7 Apps to Help You Eat Better

Apps for a happier stomach.

Mobile apps are handy for a lot of things: navigating a city, staying on a budget, finding home design inspiration, taking pornographic photos of food. But what about helping you live healthier? These seven healthy eating apps are up to the task. And don’t worry: at EcoSalon, we enjoy our food, so no dieting apps allowed.

Foodtree

With the tagline “Know More, Eat Better,” Foodtree aims to educate consumers about where their food comes from, as well as highlight restaurants and markets with responsible sourcing practices. The app also has a collaborative element: anyone can upload photos and tag them with location and sourcing information.

App available for the iPhone for free. 

Locavore

Find out what fruits and veggies are in season with the Locavore app, which then directs you to nearby farms and farmers’ markets where you can purchase locally-grown produce. On top of that, you can browse recipes incorporating said fruits and veggies for a true farm to table experience.

App available for iPhone and Android for free.

Love Food Hate Waste

Those leftovers have been sitting in your fridge for quite some time now. Give them a second life with the Love Food Hate Waste app. Just key your ingredients into the “Recipe Blender” and the app will generate meal suggestions from a database of more than 350 recipes.

App available for iPhone and Android for free.

Seafood Watch

A project of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the Seafood Watch application helps you make sustainable seafood decisions at local restaurants and markets. The interface allows you to sort seafood by “best choice,” “good alternative,” or “avoid,” plus it highlights recommended “super green” seafood.

App available for iPhone for free.

Harvest

The Harvest App helps you choose the freshest, best-tasting fruits and veggies by providing tips and techniques for picking out high-quality produce. The app also indicates pesticide residue levels for each type of produce, which can be helpful when deciding between organic and conventional.

App available for iPhone for $1.99.

VegOut

If you’re a vegetarian, you probably know how difficult it is to eat out. Powered by HappyCow.net, VegOut provides an extensive searchable listing of vegan, vegetarian, and vegetarian-friendly restaurants – plus, it’s location-based.

App available for iPhone for $2.99.

iGrowIt

If our urban gardening series has inspired some planting action of your own this spring, this app can help you figure out exactly what you can plant at a given time. Not only that, but it also provides detailed planting instructions and recipes you can use once your seedlings have sprouted.

App available for iPhone for $0.99.

Jessica Marati

Jessica Marati currently resides in New York City and covers travel and sustainability for EcoSalon. Catch her weekly column, Behind the Label.