Six blogs, websites, etcetera about food, health, etcetera worth checking out

We’re always on the lookout for new or new-to-us food-related blogs, websites and resources. Here are a half dozen that have recently caught our eye. They range from helpful to health-oriented to hip to hmmmm. Found a new site recently? Share it in the comments below.

1. Still Tasty: Edible or not?

I don’t know about you, but our fridge is usually chock full of leftovers, ingredients waiting their turn to become meals and partial containers of all manner of foodstuffs. So one of the most frequently asked questions in our kitchen is “Think this is still okay?” Well, now there’s a site that answers those questions without looking like a warning on a cigarette pack.

Still Tasty delivers loads of useful food safety information in a stylish, friendly site. You can search foods and beverages by name or browse by category. You’ll also find tips on expiration dates, safely thawing frozen foods, getting the most flavor and shelflife from fresh fruit and more. Bookmark this site now. Thank me later. [Speaking of which, thanks to Thrillist New York for bringing Still Tasty to my attention.]

2. The Daily Plate: Eat right, live strong

As frequent headlines and countless blogs remind us, obesity is a daily struggle for far too many of us. Underlining the fact that this is not just an aesthetic issue but a serious health concern, The Daily Plate has teamed up with Lance Armstrong’s LIVESTRONG.COM to provide guidance and encouragement to eat well, find balance, be active and get healthy.

On the site, you’ll find calorie counters [both for foods and activities], searchable foods and activities, success stories of real people and more. You can also set your own personal goals and track your success. And to get there, you’ll find groups and forums ready to support your efforts. The Daily Plate isn’t just about weight loss [among the personal goals you can select is actually gaining weight]—it’s about living healthier, happier lives.

3. Local Lemons: A New Yorker gets fresh in California

When Allison’s lovely food blog Local Lemons first appeared on my radar, she’d only been at it for about three weeks. But it already had a much more experienced, accomplished feel to it—the writing, the photography and the food were all spot on. Her food is mainly Mediterranean, but influenced by the fact that her husband is Colombian.

And it is fresh! Having moved from Brooklyn to Berkeley, she takes full advantage of the bountiful local produce, much of it from farmers markets. Here’s what she says about the move: “One of my favorite things about living in Berkeley, besides the food, is the smell. Every time I walk outside, the air is filled with citrus and roses – hence, Local Lemons. It only makes sense that a place with a perfect climate and perfumed air would produce such amazing food.” So stop by Local Lemons and pick up something fresh.

4. Mmm, mmm Good Ideas: Campbell’s wants yours

How many times have you found yourself perusing the canned soups at the grocery store and thinking, “I wish they made [insert your soup idea here]”? Well, Campbell’s would love to hear your idea. So much so that they’ve created Campbell’s Ideas for Innovation to make it easier for you to share.

They’re not looking for recipes, per se—there’s a separate link on the site for submitting those. But as the site says, they “are always interested in ideas for new products, packaging, marketing, and production technologies that will help us meet the needs of our consumers and customers better, faster and more completely.” So if you’ve got an idea for, say, a soup six-pack or wedding soup complete with engagement ring, here’s where to let them know.

And what’s in it for you? Well, besides bragging rights, maybe a little cash. The site is filled with stuff the lawyers made them put in, but buried within the legal speak was mention of an honorarium. According to the site, “The amount of the honorarium, if any, will be determined solely by Campbell, based on Campbell’s reasonable judgment, but will in no event exceed $5,000.” On the other hand, just being able to walk your mom or your main squeeze down the supermarket aisle and say, “Yep, that was my idea” might be worth it.

5: BrokeAss Gourmet: Yeah, I saw that smile

Given the current economy, more food writers—in outlets from magazines and newspapers to TV and blogs—are writing about economizing in the kitchen. Perhaps none so entertainingly and unabashedly as BrokeAss Gourmet. A fairly recent addition to the online food writing world, this cheap-is-chic site offers up economy with attitude. Recipes, produced by a mostly youngish staff of writers, come with price points as well as prep times.

Besides meals, BrokeAss Gourmet has sections on Wine and Sex [although the latter is a bit of a tease—it’s about food to share with your love interest]. All in all, it’s a fresh take on frugal, with quick, doable recipes and friendly writing.

6. Pennsylvania Falcon Cam: “You gonna finish that pigeon?”

Okay, this one has nothing to do with food, other than to remind us of the food chain and various creatures’ places on it. But Pennsylvania Falcon Cam is also a delightful reminder that in all our mucking about with the environment, sometimes we get it right. Simply put, Falcon Cam is a live, 24-hour Webcast of two Peregrine falcons who nest on a ledge on Pennsylvania’s Rachel Carson State Office Building in Harrisburg. According to PR Newswire, last year, “the site drew more than three million visits from Internet users.”

I’m kind of guessing that at least one million of those visits were Marion, an inveterate birdwatcher—she’s the one who turned me onto the site. And it is addicting. There is something wonderful about watching these birds, once endangered by the excessive use of DDT in farming [so see, there is sort of a food connection], making a comeback. And they are quite well suited to city living. There are nesting pairs in Chicago, New York, St. Louis and many other US cities, where tall buildings substitute for cliffs and pigeons are an abundant food source.

Pennsylvania Falcon Cam is more than a real time nature show—it’s often a dramedy. You have the drama of whether the eggs will hatch, how many of the babies will survive, whether they will fledge okay… But you have comic moments too. Marion recalls once seeing the female struggling to get comfortable atop five eggs and finally standing and glaring down at them as if to say, “Hatch already!” And another time, when the male returned to the nest with fresh kill and started eating before the chicks were fed, the female read him the riot act. So check out Pennsylvania Falcon Cam. And let us know if you have any good recipes for squab.

Okay, your turn. What blogs, websites, etcetera have caught your eye lately?