5 Great Recipe Apps to Help You Lose Weight

Finding healthy recipes can be a chore, especially if you're on a diet and have to count every last calorie or carb. There are several great recipe apps for the iPhone and iPad, but a few offer unique features that will help dieters shed those pesky pounds. These apps offer nutritional information for all their recipes, and some provide specific content for low-carb or low-fat diets.

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Whole Foods Market Recipes

Whole Foods Recipes app — image copyright Whole Foods Market

Whole Foods Market Recipes (Free; iOs and Android) is one of the best recipe apps currently available. It is sleek, fast, and has a good selection of recipes. The drool-inducing photos don't hurt either.

The Whole Foods app is especially useful for dieters because you can search by a variety of special diets, including fat-free, high-fiber, low-fat, or sugar-conscious. It also includes categories for dairy-free and gluten-free recipes.

Nutrition facts are included for each recipe, including total calories per serving, total fat, saturated fat, sodium, carbs, and protein. The app makes the most healthy recipes look appetizing, so dieters will find lots to like here.

Overall rating: 4.5 stars out of 5. More »

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AllRecipes.com Dinner Spinner

The AllRecipes.com Dinner Spinner app (Free; iOS and Android) is a fun way to discover new recipe ideas. Simply choose a course and main ingredient (and shake your iPhone if that's your platform), and the app will display recipes that meet your criteria.

With thousands of user-submitted recipes to choose from, you're bound to find something new. AllRecipes.com is one of the best apps for low-carb dieters, as it has a filter to identify recipes that meet low-carbohydrate standards.

The app includes nutritional information for all recipes, including total carbs and dietary fiber so you can calculate your net carb intake. AllRecipes.com also has filters for high-fiber, low-fat, gluten-free and low-sodium diets.

Overall rating: 4 stars out of 5. More »

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Simply Organic Recipes

Simply Organic app — image copyright Simply Organic

Simply Organic (Free; iOS only) is another great recipe app to find healthy and wholesome meals. It doesn't have as many recipes as AllRecipes.com, but the Simply Organic app does display nutritional facts for each meal.

It includes total calories, fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates, and protein. Unfortunately, it doesn't contain information on fiber, so it's not the best choice for low-carbers. There is a ton of variety within the recipes, and you'll find everything from cajun to kid-friendly meals.

Overall rating: 4 stars out of 5. More »

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Martha's Everyday Food

Martha's Everyday Food app (Free; iOS only) contains thousands of recipes from the magazine of the same name. It's also packed with functionality, including push notifications for new recipes, Twitter and Facebook integration, and a robust shopping list. Nutrition facts are also included, so it's a good choice for dieters.

Unlike the Simply Organic app, Martha's Everyday Food includes information on carbs and fiber, in addition to total calories, fat, and protein. The app has a few stability issues, otherwise, it's an excellent choice for those on a diet.

Overall rating: 3.5 stars out of 5. More »

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HealthyRecipes

SparkRecipes app — image copyright SparkPeople Inc.

The HealthyRecipes app (Free; iOS and Android) is from the same folks behind SparkPeople.com, a popular diet and calorie-tracking website. As a result, SparkRecipes is similarly focused on helping dieters shed pounds – after all, the app is sponsored by Lean Cuisine.

SparkRecipes includes nearly 200,000 user-submitted recipes, each one with detailed nutritional information. Unlike some diet apps, which give you only a brief overview, SparkRecipes is more detailed and includes info on polyunsaturated fat, monounsaturated fat, potassium, fiber, and sugar. You can also search for specific low-fat or low-carb recipes.

Overall rating: 3 stars out of 5.

Want more? Read Top 13 Recipe Apps for the iPhone and iPad More »