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

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HealthyYum Weekly Challenge. Last week's theme chosen by twopeasandtheirpod was Healthy Breakfast. Two photos will be chosen and the winners will receive a copy of the book 101 Foods That Could Save Your Life, by David Grotto AND coupons for free Nasoya Silken Creations (dairy-free, lactose-free, low-fat, gluten-free desserts).

The winner chosen by twopeasandtheirpod is Healthy Blueberry Pancakes by DK. Maggie and I also chose our favorite, which was Cereal Bowl by Fruits. Veggies. Life.

Woot! Congratulations and look out for an email with the details.

This week's Healthy Food Challenge was picked by KalynsKitchen who had one of the favorite photos from last week. She picked ... drum roll please ... SALADS. Yes, we have already seen some delicious creations, and now we want MORE! It's time to wow us with they ways in which you are using those summer vegetables ans submit your pictures of creative salad ideas!

The person with our favorite photo will receive the Days Ago Digital Day Counter. This handy little timer attaches to a variety of surfaces with a magnetic or suction backing and counts up to 99 days. You can use it on food containers to let you know how many days ago you opened it, closed it, tried it, sauced it, grew it, etc. As for leftovers, it eliminates the doubt about when to throw it out.

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Favorite Photos. Last week Cookin Canuck and BellaEats picked their favorites. This week The Perfect Pantry and Elle are doing the honors. Lydia from The Perfect Pantry says, I love the clever food styling of the Plum Carpaccio posted by doggybloggy,, and The Hummus en Fuego posted by somaR, draws me in with its amazing color.

Elle of Elle's New England Kitchen selected the Grilled Vegetables, Italian Style by Lucullian. These look so incredibly seasoned and delicious, ready to be used in so many ways. My mind is spinning at the possibilities. I also loved the Healthy Wheat Berry and Pinto Bean Soup by DK. It happens to be a very dreary morning here, though warm, so soup looks really good right now. And this is such a pretty, inviting photo!

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Healthy Activities.
Tanya. What's your favorite form of exercise? I've found that the key for me to get motivated to work out (I'm the queen of procrastination), is to tell myself I'm going to do only the exercises I love that day. It usually means no running and hitting the weights, as that's my favorite thing to do at the gym. If you're in an exercise slump, take some time to try different things and figure out the activities you love to do the most - and look forward to doing, and hopefully that will help get you moving.

Maggie. Again, I have to talk about yoga - the summer is winding down, and stress is winding back up. Though I do love my occasional sweaty power yoga sessions, I have to admit that I've found a love recently for gentle yoga. It seems to be the only thing that really calms my ever-so-anxious mind. Check out these these 5 poses for athletes - they'll stretch and tone your body. And you don't have to be an athlete to try them!

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Food & Health TidBits. There is no evidence that organically produced foods are nutritionally superior to conventionally produced foodstuffs, according to an independent study funded by the Food Standards Agency published July 29 in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. This study was an extensive systematic review of over 50,000 papers over a fifty-year period up to 29 February 2008. More details can be found at Science Daily, but as they put it over at Daily Blender, "Surprisingly, the assumption that organic foods are 'healthier' is widespread, but ultimately, an apple is an apple. The advantage to eating organic food stuffs is the lack of unhealthy preservatives, pesticides, and genetically-modified enhancers. Nutrient levels between the two, however, generally remain the same."

FINALLY and about time - the FDA now has the power to order recalls thanks to the food safety bill passed by The US House of Representatives passed on July 30, 2009. The bill promises far-reaching reform of how food is processed and grown, intended to boost food safety and consumer confidence. More details at FoodNavigator-USA.com.

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Websites & Blogs We Heart.
Tanya. Let's talk subscriptions. Having been a broke grad student for many years, there is nothing I love more than FREE. There are still a few things though that I am more than happy to pay for. Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) Nutrition Action Healthletter is one such thing. The food industry spends tons of advertising dollars (television, internet, radio) showing you 'the good' and CSPI has a few dedicated individuals there to point out the best AND the worst, as well as sue for the bad practices. The subscription fee for the Healthletter is $10 per year but the the archives are online (free), and they are a GOLD MINE.

Maggie. As a former vegetarian/vegan and current veggie lover, I'm always looking for new vegetarian options in my area. HappyCow is an online vegetarian restaurant guide AND a directory of natural health food stores. You can enter your location and they'll give you listings of all the veggie restaurants and health food stores in your area. It would be even more useful if I had an iPhone and could look these things up on the go... :)