By
Alexandra Arici
Eating healthier is probably one of the resolutions you swore you’re going to keep in 2017. Maybe you’ve up on a few pounds after the holiday season or simply you want to reboot your whole life style – and we’re here to give you a helping hand because we know how hard it can be to reinforce a new habit.
If for the past year you’ve indulged in greasy hamburgers and sugary snacks, it’s not going to be super easy to make the transition to eating a balanced diet. Luckily we can use technology to our advantage, so pull out that phone of yours from your pocket. There’s a plethora of mobile apps designed to gently nudge you into keeping your healthy eating goals. And guess what? We’ve already compiled a list for you, so you don’t have to spend time searching.
Fooducate
Fooducate – Weight Loss Coach offers more than the name reveals and that’s because it’s more than a simple calorie counter. Its aim is to teach you differentiate between healthy and unhealthy food items. Fooducate will grade grocery products using an A to F grading scale for their healthfulness. All you need to do to see whether an aliment is healthy or not is scan the bar code. The app will also deliver food recommendations based on your current diet.
Surely Fooducate can be converted into a great weight loss companion too, as it doubles as an intake, calorie and exercise tracker. Note that in order to unlock some features of the app, you’ll need to upgrade to Pro subscription (which also removes annoying ads).
Food Additives
Are you trying your best to pick the most healthier products, but you’re at a loss when you try reading their labels? Don’t worry, a lot of people have that problem. The Food Additives app tries to solve this issue, by providing information on most additives found in the food you buy at the supermarket.
Same additives might be harmless, but many aren’t so healthy and even potentially dangerous if you suffer from an acute allergy or health condition. With the Food Additives app you can quickly check whether a particular additive is safe or not. Ingredients are color coded (red is bad, green is safe) and the flags which appear next to them reveal which countries approved it for use.
Tapping on a certain ingredient will open up an informative description, so you can get even more informed about food potential harming factors.
Open Food Facts
For those who want to go beyond additives, the Open Food Facts app is exactly what they need. Scan the product’s barcode and get info on ingredients and nutrition facts. According to the indications present on the food item’s packaging, users can also receive info related to carbon footprint, recycling instructions, labels (bio, gluten free, vegan, vegetarian, halal, kosher) and traceability information (origins of ingredients). It’s a super helpful app to have around.
Dirty Dozen
If you’re worried the foods you are eating might be plagued by pesticides, the Dirty Dozen app is for you. And according to the Environmental Working Group, one can lower pesticide intake by avoiding the 12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables.
This app will show you which fruits and veggies have the most pesticide residues and which you should buy in organic form. It can also deliver great cooking ideas including said ingredients.
Find Me Gluten Free
Are you celiac, gluten sensitive or just on a gluten free diet? If that’s the case, then this app will help you find restaurants, fast foods, bars and cafes which sell gluten free food items. The Find Me Gluten Free app allows you to view menus, call or get directions.
Users are encouraged to submit their own reviews of locations in order to help the app become more accurate.
Cookbrite
Need new cooking ideas to get you excited about continuing your plan of eating healthy? Cookbrite is a fun little app that will take over for you, when your creative juices aren’t flowing in the kitchen.
Cookbrite can help you set up a shopping lost or it will deliver recipes suggestions based on what you have in your pantry or fridge. Make a dinner plan and stick to it by following the step-by-step recipe instructions which are divided in categories such as Healthy, Comfort or Refreshing.
HelloFresh
Still in need of new cooking recipes? HelloFresh is the go to app for those who like to cook using fresh ingredients only. The app aims to help users improve their cooking skills via cooking videos that offer detailed, step-by-step instruction.
What’s more HelloFresh will also do your groceries for you and deliver everything straight to your door. The company has parented up with popular chef, Jamie Oliver who will be in charge of creating fun recipes that customers can choose for their launch boxes.
MakeMyPlate
MakeMyPlate comes up with an ingenious solution to keep you eating healthy. The app is a visual meal planner which targets the visual aspect of your plate. The idea behind MakeMyPlate is that you’ll be more inclined to eat something if it looks good. The app features three different diet plans which include meal plans you can customize to meet your specific needs.
The app will also help you get your portions right, so you won’t be inclined to “accidentally” add more. MakeMyPlate can also create an automatic grocery list based on your meal plan, but users can provide their own input by configuring it manually.
HealthyOut
There’s always the danger that you’ll go out for dinner one night with a friend and relapse into your old unhealthy eating patterns. But with HealthyOut on your phone, you’ll be able to find the dishes at your local restaurant that match your nutritional preference.
Looking something Mediterranean under 500 calories? HealthyOut will found the dishes that match your exact specifications. Dietary restrictions like Vegetarian, Vegan, Lactose intolerance or Gluten Free are also included.
HealthyOut lets you filter by cuisine, ingredients and type of dish, so you can keep up the good work you have done so far.
Water Drink Reminder
You can’t lead a healthy life style if you don’t drink plenty of fluids. The Water Drink Reminder does exactly that. Reminds you to drink enough water throughout the day. The app syncs weight data with S Health and Google Fit and can send notifications to your smartwatch as well. It’s as simple as it is effective.
