Malaysian Satay with Quinoa


View more at http://www.smartstartmeals.ca/

Contact: info@smartmeals.ca, or call 250-869-7678