Welcome to the HealthyYum Community: Beautiful Pictures, Healthy Food, Deliciously Yummy.

Wow, another week has passed and it has been truly exciting for the growth of our community. We've now got our blog up and running, so check us out. We are loving all the new users and beautiful submissions. Please help us get the word out - write a blog post and link to us!

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Theme Time. Last week's theme was FRUIT. We invited users to submit photos of fruit, or any healthy recipe made with a fruit, and we got some fantastic submissions. Maggie and I deliberated on our favorite and finally were able to agree that the Individual Cherry Crisp by twopeasandtheirpod was our favorite. Woohoo!

The photograph is stunning. I made it with a few "lower calorie modifications" and it was delicious. Thanks twopeasandtheirpod. Look out for an email with details on how to receive your copy of The End of Overeating, by David Kessler.

We asked Yoga is Yummy (Polly) to pick this week's theme and she chose Bibb Lettuce aka Limestone Lettuce.

As Polly says, "I adore it, and you can wrap just about ANYTHING in those floppy little leaves! I just wrapped crunchy almond butter... that is it! So delish. Makes the perfect little supper snacky wraps. I would love to see how others wrap them up!" In case you're not sure what "Bibb Lettuce" is, check out what WiseGeek

And of course, Polly will choose this week's winner. That lucky person will receive a copy of 101 Foods That Could Save Your Life, by David Grotto. I've met the author and I firmly believe that he LIVES what he writes.

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Favorite Photos. Last week, Maggie and I chose photos from Maggie (Pithy and Cleaver) & Lucullian as our favorites. This week, they are doing the picking.

From Maggie (PithyandCleaver.com): The Grilled Shrimp with a Kick from Cookin Canuck looks really appealing, and reminds me of a dish I enjoyed at a local restaurant the other night. I love spicy food, and shrimp cooks so quickly! Plus it's easy to keep a bag of frozen shrimp in the freezer to defrost individual servings. The other recent photo I'm definitely inspired to make is the Braised Fennel with Shallots from Lucy Vaserfirer. Fennel has such a lovely sweetness, and this would be a delicious side dish to simple roast chicken.

From Lucullian (LucullianDelights.com): My first favorite is the Red Beet Risotto from BellaEats. The photo has a lovely color scheme, and the food is delicious! Next up is the Strawberry Spinach Salad from KalynsKitchen - a lovely summery feel to both photo and recipe!

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Healthy Activities. Tanya: Do you garden? You can really work up a sweat, not to mention tone those arms being out there weeding & digging. Feel free to submit photos of your gardening successes to HealthyYum. After all, healthy fruits & veggies fresh from the garden = a delicious recipe!

Maggie: Or, if you don't garden - what about finding a pick-your-own farm/orchard and harvesting your own fruits or veggies? We like strawberries, blueberries (perfect this time of year), cherries, and plums! I use PickYourOwn.org to find farms near me. Pick-your-own is a great excuse to introduce your family and friends to healthy foods.

Food & Health Tidbits. The 2009 VeggieAwards nominees have been announced. Head on over to their survey and help out your favorite products. Although I'm not vegetarian, some of my favorite products are nominated in Favorite Vegan Milk, Vegan Ice Cream, Favorite Tofu. You have until July 31 to vote and give kudos to your favorite food companies.

How about a National Dairy-Free Ice Cream Day? Turtle Mountain, maker of So Delicious and Purely Decadent dairy-free ice cream, is petitioning President Obama to designate the fourth Sunday in July as National Dairy-Free Ice Cream Day. In 1984 President Ronald Reagan designated the third Sunday in July National Ice Cream Day. It was to be observed by the people of the United States with "appropriate ceremonies and activities." Unfortunately, President Reagan failed to recognize over 50 million Americans who cannot consume ice cream due to its dairy content, such as those with lactose intolerance, food allergies, dietary restrictions, or other health concerns. "We believe that every American should have the right to enjoy ice cream," says John Tucker, Vice President of Marketing at Turtle Mountain.

I say, bring it on - since July is National Ice Cream Month, I wouldn't mind having a designated day just for us "non-regular ice cream eating" folks. And if you don't know about Turtle Mountain - you better ask somebody! Check out these reviews of Turtle Mountain Purely Decadent Dairy Free Cherry Nirvana Ice Cream and So Delicious Vanilla Coconut Milk Yogurt Alternative ... yummy.

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Websites & Blogs We Heart. Branappetit (www.branappetit.wordpress.com) shared with us 2 of her favorite blogs: Carrots'n'Cake by Tina was one of the first blogs I started reading, and I love that she approaches food the same way I try to in my life. Seeing her make healthy meals, big breakfasts (which I love!), and still indulging when she wanted helped inspire me to start my own blog. I think she definitely has the "healthy balanced lifestyle" down and I think people need to see this type of balance and know that it's possible for anyone.

My newest blog obsession has to be Joy, The Baker. She takes absolutely beautiful pictures and always has a great way of inspiring me to make her creations. Any dessert you can think of she's probably already made it, taken awesome pictures of it, and put up the recipe for you to enjoy. I actually made her bacon 'n' waffles not too long ago, although I did "health" them up a bit. They were amazing!

Maggie. I just recently discovered the art of food combining, so I've been reading Gena's awesome blog, Choosing Raw. She has some really interesting recipes and ideas, and she's a lovely writer!