Krispy Kreme is in another battle, and this time it isn't with Dunkin' Donuts.

The beloved donut chain is being sued by a company called Caribbean Creme. Seems that the company has a fruit drink also called Caribbean Creme and they aren't happy that Krispy Kreme has come out with a drink and doughnut called Caribbean Kreme. It's part of their "Chillers" line.

I have as much legal expertise as Barney Fife, so I have no idea if this has merit or not. But maybe Krispy Kreme should have spelled it "Karibbean Kreme."

• Start your year with comfort foods.
• Whole wheat pasta is everywhere.
• Mmmmmm ... fat!
• More and more people are using the web to lose weight.
• The greens of winter.
• A woman's hobby of making dips and spreads becomes a full-time career.
• Make your own donuts.
• This week's recipes: Kale and White Bean Soup with Chicken Sausage, Swiss Chard with Cannellini Beans and Tomatoes, and Beet Borscht.

Leptin is the Homer Simpson hormone.

That's the finding of scientists at Cambridge University. Leptin is what makes up feel full after we eat a meal, but these scientists have discovered that it also affects the pleasure zone of our brain. In short, if you don't have enough Leptin, it can cause you to overeat. People who didn't have enough leptin were shown pics of pizza and cake. Their pleasure centers went off. People who had enough leptin only had this happen when they were actually hungry.

This could give a huge boost to doctors and others who are trying to find ways to battle obesity.

[via TV Tattle]

Interesting map over at Bostonist. It shows the number of Dunkin' Donuts locations within a 5 mile radius of the downtown area. Seems that there are 50 of them! Of course, that was when this map was posted on April 26. I'm sure another dozen or so have opened up since then. It sort of gives you a comforting feeling, if you live in Boston. Not sure how many Starbucks locations there are.

Speaking of Dunkin Donuts, have you seen the new ad with Rachael Ray. Ugh. Are they trying to drive customers away? I don't need her to come up to the counter and order a bagel and coffee and give an insincere "delish" to get me to come in. I already like the place.

Buzz Donuts and Buzzed Bagels are the first of what will probably be many caffeinated pastries. Bohannon originally had some difficulty in disguising the taste of the caffeine, which has a very bitter flavor on its own, but once he got the flavoring under control, he was able to add quite a lot of caffeine to his products. Each one contains the equivalent of two cups of coffee, or about 100mg per pastry.

Bohannon has already approached Krispy Kreme, Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts about selling his pastries.

Stores will also be frying up their light, yeast-raised doughnuts in heart shapes, coating them with white icing and red, white, and pink sprinkles. They're not quite up to the same level of cuteness as the Halloween doughnuts that Krispy Kreme featured back in October, but it's hard to say no to a doughnut with sprinkles

And on February 14th, stores will be making their regular glazed doughnuts in heart shapes, as well.

Donuts are not health food. Fried pieces of dough covered in sugar or chocolate and, sometimes, filled with jam, donuts are written off by millions everyday as an indulgence. But because they rely so heavily on frying, and as a direct result, on partially hydrogenated oils, donut makers have grown increasingly worried about their futures over the past few years, as trans fats have fallen far from the eye of public favor.

A large number of donut makers have turned to "all natural" recipes and are already using trans-fat free oils for frying. After first seeing the anti trans-fat movement spring up, many shop owners and chefs started to eliminate any and all trans fats from their recipes. Some of the donut makers that use no trans fats include the Doughnut Plant in New York, Mighty-O Donuts and Top Pot Doughnuts in Seattle. Dunkin Donuts is close and has been testing new recipes for two years. More are in the process of converting, helped along by their desire to keep consumers coming in every morning and trying to make their particular brad of deep fried indulgence seem a little less bad for you.

Should someone in a wheelchair be allowed to use the drive thru windows at fast food places and coffee shops?

That's the question in Weymouth, MA. Donald Hayes has to use a motorized wheelchair, and he used to go to his local Dunkin' Donuts every morning to get coffee at the drive thru window, but then the establishment stopped serving him, since he wasn't in a car. They cite safety concerns, and a spokesman says that they don't have a corporate policy regarding wheelchairs, even if it is a "motorized vehicle."

Hayes is thinking about suing the coffee and donut giant (and one lawyer says he has a case since the place isn't wheelchair accessible), but says what he really wants is to be able to get his coffee every morning at the window.

Readers, what do you think?

We already had a brief discussion about the worst holiday foods and responses included canned cranberry sauce and fruitcake. But it's no fun to dwell on the negatives when you're supposed to be celebrating and spending time with your family, so why not think about the best holiday treats instead? What are those foods that you look forward to all year?

When it comes to store bought treats, peppermint bark and chocolate covered graham crackers always seem to be readily available, but the best holiday foods come from home. Here are some suggestions from around the blogosphere for holiday favorites that should make your menu this year:

• Jelly donuts, a.k.a. sufganiyah, are a standard for Hanukkah celebrations
• I'm partial to oven baked latkes myself, but purists will want theirs fried in oil.
• You can make homemade peppermint bark and use it (or store bought) to make Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cookies
• Fudge is an easy to make homemade candy that looks great out on the dessert table.
• Gingerbread fans can choose from regular gingerbread, chocolate gingerbread, gingerbread men or spicy ginger cookies.
• Eggnog takes many forms, as well. It can be a drink, pancakes or even cheesecake.
• The Bûche de Noël, simply known as a "yule log," is a classic, chocolatey Christmas dessert that consists of a rolled, filled cake that is covered with a chocolate frosting and shaped to look like a log.
• Last but not least, we have the crowd-pleasing homemade marshmallows. Don't forget to serve them with hot chocolate!

With only a week left until Halloween, there is still time to stop off at your local Krispy Kreme and pick up one of their pumpkin-shaped Halloween doughnuts. The seasonal treats are made from the same light yeast-raised dough as their classic glazed doughnuts, but unlike the classic, the doughnuts are stamped into shape and have no center holes. The finished doughnuts are coated in a thick orange icing and decorated with a jack o' lantern face. If you pre-order, you can get them filled with any of the shop's delicious filling flavors. A jam filling would look suitable creepy, oozing out of the smiling pumpkin face.

If the pumpkin-shaped doughnut isn't appealing, or if the icing seems to make it too sweet, Krispy Kreme is also offering a pumpkin-spice doughnut through the end of the month. And, as a final option, you could always try your hand at making your own.

Would you say that you love donuts? Even if your answer is "yes" and the employees at your local Dunkin' Donuts have your order ready and waiting for you every morning, you probably don't come close to the donut-love of Blognut. Not only does he blog about doughnuts, but actually took a trip across the country, from New York to Portland, OR, to get his wedding vows (with his wife, not a donut) renewed at Voodoo Doughnuts, one of the best donut shops in the country. And not only did he trek out to Voodoo, he blogged the whole experience - including what seems to be every donut on their menu. He and his wife visited Voodoo at least 5 times in one weekend, including stopping in three separate times on their last day in the Pacific Northwest. Multiple donuts were consumed each day.

The trip is blogged in five parts (part one, part two, part three, part four, part five) and is a must-read for any donut lover. Or if you just want to see some really great pics of some really unusual donuts (like the giant cat-donut above).