Life is so fast-paced. We rush to work, run to soccer practice, and race back home to make dinner. For all the running around we do in a day, we seem to loose more time than weight. How do we fit in healthy eating? We need an \u2018easy\u2019 button\u2014or two. How great would it be to have access to a healthier lifestyle right at our fingertips\u2014like on our cell phones? It turns out you can.<\/p>\n
In 2011, 11% of percent of cell phone users from diverse backgrounds pushed the install button on a health app.[1]<\/sup> It\u2019s that easy! There is an abundance of new apps (tens of thousands) online and on smart devices that promise to make our healthy living more convenient. Finding an app that is useful is the hard part.<\/p>\n There isn\u2019t a lot of research to show which apps work well. One study from John Hopkins shows that some mobile health apps (mhealth) have great potential to improve health. Dr. Alain B. Labrique, director of the Global mHealth Initiative at John Hopkins says, \u201cThey can keep us on the straight and narrow path to good health\u201d by directing our thinking to our health and providing accountability partners.[2]<\/sup><\/p>\n We decided to make it easy for you by doing the research for you. In the end, we picked 7 health apps we found worthwhile.<\/p>\n Living life in the fast lane frequently takes us straight to the fast food chains instead of the grocery lanes. There are several apps that can guide you on \u2018the straight and narrow path to good health.\u2019 They will take you from customized meal planning, to affordable and healthy grocery shopping, to healthy food on your table.<\/p>\n This app helps you conveniently helps you to plan meals around your recipes, preferences and finds weekly sales for you. You can view your grocery list, which is organized by departments, on your smart devices. \u201cFood on the Table\u201d claims that it saves subscribers an average of 40% on their grocery bills. You can even add your own tried and true recipes online.<\/p>\n There is no cost for up to 3 meals a week. The paid premium membership offers unlimited meals and more recipes. One downside is that this app doesn\u2019t provide sale information for some major grocery stores. Also, the nutritional information for recipes is only available online. (iOS\/Android\/online)<\/p>\n This online meal planning program can help you \u2018bust a move\u2019 through meal planning and grocery shopping. When you go online, you enter in your diet and recipe preferences. You can input food allergies, diet preferences (low fat, low calories, etc.), and recipe type preferences (pastas, casseroles, soups, etc.). Then, you pick some recipes and a grocery list is generated.<\/p>\n A nice feature of \u201cBust a Meal\u201d is that the recipes include primarily nutritious whole foods. The nutritional information for each recipe is also available. This program is only available online and costs $1.99 a month. It may be a good investment considering that shopping with a purpose and a list can save you a lot of money. One problem I have had is that I haven\u2019t been able to get the recipes on my smart phone. (online app)<\/p>\n The goal of \u201cFooducate\u201d is to educate us about the nutritional value of the foods that we buy at the grocery store. By scanning a food item at the store with a smartphone camera, you can find out its nutritional worth. The app gives each food a grade. If the food you scan doesn\u2019t make the grade, the app gives you a healthier alternative. This is a wise way to look at food especially if there are certain things that you want to avoid. (iOS\/Android\/online)<\/p>\n Cooking vegetarian and vegan meals may seem difficult, but there are apps to boost your confidence and creativity.<\/p>\n This app can start you off on the right path to healthy eating. It gives you a 21-day meal plan to help you eat vegan. Online there are interesting and helpful resources such as short videos, tips, and community forums to encourage and educate you about becoming vegan. While reading the resources, I became motivated to return to a vegan lifestyle. (iOS\/online)<\/p>\n This app tantalizes your taste buds just by looking at the gorgeous photos. It inspires you to cook organic vegetarian food. There are 48 creative recipes that use wholesome ingredients like whole grains, seeds, and unrefined sugars. The step by step cooking instructions help you to whip up a delicious dish. You can also easily create a shopping list and send it through e-mail or SMS. Green Kitchen will leave you wanting more recipes. (iOS\/online blog)<\/p>\n Some of the newest apps use games, videos, and incentives to get kids to eat better. Kids are fascinated with smart devices. They\u2019re a great medium to motivate children to join us in a pursuing a healthier lifestyle.<\/p>\n First lady Michelle Obama\u2019s first pick for a healthy app for kids is \u201cPick Chow!\u201d. It has games and activities that show kids how to pick healthy meal options. In one of the games, kids can click and drag food to a plate divided in sections like the USDA\u2019s \u201cMy Plate.\u201d When they are done, they get a rating on their meals based on nutrition guidelines and points. There are also fun cooking videos with kid chefs and easy and healthy recipes to try. (online app)<\/p>\n This is another app getting approval from moms and kids alike. This app promotes munching more fruits and vegetables in a fun and appealing way. Kids can record and share their progress with family and friends. They can also get incentives for eating more fruits and vegetables. The only drawback is that you can only enter information for one child at a time. (iOS)<\/p>\n Whet your appetite for healthy eating with these health apps. It\u2019s now easier than ever to start! Bon APP\u00e9tit!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n[1] \u201cHealth Apps | Pew Internet & American Life Project.\u201d <\/a><\/p>\n[2] \u201cTens of Thousands of Health Apps Available, but Which Ones Work?\u201d Baltimore Sun.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Life is so fast-paced. We rush to work, run to soccer practice, and race back home to make dinner. For all the running around we do in a day, we seem to loose more time than weight. How do we fit in healthy eating? We need an \u2018easy\u2019 button\u2014or two. How great would it be…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":21239,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5],"tags":[],"thb-sponsors":[],"yst_prominent_words":[802,646,855,679,760,880,2451,2511,1616],"class_list":["post-450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","category-relationships-community","post_format-post-format-image"],"acf":[],"views":1317,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/450","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=450"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/450\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21240,"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/450\/revisions\/21240"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=450"},{"taxonomy":"thb-sponsors","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/thb-sponsors?post=450"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Fast Lane to Grocery Lane<\/h3>\n
Food on the Table<\/h4>\n
Bust a Meal<\/h4>\n
Fooducate<\/h4>\n
Veggie Apps<\/h3>\n
21- Day Vegan Kickstart<\/h4>\n
Green Kitchen<\/h4>\n
Kids Connect<\/h3>\n
Pick Chow<\/h4>\n
Munch 5 a Day<\/h4>\n