Discounted Petting Zoos, Gymborees, Bowling, U-pick, Escape Rooms, and much more!

(This post contains affiliate links. I may receive a commission when you make a purchase. Thanks for your support!) 

I love being able to bring you the best of Groupon's deals - some of these you definitely don't want to miss!

If you're planning a vacation, check out these tips before you get started!

Planning a day or evening out? Check out these deals (Vouchers vary from slight discounts to 50% off or more!):

Shows:

• Beatles Tribute Concert, Herzliya
• Simon & Garfunkel Tribute Concert, Kiryat Chaim
• Hairspray (Ramat Hasharon)
• Les Miserables (Tel Aviv)
• Alumini (various locations)
• "Megillat Esther" the Musical (various locations)

Jumping/Trampoline Parks:

• Ra'anana My Jump
• Haifa My Jump 
• Ashdod 2Jump 
• Netanya 2Jump 

Playplaces:

• Netanya Sukariyot Koftzot 
• Pe'alton Kids' Playplaces (multiple locations)
• Jimboli (Hadera)
• Kids Land (Karmiel)
• Funky Monkey (Ashdod)
• AstroKid (Gan Shmuel)  *gymboree for young kids*
• AstroKid (Gan Shmuel) *arcade game area*
• HaChalal HaMuflah (Netanya)

Petting Zoos/Zoos/Botanical Gardens

• Devorat Hatavor
• Agam Chai Yiron
• Ein Gedi Botanical Gardens
• The Reptile Center (Katzrin)

Bowling:

• Chutzot Hamifratz (Haifa)                 
• Be'er Sheva 
• Beit Shemesh  
• Herzliya  
• Kiryat Ono 
• Modiin  
• Netanya 
• Jerusalem  
• Ashkelon  
• Be'er Sheva (Big)
• Ra'anana (combo ticket at MyJump)
• Eilat (Foot Pool - Bowling, Pool, and more with a Twist)

Virtual Reality Games:

• Rishon 
• Ashkelon 
• Atlit
• Ramat Yishai 
• Eilat 
• Migdal Ha'Emek 
• Herzliya Flight Simulator

Laser Tag, Paint Ball, and similar:

• Ra'anana Laser Street
• Haifa
• Airsoft and Paintball (Haifa)
• Paintball (Moshav Kalanit)
• Airsoft (Eilat)

Craft Workshops:

• Pottery (Kfar Saba)
• Pottery (Kfar Saba) 
• Face Painting (Ramat Gan) 
• Paint Pub (Tel Aviv)
• Paint Date (Tel Aviv)
• Sculpture (Tel Aviv)
• Mosaics (Gesher HaZiv) 
• Mosaics (Karkur) 
• Glass Mosaics (Jerusalem)
• Glass Mosaics (Rishon)
• Concrete Home Accents (Tel Aviv & Rosh Ha'Ayin)
• Ceramics (Tel Aviv)
• Ceramics (Rishon)
• Glass Painting (Rishon)
• Jewelry Making (Metal Working) (Haifa)
• Jewelry Making (turn your child's drawing into a necklace) (Haifa)
• Carpentry Workshop (Kiryat Bialik)

Food Workshops:

• Private Cooking Class in Your Home
• Chocolate Workshop for Children (Afula)
• De Beer Studio (Chocolate or Pastry Workshops) (Kfar Chassidim)
• Italian Cooking or Bread Workshop (Kfar Chassidim)
• Chocolate Workshop at Mishi (Kiryat Tivon)
• Meat Cooking and Butchery workshops at Kzizot (Jerusalem)
• Chocolate Workshop in Raanana 
• Agri-Circus 
• Strawberry Picking (Kadima Junction)
• Strawberry Picking (Meshek Ariel in Moshav Kadima)

Escape Rooms:

• Escape City (Tel Aviv)
• Hide N Seek (Rishon)
• The Chemist (Ashkelon)
• REDBLUE (Herzliya)
• Dead Sea Scrolls (Herzliya)
• The Syrian Spy or The Enchanted Treasure (Eilat)
• Brainscape - The Catacomb (Petach Tikvah)
• Ex Room - Artificial Intelligence (Tel Aviv)
• Ex Room (SAW) (Tel Aviv)
• Out of the Box (Tel Aviv) 
• Jerusalem Treasure (Ramat Gan)
• Security Breach (Petach Tikvah) 
• Stargate (Jerusalem) 
• The Black Pearl (Haifa) 
• The Imitator (Haifa) 
• The Da Vinci Secret (Rishon)
• Baker Street (Rishon)
• Houdini (Tel Aviv)
• The Lost Hostage (Kiryat Bialik)

Get 10% off when you use code "Kosherfrugal" at the Maimonides Puzzle Room in Tiberias

Karaoke Rooms

• Ashdod
• Netanya
• Beer Sheva
• Rishon

Ice Skating 

• Eilat

Museums

• MadaTech (Haifa)
• Yad Mordechai Museum
• Friends of Israel Museum 

I'll add more deals to the Groupon Facebook group as I find them! See you there!

iHerb Extra Savings!

This post contains my iHerb referral link. You'll save money using it (even existing customers), and I may be compensated by iHerb. It won't cost you extra - but it WILL save you money!

 I've promised to share iHerb deals whenever I hear about them, so none of you will miss out on the extra savings! So here's the current deal:

Save an extra 5% off all orders over $50 USD right now with promo code 5OVER50 (promo code should automatically be added to your cart when you click this link)!

This coupon code is good thru Wednesday, February 28th at 10:00 A.M. Pacific Standard Time (PST)

You can also get the additional 10% off the following special offers with my referral code (QEJ101) or by clicking any of the following special links:

Sports

Superfoods

Joint, Bone, Hair and Skin Formulas

And if you use Shipping Savers, you can get really affordable shipping, even if you choose DHL Express shipping (I highly recommend this shipping method)! You can sort for Shipping Savers on iHerb by clicking the Shipping Saver checkbox on the lefthand side of the page.

Not sure if shopping at iHerb makes sense?
I shop there pretty often, as you may already know. I find it makes life easier for me - not only do they make it easy to find some "hard to find" products my family needs (like fragrance free shower products), but I save a significant amount of money on things like vitamins and probiotics. So many products are definitely less expensive at iHerb than at my local stores, and shipping is VERY affordable as I mentioned above.

Here are some of the things I like to buy at iHerb:

Palm Oil (this eco-friendly version is not available in Israel at all, and is perfect for making frosting or fudge)

Magnesium Tablets (these and many other supplements are quite pricey in Israel and iHerb is a great way to save!)

Stash Teas (I buy these when they are on sale, as the sale price comes out to less than the lowest price I can find herbal teas for locally, and these are just SO MUCH HIGHER quality than teas I can find for an affordable price!)

Vitamin D (so many people are deficient, it turns out! And my doctor prescribed a rather high dose, and what's sold here is very low dose and more expensive)

Probiotics are far less expensive from iHerb than any I've found in Israel, and they don't weigh much! Many of these are "shipping savers" - so they'll lower your shipping costs for the whole order if you add them in!

EO shower gel (we like this kid friendly all-in-one shower product that doesn't irritate our skin!)

Ricola throat drops (these work out to be only slightly less expensive than the local price, so I use them as a "filler" product, never as my "reason for buying")

Witch Hazel (it's really not easy to find witch hazel products locally, and if you love witch hazel, you'll be thrilled with iherb's price. This one is a toner with alcohol in it - some people like the alcohol in it, but if you don't, they also have plenty of no-alcohol witch hazel products)

Coffee Filters (unbleached) - I can find the #4 size locally, but I use the #2 size, and can't always find unbleached, and it's so easy to order it, rather than running around town!

Brown Rice Pasta (only when they're on sale, great for people who don't eat wheat! The local equivalent is more expensive unless there's an amazing sale)

Grapefruit Seed Extract (similar product, 1/4 of the size, cost more than twice as much at my health food store, and many people are convinced this keeps colds away,!)

Essential Oils (I use them in homemade cleaners) - for a fraction of the price here in Israel! Yes, they are real and natural (and very importantly, not an MLM)!

Soy-free Teriyaki Sauce (for my soy allergic child)

Calendula Cream (so soothing and wonderful for eczema!)

Aquaphor Ointment - impossible to buy locally! (lately this has been out of stock at iherb, but you can ask to be notified when it's available). When it's not available, you might find CeraVe to be a good alternative.

I also regularly check the Specials Page to see if products I use are on sale and work out to a better deal thru iHerb during a sale, and I also occasionally will order a hard-to-find spice.

If you haven't ordered from iHerb, now is the perfect time to check it out!
And please let me know what your favorite deals are!

Don't get surprised by import taxes! If you are ordering items from overseas, be sure to familiarize yourself with the most recent personal import regulations!

Orlah Fruits in the Marketplace - Update for Adar

This post is a follow up to the Kashrut for New Olim post. If you haven't seen it yet, please check it out -- there's important information there! 

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES in Israel - Specific Kashrut Issues

Unlike in other parts of the world, in Israel, fruits and vegetables are NOT automatically "kosher" - here we need to make sure that they are not "orlah" fruits (harvested during a tree's first 3 yrs, with other rules applying to year 4) and that trumot and ma'asrot have been taken (from both fruits and vegetables). 

If you shop at a market that doesn't have an ishur kashrut (kosher certification) on their produce, you'll need to investigate these issues further, if you are interested in adhering to the halachot of the Land of Israel OR if you regularly host people who assume the food in your home is kosher! I must say that it's important to familarize yourself with these special halachot, as they are part of keeping kosher in Israel! (If you say you keep Kosher in Israel, everyone assumes that you have taken care of these issues; and if you don't, then you may be unwittingly putting someone in a situation they don't want to be in!) 

It's definitely possible to take trumot and maasrot on your own (I do it often), so vegetables are easiest to buy without a teudah, as that is all you need to do (and very often, it would be without a bracha). Some of the fruits on the market may be ok to purchase even from a non-certified establishment and just take trumot and maasrot, because of the extremely low percentage of orlah fruits being sold, but those lists change frequently, so you'll constantly need to stay up-to-date.

Other fruits can be a problem, because of a high possibility that they are orlah (from the first 3 yrs after the tree was planted). I have recently begun to post a monthly update on my website, with a list of the fruits where the percentage of orlah fruits on the open market is greater than 0.5%. These fruits should only be bought from a reputable source that does not sell orlah fruits (i.e. a place with a teudah):

ORLAH Update for Iyar 5778

Fruits to AVOID buying without a teudah:

• Avocado - Ettinger, Haas, Ruti, and Reid varieties
• Blueberries
• Lemon
• Lime
• Papaya
• Prickly Pear (Sabra Fruit)
• Starfruit
• Passionfruit
• Clementines - Murcott variety, Hadas Variety, and Tami variety
• Valencia Oranges

Please be sure to speak with your personal Halachic Authority about purchasing fruit in Israel without a teudah. Not everyone holds by the 0.5% threshold. This information is just for informational purposes and is not a halachic psak! Even if you follow a psak that relies on the 0.5% threshold, you still must take trumot and maasrot on all produce grown in Israel (or be sure it has been taken), in order to fulfill your halachic obligations.

Also, be aware that this list does NOT apply to fruit grown by an individual. If your friend has a fruit tree, you'll need to find out how old it is! 

I hope you find this helpful! Please follow my Facebook page and don't miss out on updates and other posts!

Food Recall - Prepared Salads

The Ministry of Health and the Dani Maadani company announced the following recalls, due to listeria contamination:

Brand: Dani Maadani Salads

Product: Chumus Salad

Package Size: 250g & 500g containers

Production dates:1.1.18 THRU 5.2.18



_______________________________________________


Brand: Dani Maadani Salads

Product: Techina

Package Size: 250g & 500g containers


Production dates:1.1.18 THRU 5.2.18


_______________________________________________


Brand: Dani Maadani Salads

Product: Eggplant in Mayonnaise

Package Size: 250g & 500g containers


Production dates:1.1.18 THRU 5.2.18

__________________________________________
Brand: Dani Maadani Salads

Product: White "Caviar" Salad (סלט איקרה לבנה)

Package Size: 250g & 500g containers


Production dates:1.1.18 THRU 5.2.18


_______________________________________________


Brand: Dani Maadani Salads

Product: Pink "Caviar" Salad (סלט איקרה ורודה)

Package Size: 250g & 500g containers


Production dates:1.1.18 THRU 5.2.18

Consumers who have purchased these products are advised NOT to eat them. Please return them to the store where purchased. If you have questions or concerns, please call the company at 08-852-4626

HUGE Egg Recall!

Yesh Me'Of Eggs and the Ministry of Health announced a HUGE egg recall, due to possible Salmonella contamination.

If you have eggs that are from Yesh Me'Of, please check the table below to see which batches were recalled. I think it's easiest to check your eggs for the expiration dates listed, and then compare batch numbers to see if they were recalled.

The public is being asked NOT to eat these eggs. If you have any questions, please send an email to: Orel.ymb@gmail.com

Recalled Batches:

Flavored Coffee - AWESOME Deal!

this post contains affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, I may receive a commission. Thanks for your support!

Love flavored coffee?

Here’s a deal for 80 coffee capsules – in a variety of flavors! 

(flavors include: Toffee, Creme Brullee, Vanilla Nut, Coconut, Dark Chocolate, Nut)
All for just 88nis plus 15nis shipping!

Click here to buy this deal!

200 Nespresso sized coffee pods for just 99nis!

this post contains affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, I may receive a commission. Thanks for your support!

Do you brew coffee at home?

Here's a deal for 200 (TWO HUNDRED) pods for just 99nis (plus 9.90 delivery)!!

This is the best deal for you if you use Nespresso-size coffee pods! Just about 1/2 a shekel per pod!

Hurry - this deal won't last!

Click here to buy this deal!

Big Savings at Zoolu!

this post contains affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, I may receive a commission. Thanks for your support!

If you have pets, you don't want to miss this deal!
Pay just 8 shekels for a 40 shekel voucher at Zoolu (good at all Zoolu stores)!

Click here to buy this deal!
Hurry - this deal won't last

10 shekel deal for Go Active or Holmes Place!

this post contains affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, I may receive a commission. Thanks for your support!

Just 80nis for EIGHT sessions at Holmes Place or Go Active Centers!
That's just 10 shekels per session!

Click here to buy this deal!

Hurry - this deal won't last long!

2.5 shekel Coffee!

this post contains affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, I may receive a commission. Thanks for your support!

Grab this deal - get a half price Coffix coffee!

Just 2.5nis!

Click here to take advantage of this deal!

Hurry! It won't last!

Discount Attractions and Entertainment

(This post contains affiliate links. I may receive a commission when you make a purchase. Thanks for your support!) 

I love being able to bring you the best of Groupon's deals - some of these you definitely don't want to miss!

Sometimes, the best way to get from Point A to Point B is with a car - and that's why car rentals are awesome for people who don't own one! I'm really happy to tell you that Groupon has brought back the Budget Car Rental Discount - as low as 77nis per day! Some things to keep in mind: these vouchers must be used by March 22, 2018. You can buy up to 14 of them and use them consecutively to customize your rental period (use for rentals between 1 and 14 days at a time). Includes up to 99 km/day.  Additional kilometers will be charged extra. Pick up and return at the airport will incur additional fees. Pick up or drop off in Eilat will also incur additional fees. No refunds on unused Groupons if you have to end your rental contract early.

Click here for Restaurant Deals -- if you're going out, do it the BEST way and buy a discount voucher first!

If you're planning a vacation, check out these tips before you get started!

Planning a day or evening out? Check out these deals (Vouchers vary from slight discounts to 50% off or more!):

Shows:

• Hairspray (Ramat Hasharon)
• Les Miserables (Tel Aviv)
• Alumini (various locations)
• "Megillat Esther" the Musical (various locations)

Jumping/Trampoline Parks:

• Ra'anana My Jump
• Haifa My Jump 
• Ashdod 2Jump 
• Netanya 2Jump 

Playplaces:

• Netanya Sukariyot Koftzot 
• Pe'alton Kids' Playplaces (multiple locations)
• Jimboli (Hadera)
• Kids Land (Karmiel)
• Funky Monkey (Ashdod)
• AstroKid (Gan Shmuel)  *gymboree for young kids*
• AstroKid (Gan Shmuel) *arcade game area*
• HaChalal HaMuflah (Netanya)
• Fantasia B'Veitzman (Kfar Saba)

Petting Zoos/Zoos/Botanical Gardens

• Devorat Hatavor
• Deganya Petting Zoo
• Agam Chai Yiron
• Ein Gedi Botanical Gardens
• The Reptile Center (Katzrin)

Bowling:

• Chutzot Hamifratz (Haifa)                 
• Be'er Sheva 
• Beit Shemesh  
• Herzliya  
• Kiryat Ono 
• Modiin  
• Netanya 
• Jerusalem  
• Ashkelon  
• Be'er Sheva (Big)
• Ra'anana (combo ticket at MyJump)
• Eilat (Foot Pool - Bowling, Pool, and more with a Twist)

Virtual Reality Games:

• Rishon 
• Ashkelon 
• Atlit
• Ramat Yishai 
• Eilat 
• Migdal Ha'Emek 
• Herzliya Flight Simulator

Laser Tag, Paint Ball, and similar:

• Ra'anana Laser Street
• Haifa
• Airsoft and Paintball (Haifa)
• Paintball (Moshav Kalanit)
• Airsoft (Eilat)

Craft Workshops:

• Graffiti Workshop (Tel Aviv)
• Pottery (Kfar Saba)
• Pottery (Kfar Saba) 
• Face Painting (Ramat Gan) 
• Paint Pub (Tel Aviv)
• Paint Date (Tel Aviv)
• Sculpture (Tel Aviv)
• Mosaics (Gesher HaZiv) 
• Mosaics (Karkur) 
• Glass Mosaics (Jerusalem)
• Glass Mosaics (Rishon)
• Concrete Home Accents (Tel Aviv & Rosh Ha'Ayin)
• Ceramics (Tel Aviv)
• Ceramics (Rishon)
• Glass Painting (Rishon)
• Jewelry Making (Metal Working) (Haifa)
• Jewelry Making (turn your child's drawing into a necklace) (Haifa)
• Carpentry Workshop (Kiryat Bialik)

Food Workshops:

• Chocolate Workshop for Children (Afula)
• De Beer Studio (Chocolate or Pastry Workshops) (Kfar Chassidim)
• Italian Cooking or Bread Workshop (Kfar Chassidim)
• Chocolate Workshop at Mishi (Kiryat Tivon)
• Meat Cooking and Butchery workshops at Kzizot (Jerusalem)
• Chocolate Workshop in Raanana 
• Agri-Circus 
• Strawberry Picking (Kadima Junction)
• Strawberry Picking (Meshek Ariel in Moshav Kadima)

Escape Rooms:

• Escape City (Tel Aviv)
• Hide N Seek (Rishon)
• The Cell (Rishon)
• The Chemist (Ashkelon)
• REDBLUE (Herzliya)
• Dead Sea Scrolls (Herzliya)
• The Syrian Spy or The Enchanted Treasure (Eilat)
• Brainscape - The Catacomb (Petach Tikvah)
• Ex Room - Artificial Intelligence (Tel Aviv)
• Ex Room (SAW) (Tel Aviv)
• Out of the Box (Tel Aviv) 
• Jerusalem Treasure (Ramat Gan)
• Security Breach (Petach Tikvah) 
• Stargate (Jerusalem) 
• The Black Pearl (Haifa) 
• The Imitator (Haifa) 
• Escape Zone (Rishon) 
• The Da Vinci Secret (Rishon)
• Baker Street (Rishon)
• Escape Zone (Rechovot)
• Houdini (Tel Aviv)
• The Lost Hostage (Kiryat Bialik)

Get 10% off when you use code "Kosherfrugal" at the Maimonides Puzzle Room in Tiberias

Karaoke

• Ashdod
• Netanya
• Beer Sheva
• Rishon

Ice Skating 

• Maalot 
• Eilat

Museums

• Marzipan Museum (Kfar Tavor)
• MadaTech (Haifa)
• Yad Mordechai Museum
• Friends of Israel Museum 

I'll add more deals to the Groupon Facebook group as I find them! See you there!