There's an App for That

Nike Training Club app

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  Eating healthy, sticking with our workouts, finding new, refreshing recipes -- living a healthy lifestyle really can be overwhelming! It can consume a lot of time. And if we don't have that time in abundance, it's far-too-easy to slip into the status quo, the do-what-we've-always-done routine.

  As always, I just want to help! I've found a few tools that hopefully will help keep us on the healthy-living track.

  Many of us have made the jump, and now enjoy the benefits of using a smartphone. Whether it's an iPhone, an Android, or whatever else there is to choose from, there are a few more things that our smartphones could be doing to make our lives easier.

Fooducate app

  I'm sure everyone knows about the calorie counter, recipe finder, or fitness tip apps. But what about when you're in the grocery store, and you find yourself staring at a list of ingredients that requires a PhD in chemistry to understand? Or maybe you have a food allergy, and you're unsure if a product is okay for you to have? Or, it's late in the day, and you really want to get a workout in, but you can't get out of the house, or you find yourself fresh out of ideas?

  Fortunately for you, there really are apps for all that! And they're free! (And most are available for iPhone/iPad and Android.)

Food Apps

• Fooducate - Scan the bar code of any product in the grocery store, and this app will grade the product nutritionally, point out red flags (high fructose corn syrup, high salt, GMOs, etc), provide alternative suggestions, and more.
• True Food - Trying to avoid GMOs? This app will help you do just that! Though it looks to be a bit outdated, most the information remains relevant. 
• Shop No GMO - This app is a shopping guide to help you identify and avoid GMOs. Good idea, but the app freezes a lot. Hopefully they're working on a fix. 
• What's On My Food? - Lists and identifies the foods that have the most chemicals on them, which of those chemicals may be most-harmful, and how you can avoid them. Again, a little out-dated.
• Epicurious - Lets you search almost 30,000 healthy recipes from various resources. 
• Harvest to Hand - This app helps you find locally harvested food, farmers markets, specialty shops, etc.

True Food app.

Fitness Apps

• Nike Training Club (NTC) - Basically like having a personal trainer in your phone. You choose from dozens of set workouts that you can do almost anywhere. Has instructional videos. Push play, and go! (iPhone/iPad only)
• Nike BOOM - Similar to the NTC app, but geared more towards men, in my opinion. Can be sport-specific, and has modes for warm up, workout, and interval training. 
• MapMyRun GPS Running - Allows you to search for new running routes, maps/tracks your runs. Also available for cycling (MapMyRide).
• Livestrong.com MyPlate Calorie Tracker - Tracks your daily calories and exercise.
• Nike+ Running - Similar to MapMyRun. Tracks and maps your workouts. 

  These are just a handful of apps I either use myself, just downloaded and intend to use, or have read about. I'm sure there are many more than I haven't yet stumbled onto. And chances are, if there's something specific to you, or something you want to know more about, there's an app for that as well!

  Have you found an app that you use, and want to share? Let me know!

  LINKS:

8 Free Mobile Apps for Delicious and Healthy Eating
Top 50 Health Apps