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It’s 2019 and there are millions of useful apps at your fingertips – even some that will help you navigate the complexities of reducing your meat and animal product consumption! We have come up with a list of apps to help you answer every question you might have about eating more plants!
1. I’m starving, what can I eat around here?
Happy Cow has you covered! Happy Cow is probably the most highly recommended app for people with dietary requirements and preferences. Simply enter in your location, and all the nearby vegetarian and vegan options will pop up – you can even filter by those that have gluten free options available! The app is so widely updated you can use it when you travel overseas, and it also provides a review system so you can make sure you end up with something worth your money.
2. How do I know I am eating enough of the right stuff?
Cronometer is an incredible little app that tracks all your calories and macro nutrient consumption so you can make sure you are hitting all your targets. You can also log your exercise, and select from thousands of pre-entered foods. If the food you want to track isn’t already in the app you can add the nutrition information to the database yourself!
3. How can I tell what has animal products in it and what doesn’t?
Fussy Vegan Scanner is a nifty little barcode scanner that will tell you what is in your food and whether or not it is vegetarian or vegan. Simply pull out your phone, scan, and have all the answers you need to make an informed choice! (Bonus: Shop Ethical is another barcode scanner app that informs you of the environmental and social performance of companies so you can make sure you are spending your money on companies that align with your values).
4. What’s for dinner?
There are a few great vegetarian recipe apps out there but the biggest and best have to be Easy Vegetarian and Veg Meals (aka Vegetarian and Vegan Recipes). These apps boast hundreds of recipes that are easy, delicious, and best of all right at your fingertips.
5. What’s for dinner tomorrow?
The incredible little app Mealime is really your one stop shop for vegan and vegetarian meal planning. New recipes are added every month, and you can also add your own. There is a really powerful filter function that allows you to select dietary requirements as well as ingredient preferences for anybody out there who might be a little picky about their food! Mealime also creates a shopping list for you based on whatever meals you have chosen to add to your plan.
There are plenty of other apps out there that make eating less meat easier than ever – so if you have any more great recommendations make sure to leave a comment below!
Rhiannon Cunningham is a Campaigner for Humane Society International and has been with the organisation since 2015. She is admitted to the Supreme Court of NSW as a solicitor and has a Masters in Environmental Law from The Australian National University. Currently, she is in her final year of a Graduate Diploma in Environmental Science, with a focus on conservation and sustainability. Her work with HSI is primarily focused on environmental policy, native wildlife protection, and animal welfare laws.
