There's An App For That!

The majority of the people that I spend time with consider their cell phones to be an extension of their arm.You can use your phone to check social media, get directions, check email, read books, listen to music...the list goes on. Our phones keep us in constant contact with each other and the world around us. While this can be annoying at times (like when your dinner partner finds their phone more interesting than you, but I digress) it is really pretty amazing what our phones can do. 

Did you know that there are all kinds of apps out there that can take some of the mystery out of healthy eating? So, put Candy Crush on pause, stop checking your Facebook news feed for the millionth time today, and check out some of my favorite apps that can make healthy eating simple.

#1. Fooducate

I am a weirdo who loves to stand in the aisle of the grocery store for hours and read nutrition labels as if they were popular novels. But, labels can be confusing with their many health claims and ingredients you can't pronounce. 

Fooducate is like having your own personal grocery shopping adviser who helps you decide what to buy. When you download Fooducate, you create a profile with your height, weight, and activity level. You then specify your goals, which could include losing weight, controlling carbohydrates, lowering cholesterol, lowering blood pressure, avoiding processed food, or eating vegetarian, to name a few.

In the grocery store, you scan the bar code of a food item and Fooducate grades the item on a scale from A to D based on your goals. The grade a food receives is based on the nutrition facts panel and the ingredient list. Minimally processed, nutrient dense foods score better than processed foods that use fortification to appear healthy. 

Fooducate is available for FREE on the iPhone and android. You can also read more about it here!

#2. Food on the Table

How does a weekly meal plan, healthy recipes your kids will love, savings at the grocery store, and an organized grocery list sound to you? Like a lot of work? Like you would need to be a Stepford wife to make it happen? I hear you. I used to spend my Sunday mornings going through store ads, clipping coupons, planning meals, and making my grocery list. Again, I am a freak of nature and most people don't have time for this. 

Food on the Table helps you plan healthy meals while saving time and money. When you make your meal plan for the week, you can select from a database of thousands of healthy recipes that don't require a lot of work. You can even pick your meals based on foods that are on sale in your store's weekly circular ad! Once you plan your meals, Food on the Table makes you an organized grocery list that will save you valuable time at the store. 

You can read more about Food on the Table by clicking here! It is available for FREE on the iPhone and
android.

#3. The Daily Plate 

 I started using the web version of The Daily Plate back in 2007. Of the many calorie trackers I have tried, this is my favorite. This app helps you reach your diet and fitness goals by tracking your daily calories and exercise. It boasts the largest food database on the Internet, and I personally think it is the easiest to use. 

When you set up your profile, you indicate your height, weight, activity level, and goal. You can choose to lose a certain amount of weight, maintain your current weight, or gain weight. The app will tell you not only how many calories you should consume, but it will give you allowances for fat, carbohydrates, protein, sugar, and salt. 

To track your daily food intake, you just type the food into the database, select it, and add it to your meal. What I love about The Daily Plate is that literally EVERYTHING is in their database. It is not limited to packaged foods, and you can even plug in your favorite recipes and have the app analyze their nutrition content. 

The Daily Plate app is $2.99 for the iPhone, Blackberry, or Android. I promise you that it's worth every penny, but if you want to try it out for free first, you can sign up for the web version for free by clicking here!

Healthy eating doesn't have to be complicated or time consuming, and I hope that these apps will help take some of the confusion and stress out of it for you. If you have a favorite app that I have not listed here, please tell me about it in the comments section! I am always looking for new nutrition tools to geek out over.