Fun Food Apps for the Gluten-Free
By Sara Benner, Delight Editorial Intern
Internet, schminternet. Why fire up your Google browser when there’s an app for everything, including how to navigate the gluten-free lifestyle? With a veritable smorgasbord of apps to choose from, which ones are worth the download? Here are some of our favorite smartphone apps, from trivia quizzes to shopping and cooking guides.
Find Me Gluten Free - One of the highest rated gluten-free apps in the Apple App Store, Find Me Gluten Free features just about everything you could want in a gluten-free app. You can search for gluten-free restaurants near you, for gluten-free recipes and grocery products. It even has a barcode scanning function to find products in their extensive database even faster. The app also has a sortable gluten-free, non gluten-free and suspect ingredient list, to help you remember that dextrimaltose and kamut are not gluten-free. Full of functionality, if this app isn’t on your smartphone, it should be. But like any good thing, it has it’s limitations. Due to Naked Pizza’s sponsorship of the app (and that of a few other companies as well), the restaurant search results aren’t without bias. Sponsoring restaurants are always at the top of the list, even if you’re 300 miles away from one of them.
Cost: Free
Is that Gluten Free? - This app focuses more on brand specific grocery store products. You can search for a product by the category, brand, product name or flavor to determine whether or not the company that makes it has verified that it is gluten-free. In addition, you can add products to the app and include your own ratings and notes, enriching the app’s information. To date, the app features more than 24,000 manufacturer gluten-free verified products and in turn, many reviewers have called the app an “invaluable resource.”
Cost: $7.99
Platforms: Apple
Gluten Free Restaurant Cards by CeliacTravel.com - One of the greatest fears in living a gluten-free lifestyle is going out to eat. Without proper communication, cross-contamination and headaches abound, especially when traveling to a foreign country. This simple app features everything you would want to say to a waiter or chef about being gluten-free and the importance of avoiding cross-contamination. It’s available in over 40 languages from Icelandic to Urdu. While the screen resolution is poor, it’ll work perfectly in a pinch without a WiFi connection.
Cost: Free
Platforms: Apple
Whole Foods Market Recipes - If you’re an avid Whole Foods shopper, this is the app for you. Not only can you search nearly 3,000 Whole Foods recipes by specialty diet and course, once you find something that looks appetizing, you can add it to your shopping list, which will populate a list of ingredients for you to buy at your next visit. You can also search for recipes based on what you have in your refrigerator already and save your favorite recipes in your virtual recipe box.
Cost: Free
Platforms: Apple
Cooking Planit - Similar to the Whole Foods app, Cooking Planit allows you to search for recipes or meal ideas based on specialty diet considerations, ingredients, or an occasion, but in addition to creating shopping lists for you, it talks you through the steps of making a recipe so everything is ready at the same time. It’s less brand specific than the Whole Foods app, but it’ll help you plan your meals and cook them strategically for maximum freshness.
Cost: Free or $2.99 for the full version
Platforms: Apple
HealthyOut - Indecisive and gluten-free? Hungry but not sure what you want? We’ve all been there. Perhaps a little visual stimulation from HealthyOut will help you make up your mind. This app shows you pictures of dishes from local restaurants that cater to specialty diets. You can also search entrees based on their calorie content, cuisine, ingredients and when they are open, as well as whether you’d like to dine in or order in. When you finally do decide on what you’re craving, it breaks down the nutritional content for you with easy-to-read graphics. For $28 a month, you can even schedule to have your meals delivered to you!
Cost: Free to download, $28 a month for delivery service plus cost of meals ordered
Grain or No Grain? - Who doesn’t love trivia? For a free download, you get an informative 20 question quiz that rates your gluten-free knowledge from an Epic Failure to a Gluten-Free Guru. Designed to educate consumers about gluten-sensitivity and Celiac Disease, this app is a quick diversion while you’re waiting for an appetizer with your friends. For an additional $0.99, you get access to their Safe and Unsafe Ingredients list, Gluten-Free Beer and Spirits list and their Gluten-Free Chocolate list, in addition to a compilation of gluten-free menus from national fast food chains.
Cost: Free to download, $0.99 for full content
Platforms: Apple
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