Eating healthy and staying fit can be difficult. You may want to eat tasty food that is easy to prepare. You may want be inspired to exercise and stay in shape.
The good news is there are apps for that. Apps can help you plan meals that are healthy, delicious and nutritious. Apps can show recipes and nutrition information. They can also help plan grocery lists, meals, exercise and more.
An online chart shows 11 highly rated apps that can help you eat healthier and stay fit more easily.
Apps for planning meals
Paprika
Paprika is an app to help users plan meals, shop and cook. You can save recipes from websites and from other apps to Paprika.
The app can help keep a record of the foods you have in your home so when you go shopping you know what you need to buy.
The calendar in the app lets you plan meals for the week or month.
Paprika Meal Planning AppPaprika can create a shopping list based on the meals you plan and what food you already have at home.
The app lets you have multiple recipes open at the same time.
You also can set multiple timers in the app. The app even knows from the recipe how much time should be on the timer.
Paprika is available for iPhone/iPad, Android, Amazon Fire tablets, Mac and Windows for less than five dollars. Learn more about Paprika and get links to the app at the Paprika app website.
Mealime
Mealime has recipes that take under 30 minutes to cook. You can also set how many people you are cooking for and note any allergies people might have.
You can set the app to avoid foods you do not like, or for choices such as vegetarian eating. The app can show you recipes that fit your needs.
The app can also create a shopping list from the recipes you choose.
The Mealime app is free. There is also a version you can pay for. It provides more features, including recipe saving and additional nutritional information.
Links to the Mealime app for iPhone/iPad and Android are available at the Mealime website.
MealBoard
MealBoard is another app that can suggest recipes and help you plan meals.
This app can suggest recipes based on the food you already have in your home. Mealboard can keep a list of what food you have and what you need to buy.
This app can scan bar codes to add items to your list. You can also note the expiration dates using this app so you know when your food is no longer usable.
Mealboard lets users save recipes from websites and then search them by foods used in the recipes. For example, you can search for recipes that have "chocolate" in them.
MealBoard is available for iPhone and iPad for under four dollars.
Eat This Much
Eat This Much is an app that can help you stay on your diet by learning your eating goals and preferences. The app will then suggest recipes based on the information you have given.
Tell the app how many calories you want to eat and how many meals per day you want to eat, up to nine. Then tell the app what you like to eat: anything, vegetarian, low fat, etc.
The app will plan meals for you and suggest recipes so you can follow your diet. The app will create a shopping list based on the recipes you choose.
Eat This Much recently started a food home delivery service in the U.S. to make shopping easier.
Eat This Much is a free app for iPhone/iPad and Android. A paid version is available with more features. Links to the app and more information are available at the Eat This Much website.
Pepperplate
Pepperplate is a free app that helps organize your meals. You can save recipes from websites, or add your own recipes to the app.
The app lets you add recipes to a calendar so you can plan your meals for up to a month at a time. Pepperplate also will create a shopping list for you.
The app is free for iPhone/iPad, Android, and Windows. Links to the app are available at the Pepperplate website.
Apps for nutrition and calorie counting
IEatWell
The IEatWell app supports healthy eating by giving users rewards for eating the right foods. If you like earning rewards for meeting your goals, IEatWell may work well for you.
Instead of measuring how much you eat, IEatWell measures how well you eat. Tell the app what you are eating for your meal. You can even add a photo.
The app will rate how healthy your meal is, then give you a reward if you are eating well. The rewards are digital badges, such as Feeling Better and More Energy.
IEatWell is available free for iPhone, iPad and Android.
IEatWell for iPhone/iPad IEatWell for AndroidLose It!
Lose It! is an app that keeps track of your calories and exercise to help users lose weight. You can set a goal, then record what you eat and how much you exercise.
The app lets users type in the food they eat or scan the bar code on labels. LoseIt! just added a new feature called Snap It that lets users enter food by taking a photo.
Lose It! also has a community feature so you can get support and discuss with others your weight loss goals, tips and more.
Lose It! is a free app. But there is also a version that costs money. It removes ads, suggests recipes and provides more features.
Links to the Lose It! app for iPhone/iPad, and Android are available at the Lose It! website.
MyFitnessPal
MyFitnessPal is an app that helps keep track of your calories, with what you eat and how much you exercise.
You can save recipes and meals that you eat often to make adding them faster.
You can also read reports within the app from the MyFitnessPal blog for more information about healthy eating. One recent report told of a healthy way to eat ice cream for breakfast.
The app is free and a paid version is available to remove ads, and get additional features.
MyFitness Pal for iPhone/iPad MyFitnessPal for AndroidFooducate
Want to learn more about the foods you eat? Fooducate may hold some surprises for you. The foods you think are healthy just might not be.
Fooducate is an app that helps you track calories and grades the foods you eat based on their nutrition. Get straight A's for eating well. Get F's if you're eating unhealthy food. The app can suggest the healthiest foods to help you get better grades.
The app also has a community feature that lets users share healthy eating ideas with others. Find suggested recipes from the app and from others in the community.
Fooducate is available free for iPhone/iPad and Android. You can pay to remove ads and add features.
Links to the Fooducate app are available at the Fooducate website.
My Diet Diary
My Diet Diary is another app to help track calories and exercise. This app helps users eat foods that are nutritious. You can keep records of what you eat, and get notices to eat healthy foods.
The app also has a community to ask questions and get answers about nutrition and weight loss.
My Diet Diary for Android My Diet Diary for iPhone and iPadApp for fitness
Fitbit App
The makers of the Fitbit fitness tracker have an app that helps you track your fitness without buying a Fitbit.
Use the MobileTrack feature of the app to use your phone as a fitness tracker. The app will record the number of steps, calories burned and distance you move. You must have your phone with you for MobileTrack to work.
The app also works with the Fitbit fitness tracker to keep track of your movement throughout the day.
The Fitbit app is available free for iPhone/iPad and Android with links at the Fitbit app website.
Carolyn Nicander Mohr wrote this report for VOA Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor.
Have you ever used a meal planning, nutrition or fitness app to stay healthy? Have you used any of the apps mentioned in this article? Do you have any apps you recommend to help you eat healthy and stay fit?
Share your thoughts in the Comments Section below or on 51VOA.COM.
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Words in This Storyinspire - v. to make (someone) want to do something
delicious - adj. very pleasant to taste
nutritious - adj. having substances that a person or animal needs to be healthy and grow properly : promoting good health and growth
recipe - n. a set of instructions for making food
grocery - n. food sold at a store
multiple - adj. more than one
timer - n. a device that makes a sound when a certain amount of time has passed
allergy - n. a medical condition that causes someone to become sick after eating, touching, or breathing something that is harmless to most people
vegetarian - n. a person who does not eat meat
bar code - n. a group of thick and thin lines that is placed on a product so that a computer can get the price of the product and other information about it
expiration date - adj. the date when something (such as milk or medicine) can no longer be sold because it may no longer be good or effective
diet - n. the food that a person or animal usually eats
calorie - n. a unit of heat used to indicate the amount of energy that foods will produce in the human body
reward - n. something of value that is given or received for something that has been done or that is offered for something that might be done
digital badge - n. an indicator of accomplishment, skill, quality, or interest that can be earned in an app