You want some YouBars?

CONTEST CLOSED.

I know you do! The lovely folks at YouBars saw my post and offered up a discount!

The first 10 readers to race over and create a bar can get 10% off! Type 'asizableapple' into the coupon code section of the view cart page for a couple bucks off.

Hmm... almond butter and goji berries or coffee crystals and pecans? I'm still working on my combination; tell me about yours!

Wondering why a head of broccoli is more than a happy meal?

Ready to tear your hair out if one more person brings up the election? At ease, hair follicles, no political chatter here. If you're paying attention to the election or living under a rock, odds are you're fairly knowledgeable on where the two popular candidates stand, but what about their opinion on food?

I came across a pretty cool New York Times blog interviewing author Michael Pollan who says talking about the nation's food policies are just as important as any other hot topic.

One of Mr. Pollan’s concerns is that national policies subsidize the least healthful calories that we eat. He notes that the “building blocks” of fast food are soy and corn, used to make hydrogenated soy oil, the protein and starch in cattle and chicken feed, and high-fructose corn syrup used in sodas and sweets.

“That’s what we’ve been heavily subsidizing, encouraging farmers to grow more of, and that’s what makes fast food so cheap,” he said. “Meanwhile over in the produce section, the head of broccoli costs more than a fast-food hamburger. Why is that? We do very little to encourage farmers to grow what are called specialty crops, which is actual food you can eat. We need to level the playing field between the unhealthy and healthy calories.”

Any living, breathing, eating, grocery shopping American should take some time out to think about national food policies. The NYT blog is only a snippet of a 20 minute interview with Pollan. What do you think? Voice your opinions in comments or email me!

Play with your food, make your own!

Among the things I've been meaning to do (like get back to posting here!) is to share some of the info I've had laying around in the old inbox. I DO have a lot of good stuff; one of my recent favorites comes from Hungry Girl (thanks for sharing, mom!).

Besides all her great info were links to personalizing food! I got sucked into the make your own cereal site, which one are you salivating over?

Me and Goji- Make your own cereal! Add wheat, dried fruit, nuts and more; the site keeps track of your creation's nutritional values too. I'll never be able to look at Captain Crunch again after seeing all the possibilities!

YouBar- Growing tired of grabbing the same old granola bar when you're on the go? Make your own at YouBar! Same idea as Me and Goji, including keeping up with tracking nutritional values, but now in an easy to grab bar.

Love the create your owns? Hate the hassle and dig something already on the store shelves? Shoot me and email or comment with feedback!

MSNBC Interactive

I came across this while fumbling for material on the ever so faithful MSNBC health page. It's a very cool interactive page where you can learn about how women's bodies change over time.

Check out what changes your bones, skin, heart, hair, mind and other areas. Doesn't hurt to do a little damage control now so you don't end up like this later!