You can delightfully read RSS again (thanks @reederapp!)

Reading RSS on iOS is a joy again.

Thanks to Reeder 2, which is out today and is a universal app for iPhone and iPad.

The app provides access to the most popular RSS feed and sync services (I use Feedly, but Reeder 2 supports Feedbin, Feed Wrangler and Fever). It also allows you to open URLs in either Safari or Chrome.

Applaud developer Silvio Rizzi for creating a simple, intuitive, yet feature-rich app that will look stunning in iOS 7 (which arrives on Thursday, September 18) and on your new iPhone 5s or 5c.

Reeder 2 is $4.99 in the iOS App Store.

Serving up some healthier food choices in Washington state

One size doesn't fit all when it comes to wellness programs.

So Premera Blue Cross in Washington state launched Serve It Up!, a web and mobile app service that helps members make healthier choices.

Neal Sofian, Premera's Director of Member Engagement, said at a recent mobile health conference in Boston (as reported in MobiHealthNews):

“Serve It Up! is saying we recognize how people operate. They are at the grocery store 200 times a year, so why not start where people are — at the grocery list? Which means it starts at the dining room table or the kitchen table when you’re making your weekly shopping list.”

The service allows users to create shopping lists and use an iPhone app to scan bar codes and get nutritional information. There are sponsored coupons for healthy items and recipes to help you figure out how to cook things like a 112-calorie coconut curry soup.

There's also some perks, too, for making those healthy choices. Serve It Up! awards points for making healthy choices that can lead to prizes  — even tickets to a Seattle Seahawks game! 

Patient engagement comes in many flavors — and, in this case, with some points for making healthy decisions.

Serve it Up! helps users shop smart and eat healthy -- helping you make smarter and healthier foods choices at the grocery store and at home. Try it: http://www.serveituphealthy.com

Source: MobiHealthNews

Your kid's routine, on your iPad

Kids need a routine. And now there's an app for that!

It's MyRoutine, an iPad app from Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn.

The idea stemmed from kids being scared about visits to their doctor or the hospital. But it extends way beyond health care. 

The app allows you to create a "story" for your child — from a visit to the hospital to taking the school bus to getting ready for bed — and lists the tasks they must complete. You create the tasks, associate a picture with each task and put them in the appropriate order. 

As your child completes each task, they can click on the photo to reveal "All Done!"

Think of it as a "to do" list for your kid — and something that can engage and delight them as they feel a sense of accomplishment.

Original source: MobiHealthNews

RUN! Zombies are chasing you!

Your mission is to help the planet avoid a zombie apocalypse.

That's the motivation in Zombies, Run! 2, an app for iPhone and Android that challenges you to reach your goals through "Zombie Chase" interval training. 

In Zombies, Run! 2, you are inserted in a gripping storyline where you must achieve your fitness goals to move the story forward. Here you'll trade the usual encouraging and inspirational messages (like "you can do it" and "you really rocked today") for zombie-related messages ("they're right on your tail; don't look back!" and "they spotted you — run!").

This app is another example of "gamification" — using game theory and tactics to incent people and improve engagement. A proliferation of apps and devices now help connect you to your health — from tracking activity and sleep to counting calories and nutritional breakdown of food.

If you fear zombies — and it will make you run faster, further and more often — this is the fitness app for you.

Zombies, Run! 2 is out now on iOS and Android, with new missions, a new look, and new base-builder gameplay! Visit http://www.zombiesrungame.com to buy it now!

An app for just in case your kid gets hurt

If you have kids, you'll eventually need an app like this.

Wesley Kids is the creation of Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, Kan. It's a great "all-in-one" iPhone app that combines a super useful (and very deep) symptom checker with a family medication tracker. There is also parental advice on issues from "ADHD" to "whining."

Don't have an iPhone? Bookmark the website — it contains all of the symptom tracker content.

Download the app here.