In 2009, Apple trademarked the phrase “There’s an app for that.” That phrase proved prophetic: In addition to popular apps for communication, navigation, and finance, there are millions of other smartphone apps that serve other functions. Some can help you live a healthier, more delicious, and more sustainable life.
That’s good news because smartphones have become essential tools for many of us. The average smartphone owner uses 10 apps per day and 30 apps in any given month.
Imagine if more of them helped you improve your life, like improving your diet or health. Believe it or not, there are mobile nutrition apps that make it easier than ever to improve your diet, track your health, and reach your goals.
From increasing nutritional awareness to sustainable meal planning, these healthy-eating mobile apps empower users to make informed food choices that align with their health and environmental values.
But while using phone apps can be helpful, they also have limitations — and potential downsides. And it’s important to recognize this if you want to use them effectively, without unwanted consequences (which you can think of as “digital side effects”).
In this guide, we’ll discuss the many benefits and potential drawbacks of healthy eating apps — and recommend some of the best ones to try.
Why Use Mobile Apps to Eat Better?
There are a bunch of ways that mobile apps can help you make better food choices.
Nutrition Tracking
Some apps can help you become more aware of your nutritional needs and how to close the gaps between your nutritional requirements and what you eat.
Others allow you to log your meals and view real-time information on your intake of essential nutrients like protein, iron, calcium, B vitamins, and so on.
This real-time information lets you make more informed food choices that align with your nutrition and health goals.
Meal Planning and Shopping
Some mobile apps can help you plan meals and shop for groceries. They can simplify meal planning and save time by providing customizable grocery lists and meal suggestions. (They can also combat the fridge magnet from the local pizza joint that subliminally suggests thin-crust pepperoni for every meal.)
You may be able to systematize your food prep by planning a week’s worth of meals, saving them for the future, and sorting and filtering them by ingredients, cuisine, or any characteristic of your choosing.
Some apps take it a step further by creating shopping lists based on your requested recipes. Others push the bounds of relevance by featuring barcode scanners that allow you to see if the tomato sauce you’re about to put into your cart contains pecorino romano or high fructose corn syrup. (Never mind that the ingredients listed on the side of the package would give you the same information — some people really like to see it on their phone!)
Recipe Databases
Some food apps provide a treasure trove of healthy recipes. These apps offer a vast library of recipes tailored to different dietary preferences, such as plant-based eating, gluten-free options, low-sodium meals, and allergy-friendly alternatives. This can simplify the process of figuring out what to shop for, prepare, and eat.
Unlike a traditional print cookbook, the recipe databases are searchable. You can look for (or exclude) specific ingredients, or any other characteristic of a recipe: “Show me Thai main courses that contain broccoli but not coconut milk,” for example.
This can make it easier to try new things, use up leftovers, and enjoy more delicious and healthy foods.
Eating Out and Traveling
There are also apps that can help you eat healthier when you’re out and about. Depending on your location, it can be challenging to find plant-based options when dining out or traveling. If you’re planning a trip, they can help you prepare by identifying restaurants and checking out their menus. This can enable you to “vote with your dollars” at restaurants that have, for example, vegan options or are entirely vegan.
For a guide to eating healthy at restaurants, check out our healthy dining guide.
Encouragement and Support
Sometimes, you might need a little encouragement or emotional support to stick to your health goals. Apps can offer insights that can help you stay on track and supply well-timed reinforcement for your good intentions.
If you get motivated by tracking your progress, these apps also allow you to see how you’re doing over time. Remembering your long-term investment in your health can help you resist momentary temptations.
There are food apps that also focus on sustainability. Some may help you use ingredients to create recipes to reduce food waste. Since plant-based foods tend to have a lower carbon footprint, plant-based apps can help users reduce and track their ecological impact.
Limitations of Using Healthy Eating Apps
While healthy eating apps can be valuable tools for tracking nutrition and fostering better habits, it’s important to consider their limitations and potential downsides.
Overemphasis on Calories
Some food tracking apps cater to the public perception that calories are the most important (or even only) metric. They may focus more on calories and macronutrient ratios than equally or even more important considerations such as overall food quality and diversity.
Potential for Over-Reliance and Obsession
Food tracking apps can encourage a hyper-focus on every meal and nutrient. For some people, this can lead to obsessive tracking and even a disordered relationship with food.
This can be especially problematic for people who suffer from body image issues, perfectionism, or a history of disordered eating. Over-reliance on food apps may make it harder to tune into the body’s natural cues for hunger and fullness.
Screen Addiction
Healthy eating apps can fuel screen time and contribute to screen addiction, too. If you spend an hour with your phone in bed going over tomorrow’s menu and shopping lists, you might compromise other areas of your life (like sleep and relationships).
There’s even a name for the anxiety some people feel when deprived of their smartphone: nomophobia (NO MObile PHOBIA).
Privacy Concerns and Data Security
Many apps, particularly health apps, collect detailed personal information. This can include your dietary habits, health conditions, and location data. Some apps collect it for their and your use, while others share it with third parties or use it for targeted advertising. The free apps, in particular, often make money by selling your data, which could raise red flags about who has access to your data and what they’re doing with it.
Limited Personalization
While smartphone apps may know a great deal about you (depending on what you tell them), their nutritional recommendations may not fully accommodate some important information about you. For example, if you become pregnant, deal with a chronic illness, or start training for an athletic event, the app may continue to give more or less generic advice that doesn’t align with your health goals.
One way around this is to work with a health coach and use the app. If you’re wondering how to find a health coach who understands and supports plant-based eating, the Plantrician Project maintains a database of plant-based coaches certified by Food Revolution Network.
These folks have graduated from FRN’s Plant-Based Coaching Certification and are trained in the latest plant-based nutrition research and the art and science of behavior change.
To find an FRN-certified plant-based coach, click here.
Subscription Costs and In-App Purchases
We’ve already seen that some free apps make money by selling your private data. On the other hand, some apps make money by charging subscription fees or requiring in-app purchases.
Some operate on a “freemium” model: The basic features are complimentary, but you have to pay to unlock premium features, such as advanced tracking, recipe ideas, and privacy controls.
These paywalls can limit access for users who would benefit most and deter people from fully committing to healthier eating habits if the costs are prohibitive. Of course, if an app is helpful, paying for premium use could be a worthwhile investment — and a way of thanking those who may have invested millions of dollars to create it.
Recommended Smartphone Apps for Healthy Eating
While there are thousands of food apps in the Google and Apple ecosystems, we’ve narrowed the choices down to 12. There are four categories, with three apps in each category, that may help you achieve your nutritional and health goals.
Nutrition and Meal Tracking
Dr Greger’s Daily Dozen
Dr. Greger’s Daily Dozen is a mobile checklist for getting your daily dose of 11 different categories of food — plus exercise. Rather than a strict meal plan, it’s a guide to incorporating diverse plant foods into your diet. Whether using it to lose excess weight or improve your health, the app can help you develop a daily habit of nutritional excellence.
Cost: Free
MyFitnessPal
MyFitnessPal is one of the original food and fitness apps designed to help users achieve their health goals. It features a barcode scanner and tools for tracking food, exercise, and fasting. Using its database of over 18 million foods, you can track and quantify your caloric and macronutrient intake. The app supports syncing with many apps and devices, helping you track steps, weight, workouts, and food.
Cost: The basic version is free, while a premium subscription currently costs $20/month or $80/year.
Calorie Counter by Cronometer
Cronometer helps users monitor their dietary intake and health metrics. It offers detailed nutrient tracking, allowing users to log food intake and view comprehensive data on macronutrients, vitamins, and minerals. The app supports customizable diet goals (including plant-based diets), integrates with fitness trackers, and provides features for tracking biometrics like weight and body measurements.
Cost: The basic version is free, while the premium product, as of this writing, costs $10/month or $50/year.
Meal Planning and Recipes
Forks Over Knives Plant-Based Recipes
Forks Over Knives Plant-Based Recipes offers over 1,000 whole foods, plant-based recipes. Users can add personal notes and mark favorites. It even includes a shopping list feature, which automatically organizes ingredients by aisle.
Cost: The app comes with a one-time fee (not a subscription) of $20. Note: Forks Over Knives also offers a meal planner app with a premium version for $20/month or $90/year.
Paprika
Paprika Recipe Manager organizes recipes, plans meals, and creates grocery lists. It features a built-in browser for saving recipes from the web. It offers smart grocery lists that automatically sort and combine ingredients, interactive recipes that keep screens active while cooking, and tools such as timers and ingredient scaling. Users can also plan meals monthly and design reusable menus.
Cost: The smartphone app costs $3 (one-time payment). To sync it with a computer, you’ll have to buy the desktop version separately for $15 (Mac or Windows).
21-Day Vegan Kickstart
21-Day Vegan Kickstart by our friends at PCRM (Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine), gives you the tools you need to kickstart your plant-based diet with 21 days of meals, including recipes, meal plans, grocery lists, daily videos, nutrition insights, and cooking demos.
Cost: Free
Groceries and Ingredients
Yuka
The Yuka app is designed to help users make informed choices about food and personal care products. By scanning barcodes, the app rates products from 0 to 100 based on ingredients, nutritional value, and potential health impacts. When a product scores poorly, it suggests healthier alternatives.
Cost: Yuka basic is free. For between $10 and $20 per year, you can subscribe to the premium version, which includes a search by product name, offline mode, and customizable food preferences.
EWG’s Healthy Living
Similar to Yuka, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) Healthy Living app is designed to help consumers make informed choices about personal care products, food, and household items. It provides access to EWG’s extensive databases, which rate the safety of cosmetics and personal care products based on their ingredients. You can scan barcodes with your smartphone or search for products to see their health and environmental ratings. You can also learn about potential allergens, carcinogens, and other harmful chemicals.
Cost: Free.
WhatsVegan Vegan Ingredient Checker
WhatsVegan users can quickly check if a product is vegan by taking a photo of the ingredients list. It highlights ingredients in green for vegan, red for non-vegan, and orange for those derived from either animal or plant sources. Unlike barcode-based apps, it works with all products that have an ingredients list, by scanning the ingredients directly.
Cost: WhatsVegan is a paid app, with a 7-day free trial. You can pay for a full year at a time ($30/year) or on a monthly basis ($4/month).
Healthy Eating While Traveling
Happy Cow
The Happy Cow app helps vegans and vegetarians find dining options worldwide. It offers a large database of vegan and vegetarian restaurants, cafes, and grocery stores in over 180 countries. Users can read and write reviews, save favorite spots for offline use, and navigate directly through the app. There’s also community engagement, with forums and blogs to connect with other plant-based eaters globally.
Cost: The app has a one-time fee of $5.
Abillion
The abillion app is a platform dedicated to promoting sustainable living and plant-based food choices. It reviews restaurants serving vegan dishes and includes product reviews and recipes. Users can share their experiences and recommendations, and each review contributes to donations supporting animal welfare, environmental conservation, and social causes.
Cost: Free. You can support them financially by shopping in the app’s marketplace. When I checked it out today, I saw stickers that said “Tofu doesn’t scream” and an assortment of vegan cookbooks, among many other products.
Vegan Friendly
The Vegan-Friendly app helps users find vegan restaurants and other businesses and products in their area. It categorizes restaurants as 100% vegan, vegan-friendly certified, or gluten-free and offers special benefits like discounts. The app also includes customer reviews and delivery links.
Cost: Free
Mobile Apps Can Help You Eat Healthier!
From increasing nutritional awareness to supporting sustainable eating practices, there are smartphone apps that can help people improve their diet and overall wellness through a plant-based lifestyle.
Of course, not everyone has or wants a smartphone — or wants to spend any more time on it. But if you like using technology to improve your life, mobile apps like the ones included in this article can help you with your health and wellness goals.
Tell us in the comments:
- If you have a smartphone, what are your favorite apps for healthy eating?
- Do you use apps to support a plant-based lifestyle? Which ones do you use the most?
- If you could invent an app to help you with health or plant-based eating, what would it do?
Featured Image: iStock.com/Tassii
