A Round-Up of Deals and Tools: Pilates, Pizza Fit'n Free, Holey Donuts, CurlMart, Hungry Girl's List

Well, I think the cloud is finally easing and I'm feeling as if light is coming through the grey. I had still felt blue last week, so much so that I cancelled all my Pilates sessions. But this week, I went Monday and today, and she worked me hard (I think to make up for lost sessions.) It's fine. It's tough, and sometimes midway I think I'm gonna collapse, but we make it through the hour in the end. :) I'm still amazed I've stuck with this for 1 year and 7 months. Me, the exercise hater. But when I have someone telling me, guiding me, encouraging me, pushing me, I like it. Alone, on my own, I end up stuck in inertia. Hate that about me. If you're a big gal in South Florida and you've wanted to try Pilates, but have been afraid cause of size or embarrassment, try one of the gals at The Pilates Room in North Miami Beach. Look for a welcome 3-session special and class pricing here.

If you're a pizza-lover, and want to try a no-fat, no-sugar, low-cal frozen pizza that gets shipped to your house, well, Pizza Fit'n Free has a special promo going on now (for new orders only). Use coupon code "superbowl" and you'll get 10% off yoru order. See their pizzas here. I'll be totally honest and say that I tried these a couple years ago and though they were...dreadful. Very dry, cardboardy, hard crust and skimpy toppings. But I understand that this is catering to an segment of dieters that really want to keep calories low and have to have a pizza fix. Me, I'd rather make a pita pizza with veggies and part-skim mozza and low-cal pizza sauce at home. Tastes better, imo. BUT...lots of points-watchers use these as a craving-killer that doesn't blast the diet like supermarket or delivery pizzas can. One of these pizzas is only 250 calories and you can top it the way you'd like.

Holey Donuts has added Weight Watchers points to their shopping pages (not all donuts I saw had them listed, but most).  For example, the mini cinnamon buns are 2 points each, four donuts holes  are 3 points, one Oreo Boston creme-filled is 4 points, and one strawberry shortcake is 5 points.

I've tried Crum Creek's soy snacks, and they tasted good, though I stopped ordering due to issues with soy. However, if you like a lower-carb pasta and aren't sensitive to soy, you might want to take advantage of Crum Creek's pasta sale. Get 30% off your order of pasta with the promo code "comfort."

 While hair care is not diet-related, it is mood-related to me. A good hair day makes me happier and a bad hair day lowers my joy level, I can tell you. In an effort to go more natural (not just in foods, but in other products), I've turned off the flat iron and blow-dryer (mostly) in favor of air-drying. (See mini-pics of my hair as it is au naturel, air-dried, at left. I'm still recovering from decades of straightening, but my curls will heal.) I've also switched to products that use either all or mostly natural products--oils, emollients, moisturizers, surfactants, etc. I'm a curly haired gal--quite curly. My hair naturally spirals and coils. Since late November, I haven't straightened it. And I've been using some interesting stuff I've sampled from Whole Foods and from Curlmart.  Shop now through February 1 at Curlmart and SAVE 15%. Use coupon code 5DAY15*. They carry lots of curl-friendly hair lines such as the Deva, Curl Junkie, MyHoneyChild, Mop Top, Kinky Curly, Jessicurl, Curly Hair Solutions, etc. If you have been straightening/blowing/flat-ironing and want to go natural with your waves or curls, I highly recommend the NaturallyCurly.com site, forum (CurlTalk), articles, and CurlMart reviews and products.

Hungry Girl has sent out her handy-dandy shopping list. If you want to take a look to see if you can get hints for your own fatfighting list, check out her pdf format list.


I hope there's lot of joy in your life today, and a little less fat. :) Happy Thursday!

And an abruptly terminated checkout at Holey Donuts

There's been so much buzz lately in the few "diet" sites I've visited about Holey Donuts, that I went to their site and signed up for emails on specials and such (as part of entering the giveaway that Hungry Girl promoted).

So, in my inbox today, I get a special--get free donut holes and credit of $5 on next order with a minimum 3 assortment order. Huh, sounds nice, I think.

Granted, these are not cheap to start with at a couple bucks per donut, and three bucks plus per cinnamon bun. But the cinnamon buns and the donut holes sounded like good options for the freezer for occasional treats. (I have a freezer UPSTAIRS, and I go up there so rarely, sometimes the treats I have get too old, like some VitaTop muffins. It's a good place to put the tempting stuff, as I have to get dressed, go outside with keys, go up a flight of stairs, go into a different apartment's kitchen if I want the treat. Hubby keeps some snack stuff up there, out of my way.)

I decide that the offer for free donut holes with purchase tempts me to get those buns. I go through part of the checkout process, then see that the delivery fee is over 18 bucks.

Ya know, that just up and killed that transaction.

I understand they need to deliver these by a certain window due to the nature of the product. Totally get it. But, these are pricey donut treats, and when you add price and delivery for the minimum of 3 assortments, well... I can't see paying about SIXTY BUCKS for 8 cinnamon buns and 6 flavored donuts just to get bonus donut holes for free.

If they'd given a credit on shipping, instead of free donuts or a future discount, I'd have ordered the obligatory 3 assortments. Yes, I really like the idea of a cinnamon bun right now. Or a boston creme donut hole. Too bad the speical offer wasn't free shipping or five buck shipping. That would make sampling the stuff less painful, more of a done deal by now.

Ah, well. Maybe down the road they'll be stocked in local specialty groceries or something, the way VitaTops made it to regular supermarkets and Whole Foods. Or maybe I'll get lucky and I'll win an assortment.

I'm curious. Answer me this: Would you pay 60 bucks roughly for 14 reduced fat dessert treats (not counting the special bonus offer now for the holes, which I assume is limited and not usual) without having a chance to sample them first, not knowing if you'll love them, just going on testimonials? Would you?

I think I'm afraid I'll not like them THAT much, the way I hated most of my first order of VitaTops (I only ended up being able to eat the chocolate ones, so ended up tossing a lot of muffins.)

So, have you tried these? Did you think they were okay or great or not-so-great? Did you think the price was commensurate with the quality? And did anyone else do what I did....get through most of the checkout and go, "Oh, no, I ain't paying THAT much in shipping!"?

Well, if you're braver or richer or more donut-obsessed than I am, here's the link to order. And if you want the free donut hole sample and five bucks credit on your second order, then you have to use the code Ldth . (Guessing it's for Lowfat DonuT Holes.) This code is only good for TODAY, the seventeeth.

On the plus side of treats, I ordered organic chocolate frozen bananas made from organic and raw ingredients for my next week's desserts. Hey, fruit and potassium and real cocoa and sweetened with agave nectar. More "whole" and healthful than donuts, lowfat or otherwise, right?

Still, those cinnamon buns looked crazy yummy...sigh. ; )