Home
About
Gardening
Food
    Recipes
    Anti-inflammatory Diet
    Carb Counting
    Dairy Elimination
    Heart Healthy
    Intermittent Fasting
    Liver-Friendly Diet
    MyPlate Guidelines
    Paleo Diet
    Trim Healthy Mama
Fitness
Wellness Tips
    Eating Well in Less Time
    Eating Well on a Budget
Contact
Subscribe
Down Home Dietitian - Healthy doesn't have to be hard.
  • Home
  • About
  • Gardening
  • Food
    • Recipes
    • Anti-inflammatory Diet
    • Carb Counting
    • Dairy Elimination
    • Heart Healthy
    • Intermittent Fasting
    • Liver-Friendly Diet
    • MyPlate Guidelines
    • Paleo Diet
    • Trim Healthy Mama
  • Fitness
  • Wellness Tips
    • Eating Well in Less Time
    • Eating Well on a Budget
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
Browsing Tag
meal planning websites
Archives

5 of the Best Healthy Eating Apps to Save You Time and Money

free wellness apps

 

When you start to eat well, it can feel like a time drain at first! To help out, consider all of the resources available to you. Not everyone prefers apps or tech-based toys but for those who do, they can be time game-changers. While many websites and apps (hellooooo social media…) tend to waste time, strategic use of time-saving apps can actually help make wellness easier and more streamlined. For the tech-lovers out there, here are 5 of the best healthy eating apps for your Apple or Android device. All of them are free except one, and it’s only $1.99.

 

1. Zipongo (free on the App Store and Google Play)

recipe app

Best for: easy-to-use recipe app (and some meal planning)
How it works: Set up your dietary preferences and allergies, then peruse the vast recipe database, divided into a variety of categories (including low-calorie, in season, and 15 minutes or less, among many others). From there you can select your favorites and add recipes and their ingredients to a shopping list (divided by grocery department).
Pros: The app boasts many healthy recipes and the categories make them easy to search through. It’s convenient to add the ingredients to your grocery list, and the divided list saves time wandering in the grocery store.
Cons: There is not an easy way to create a digital meal plan from the recipes you choose.

 

2. Pepperplate (free on the App store, Microsoft store, Google Play, and Amazon, available as a full website)

meal planning app

 

Best for: meal planning (and a self-created recipe database)
How it works: Create a recipe database from your personal recipes (entered manually) and imported recipes from over 30 different recipe websites including All Recipes and Eating Well. Add recipes to a meal plan and then to a shopping list (divided by grocery department).
Pros: Meal planning and creating your shopping list is very easy to do, and again, love the divided grocery list.
Cons: Requires a time investment to set up at first, but only until you have a good database built up.

 



 

3. Fooducate (free on the App store and Google play, available as a full website)

 

 

Best for: choosing healthful foods
How it works: Use the “Food Finder” section to scan a barcode or search for a product and see it’s “grade” based on an A through D grading system. The app also provides an explanation for the grade and tips or alternatives to improve nutrition. The app also has recipes, a food/health tracker, and a “diet tidbits” section.
Pros: I love that it includes the explanation behind the grades, so you can know whether or not a new food or product is something you want to include. For the most part I agree with the explanations and they are backed by evidence.
Cons: The food tracker is not the easiest to use and I preferred to ignore that part of the app. Also, don’t allow “bad grades” to label a food “off limits” if you really love it. Just eat it less often and/or in smaller portions!

 

4. Harvest – Select the Best Produce ($1.99 on the App store)

Best for: tips for produce selection and storage
How it works: Enter your state and get a list of produce that are in season and information on how to properly select, store, and use them. The app also gives information on the typical pesticide levels found in each type of produce.
Pros: Great way to expand your repertoire of fruits and vegetables, and the pesticide content info helps prioritize organic purchases to save money.
Cons: Unfortunately, this app is only available for Apple devices. Some users found the information on produce seasons in their area to be inaccurate.

 



 

5. Plant Nanny (free on the App store, Microsoft store, and Google Play)

free hydration app

 

Best for: promoting hydration
How it works: Enter your weight and choose a cute little baby plant (and a flower pot). The app tells you how much fluid to drink each day (count anything that doesn’t have alcohol or added sugars in it!). As you drink, you water your plant. As you water your plant, it grows. Once it’s grown up, place it in your garden and plant another! If you don’t drink enough one day, your plant will be wilted the next, and if you underhydrate for two days, your plant will be dying on the third. Drink enough on the third day or your plant dies!

 

Ironic, isn’t it, that it took this app to get me, a dietitian, to drink enough water in order to keep my animated plant alive (as opposed to keeping my actual real body healthy)?
Pros: For the right personality, it’s delightfully cheesy and motivates you to hydrate. The plants are cute and there are several to choose from. Watering your plant is easy and not time-consuming.
Cons: Since the app only uses weight to estimate hydration needs, it overestimates if you have a higher BMI. If your BMI is over 30, find a “normal” weight for your height, add about 25 lbs, and use that as your weight in the app for accurate recommendations.

 



Share

  • Print
Share
Pin
Tweet
Continue reading

Down Home Dietitian

Diet culture is determined to tell you that you have to be miserable to be healthy.

That couldn’t be more wrong.

Subscribe to learn how to go from a frustrated, restricted dieter to a happy, relaxed relationship with food and fitness. Healthy doesn’t have to be hard!

Subscribe
https://youtu.be/xz9u4pUPFA0

Instagram

downhomedietitian

Healthy doesn't have to be hard.
Dietitian | Exercise Physiologist | Speaker | Youtuber
Building a small permaculture homestead in WA state

Becki Parsons
Choosing to work with a dietitian is NOT "turning Choosing to work with a dietitian is NOT "turning yourself in" to the food police! It's finding a teammate to help you find the eating plan that works for you. I frequently joke with my clients that they are dating healthy changes and I am their matchmaker - it's not about forcing your life to fit a plan, it's about finding the plan that complements your life AND helps you meet your goals and feel your best without being miserable or deprived!
.
Ready to give it a go? Click the link in my bio to schedule an in-person or video appointment!
.
#diet #dietitian #nutrition #nutritionist #wellness #health #healthy #eathealthy #loseweight #weightloss #fitness #lifestylechange #exercise #eatwell #fuel #fuelyourbody #food
Our perennial garden is expanding with a low-maint Our perennial garden is expanding with a low-maintenance veggie you plant once and harvest year after year! Click the link in my bio to visit my YouTube channel and watch the full video.
.
.
#garden #gardening #perennial #veggie #veggiegardening #veggies #asparagus #growingasparagus #health #healthy #homegrown #gardener #homestead #homesteading #wellness #nutrition #easy #eatlocal #growityourself #fiber #diet #dietitian #weightloss #healthyeating
Happy meets healthy: prioritizing your favorite fo Happy meets healthy: prioritizing your favorite foods!

At a restaurant, you are presented with so many options: appetizer, drinks, sides, entrees, extras, dessert...

An all-or-nothing "diet mindset" would say turn it all down - eat a grilled chicken salad with a water. Deprive, deprive, deprive.

An all-or-nothing "not dieting right now" mindset would say to get it all - absolutely anything and everything that sounds good to you. Then feel guilty for having done it. Promise yourself you'll start your "diet mindset" again Monday.

I'm here to say that all-or-nothing thinking stinks. It isn't healthy OR happy. It's miserable. Your healthy life SHOULD include your favorite foods. AND healthy foods that make your body happy.

It was a busy, restaurant-filled weekend as we celebrated our son's birthday as well as Mothers' Day. I prioritized the options at each restaurant and meal that make me the happiest - sourdough toast, two servings of sweet potato fries...HAPPY. I made changes somewhere else to get plenty of protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals...HEALTHY. You CAN have both.

.

#healthy #happy #nutrition #fitness #wellness #weightloss #eatingout #restaurant #diet #dietitian #nutrition #dietitianlife #loseweight #eatingwell #veggies #protein #fruit #carbohydrates
#wildflower #nocaptionneeded #wildflower #nocaptionneeded
What a great horse blessing day! Thank you to my p What a great horse blessing day! Thank you to my parents for this gorgeous new saddle pad for my birthday. A gift for my horse is a gift for me!
.
If you're a horse person, you'll know the great joy it is to share your horse with a currently horse-less horse lover. For 17 years I was that horse-less person and I would have gladly cleaned stalls for hours just to be in a barn again...my aunt Mary has the horse bug too and hasn't had a horse since her sweet boy Pal in high school. This weekend she came to visit for the first time since I got Blue Belle and it was such a joy to watch Blue Belle light up Mary's face as she got to groom and ride. ♥️ Plus my mom got to ride for the first time in years, and we talked about their memories of riding their Grandma's horse Sugar. Horses are such a gift!
We just added a few hundred new members to the hom We just added a few hundred new members to the homestead! Click the link in my bio to watch my latest video on our new hive of honeybees!
.
#honey #honeybees #garden #pollinators #gardening #hive #homestead #beekeeping
We recently got back from a Hawaiian vacation with We recently got back from a Hawaiian vacation with our family that's been 3 years in the making...we are so grateful to have gotten to go and enjoy all kinds of Hawaiian foods! Click the link in my bio to watch my recent video with tips for eating well - like really, really deliciously well- on vacation.
Tulips are starting to bloom! The patience bulbs r Tulips are starting to bloom! The patience bulbs require is such an effective teacher that good and beautiful things are worth the wait.
Just got back from an amazing and much-needed Hawa Just got back from an amazing and much-needed Hawaiian vacation...looking forward to taking all that restful peace back to work in the garden!

#hawaii #kauai #poipu #beach #sunset #vacation #beautiful #restful #peaceful #happy
We planted an orchard!!! Click the link in my des We planted an orchard!!!

Click the link in my description to watch my latest video on planting a small permaculture orchard on our homestead! I'm so excited about this investment into our food production - now to wait 2-4 years for a decent harvest... #patience
Load More... Follow on Instagram
  • Planting a Small Permaculture Orchard on our Homestead
  • How Much to Plant in Your Vegetable Garden
  • Recipe: Immune Boosting Winter Smoothie
  • Choosing an Exercise Plan you can Stick To
  • Working Toward Your Health Goals When Life is Busy or Stressful

Categories

© 2021 All rights reserved.

Log In

Forgot Password?

Not registered yet? Create an Account