freshdiet-splurge_492x325Everyone deserves a SPLURGE every once in a while, but sometimes it is difficult to decide which services are worth the money. We’ve selected a variety of local services, tested them, and reviewed and rated them for your consideration. We hope you’ll find our guide helpful in your search.

1. THE FRESH DIET
www.TheFreshDiet.com | 1-866-FRESH-50 (373-7450) | www.twitter.com/freshdiet | Facebook: The-Fresh-Diet

If you would like a variety of fresh, healthy and gourmet meals delivered to your door every night, The Fresh Diet is for you. The Fresh Diet lets you choose your meals in advance and you receive 3 meals and 2 snacks daily. You even get to choose the daily caloric range you want to maintain. This service is ideal for busy people that want to eat highquality food prepared just for them.

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I  have always wanted to try a food home delivery service.  Just imagine:  no shopping, no washing, no cutting, no cooking, and if you want, even no dishes!  I am a mother to 2 boys under 4 and I’m generally on the bottom of the priority list.  The Fresh Diet came to the rescue.  It really is what it says it is!  The food is FRESH!  Imagine a well balanced, perfectly measured for your caloric goals, delicious meal arriving on your door step every morning.  Correction - make that FIVE meals!  Breakfast, lunch, dinner and 2 snacks arrive perfectly packaged for your enjoyment.  This is all you need to eat all day.  Heaven, as far as I’m concerned.  But don’t let the word diet discourage you - this is high quality gourmet food.  In a pinch, I’ve fed these meals to my entire family, even my 1 year old whom I am very careful with.  Everyone has loved them.  In fact, my husband would often try to negotiate his way into one of my meals.

HOW IT WORKS|  You log on to their website and you set up your profile.  You can enter as many “dislikes” as you need to in order to customize your meals.  A few days before the delivery you go in and choose your meals.  You have 4 options for each of the 5 meals.  If for some reason, you are unhappy with any of the choices, you can just call or email customer service.  As an example, I’m a big fan of the fresh fruit salad for breakfast, but it’s generally served with ricotta cheese.  I’m REALLY not a fan of ricotta.  No Problem!  One quick email confirms that I will get a substitution.  I’ve called the Diet Concierges many times and have always spoken with a polite and knowledgeable person that has been eager to help.

You can buy the food service in either weekly or monthly increments.  Each day you get enough food to feed one adult.  The food gets delivered some time between 7pm and 6am in a very attractive insulated cooler bag.  Mine generally came in between midnight and 2am.  You can leave instructions on where you want the food to be left.  Luckily I have 3 front doors, so I just left one of them unlocked and the food was left in between the doors.  Each meal is individually packaged and could be microwaved.  I prefered to heat all of my meals on the stove. Both options are very convenient.

Convenient, healthy, delicious - I can not say enough positive things about this plan.  Make sure to become a fan of their facebook page.  There seems to be a give away there all the time.  Happy Eating!

SPECIAL OFFER| Check out their website and use the code:  Charmed2 for special pricing.

2. CANTON CLUB FIT CLUB
2780 lighthouse pt, ste. d - canton | 410.276.5544 | http://www.cantonclub24.com/
Want to work out but need the support of a group to succeed?  The Canton Club provides a 6-week Fit Club to get you on the right track to a more fit you. Three weekly training sessions with a small group provide the motivation needed to succeed. Personal coaching and the bond of a common goal keep you focused on the prize!

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If you’re anything like me, exercising is always the thing you SHOULD be doing, but very seldom the thing you ARE doing.  At the risk of aging myself, I used to be a gym rat, in my younger days.  Somehow in the midst of working too many hours, and having 2 kids, I’ve found myself to be out of shape and intimidated by all of the fit and strong people at the gym.  I’ve never liked the really big gyms where there is alot of walking around and preening and not too much sweating.  This is precisely why I really enjoyed the Canton Club.  It’s small enough to be intimate, but large enough that you can find anything you are looking for. The club is open 24 hours a day so you can come and go as your schedule allows.

I had the pleasure of participating in the 6 week fit camp.  No, I did not win the first place prize, but I won in terms of building strength, confidence, and a renewed energy for making the time to exercise.

The 6 week fit camp is designed to provide individualized programming, as well as to offer group support - both from the staff at the Canton Club as well as from the other participants.  There are 3 small group training sessions (generally 2-4 people) per week.  Each is an hour long and consist of a combination of cardio and resistance training.  The trainer will work with you to ensure you are doing all of the exercises properly.  They offer several times you can choose from to meet your scheduling needs.  The best part is, you can actually train with 3 different trainers per week.  I thought I wouldn’t like this at first, but it was actually fantastic to have that variety.  The work outs were completely different and challenged your body in a unique way.  I also benefited from the advice of all of the staff members.  They really are committed to helping you transform into the best YOU.  Food logs, check ins, the work outs all contribute to a very supportive and energetic environment.

Do you want to get back to working out, but just lack the motivation to commit on your own?  Already working out, but could use a boost?  Simply want to take your work out to a new level?  Fit Camp is for all of you!  They keep it small so they can work with everyone’s needs.  Try it out, your body will thank you!

3. SPOTLESS CLEAN
443-597-9669 | www.makeitspotless.com
Out of town guests? Last minute parties? Is your home not up to your standards? Spotless Clean offers customized packages, including spring cleaning, room-by-room pricing and add-ons like stove and fridge. They even do windows. You can schedule regular cleaning, or in a pinch, they can send a crew last minute.

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Have you ever had one of those “Oh (bleep)!” moments?  I did -  48 hours before my son’s first birthday party.  We had many friends and family coming to see our new house for the first time, and unfortunately I grew up with a neat and clean freak mom so it is now ingrained into my brain “One must never host guests unless one’s home is CLEAN.”  And not just the “I threw everything into the closet clean” but the “eat off the floor clean.”

Imagine this:  4 stories of row home, 2 cats, 2 boys, and a very very tired mom.  Let’s just say mom would have had a heart attack.  So I had 2 options - spend my sleeping hours cleaning, or call in help.  Luckily, I decided to call for help.  Spotless Clean was very responsive and accomodating.  They rearranged their schedule to come to my home on a Friday afternoon with basically no notice.  And as they say, if you’re going to do it, then do it right.  I called in for the Spring Clean - a top to bottom clean including windows, walls, the stove and fridge.  Spotless Clean provided me with an upfront estimate based on what I wanted, a full contract so that I knew what to expect, and some frequently asked questions so that I could get the most out of my service.

The crew arrived promptly and set to work immediately.  They bring all of their own equipment and supplies.  These ladies know how to clean house.  I came back from a few hours of shopping and errand running to an amazingly clean house.  It looked clean, it smelled clean, it felt clean.  I just wanted to hug them.

I was so happy with the quality of the clean that I asked what kind of packages they provide.   I was happy to hear that they are completely customizeable - weekly, monthly, occassionally - whatever your needs are.  Don’t have the budget for a whole house clean, you can just have them do kitchen and bath.  Throw in the floors!  or don’t!  Really - it can be what you want.

Some of my favorite things about Spotless Clean are:  they offer free online estimates, they are all american woman owned and operated, they were started by a mother/daughter, they are bonded/insured, and the thing they pride themselves on the most - you will always see a familiar face.  The first cleaning crew will include one of the owners and they will never send a brand new crew to you.

So would you think less of me if you knew that when mom said - wow you did such a nice job with the house - I just nodded and smiled.  ;-)  Mom, I hope you’re not reading this!

SPECIAL OFFER| Best of all, we at Charmed are able to offer you our readers $25 off your first cleaning, and $10 off the second cleaning.  Just mention Charmed Magazine during your phone quote or on the online estimate form.

4. ECO CONSULTS
canton |  410.218.8061 | http:// www.EcoConsults.com
The savings to your business or family from an environmental assessment far outweighs your initial investment. Net savings can be achieved within the year! Comprehensive packages include an energy audit, waste reduction strategies, and commuting and operations analysis.

5. WIDES PREAD CONCIERGE SERVICES
3846 falls road |  hampden | 410.790.8140 | www.widespreadcs.com
Widespread Concierge Services offers a multitude of customized personal and professional assistance to create more time in your day, achieving a better work life balance. Anything you need, they are just a phone call away.