Free Meal Planning Apps for Super Moms
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If you're a busy mom, you know that meal planning is a must. Between work, kids' activities, and all the other demands on your time, you need to make sure that you have some simple and quick recipes up your sleeve. But at the end of the day, most of us have little time to spend poring over cookbooks or online recipes. (Unless of course you bookmark the recipes on TexasRealFood)
As a mom of 2, the discovery of meal planning apps has helped me save time and money and eat healthier. When used correctly, they can take the guesswork out of meal planning and help you make better choices for your health.
There are a lot of free meal planning apps out there, but which one is the most suitable for moms? We've rounded up the best free meal planning apps to make your life easier. Whether you're looking for something to help you plan on the go or a way to stay organized in the kitchen. These free meal planning apps will help eliminate the hassle of dinner (What wine goes well with dinner?) preparation without breaking the bank. So fire up your devices and get ready to start cooking!
What is Meal Planning and Why is it Important?
Meal planning is the process of creating a menu for one or more meals. It can be as simple as deciding what to have for dinner tonight, or it can involve planning ahead for an entire week of meals.
Being a busy mom means always being on the go. Finding time to cook a healthy meal can be challenging with work, carpooling, and kids' activities. Meal planning is essential because it helps you to save time and money and to eat healthier. When you plan your meals in advance, you can make sure to include all the food groups, and you can also take advantage of what's in season.
Planning ahead also allows you to batch cook, saving time and money. This might mean cooking a big batch of pasta or cutting up vegetables for the week. In addition, preparing meals in the fridge or freezer will make it much easier to put together a healthy meal when you're short on time.
In addition, meal planning can help you to avoid last-minute trips to the grocery store, and it can reduce food waste. With some planning, busy moms can enjoy home-cooked meals (how long do cooked meals last?)without spending hours in the kitchen.
What is a Meal Planning App?
A meal planning app is a tool that can help you plan and organize your meals. Typically, a meal planning app will allow you to enter the ingredients you have on hand and your preferred cooking methods. Then, the app will generate a list of recipes you can choose from.
Some meal planning apps also allow you to create a grocery list, so that you can easily get all of the ingredients that you need for your meals. In addition, meal planning apps can be useful for people who want to eat healthily, save money, or reduce food waste. Meal planning apps also help you create menus based on what’s in season.
By planning ahead and making informed choices about what to eat, users of these apps can save time and money and improve their overall health. Whether a novice or experienced chef, a meal planning app can be a valuable tool in your kitchen.
Benefits of A Meal Planning App
When it comes to meal planning, there are a lot of benefits to using an app. Here are some of the top reasons:
Saves time: Planning and batch cooking can save you time in the kitchen. Instead of spending hours looking through cookbooks or searching online for recipes, you can simply enter what you have on hand into the app, which will generate a list of options. This can be a lifesaver on busy weeknights when you don't have the time or energy to cook something complicated. By having all of your recipes and ingredients in one place, you can easily plan for the week or month.
Saves money: Meal planning can help you save money by ensuring that you use all of your ingredients and leftovers. The apps can help you save money by helping you avoid impulse purchases at the grocery store. When you have a plan for what you're going to make, you're less likely to stray from your list and buy things you don't need. You can also plan for specific budgeted meals or use coupons and discounts.
Easier to eat healthy: When you have all of your recipes and ingredients in one place, it's easier to ensure you're eating a balanced diet. You can also easily find healthy recipes that fit your lifestyle.
Reduces stress:Meal planning can help reduce the stress of figuring out what to cook for dinner every night. Having a plan allows you to relax and enjoy your meal, knowing everything is taken care of.
Meal Planning App Functions to Look Out For
Different meal planning apps have various sets of features that make them unique. Here's a comprehensive list of functions to consider when choosing your meal app:
Personalization and customization of dietary needs
Grocery list function
In-app recipes
Storage for personal recipes
Calendar function for menu planning
Meal prepping tips
Grocery discounts or coupons
Pantry and food waste tracker
Nutrition tracker
Free Meal Planning Apps
With so many families struggling to find the time to cook nutritious meals, it's no wonder that meal planning apps are becoming increasingly popular. These apps make it easy to find recipes and plan ahead, but they can also help you save money and reduce food waste. With so many meal planning apps available, one is sure to be perfect for your family. Here are some of our top picks:
Cozi
In today's busy world, it can be hard to keep track of everything you need to do in a day, let alone think ahead to plan meals. But that's where Cozi comes in. Cozi is named a "must-have app" by the Today Show. It's a surprisingly simple family organizer that makes it easy to plan family activities in one shared place.
Download from: App Store, Google Play
Free Features:
A family calendar allows users to see what everyone is doing and where everyone needs to be with a shared, color-coded calendar. You can set one reminder for free. Additional reminders require a Cozi Gold membership.
The Cozi app has a shopping tab function that creates and manages shopping lists. The grocery function puts all the things you need in one place.
The to-do list function tracks and manages the things you need to get done.
Recipes & meal planner stores recipes, plan dinners for the week, and quickly adds ingredients to your shopping list.
Mealime
Suppose you've found yourself standing in the grocery store, wondering what to make for dinner. In that case, you know how frustrating the experience can be. Meal planning can help take the guesswork out of dinner time, but it can be challenging to find the time to sit down and plan meals for the week. That's where Mealime comes in.
This helpful app makes meal planning, grocery shopping, and cooking as simple as getting takeout. With over 4,200,00+ users, Mealime offers meal plans with over 200 personalization options that can be customized to your taste. Even better, it takes into account any dietary restrictions you may have. So whether you're vegan, gluten-free, or simply trying to eat more healthfully, Mealime has you covered. With Mealime, there's no more need to waste time wondering what's for dinner. Instead, you can focus on enjoying a delicious and healthy meal with the people you love.
Download from: App Store, Google Play
Free Features:
Menu and recipe customization based on dislikes, food restrictions, and preferred menu types.
Grocery shopping with delivery options from grocery fulfillment partners at zero markups.
The "What's in my fridge" option lets users choose items they already have and would like to use.
The "Find Cookware" option saves time and stress in rummaging around drawers while you're cooking.
Save money with minimal food waste. All meal plans are intelligently created to eliminate food waste from purchased ingredients by including them in the other recipes for the week - saving you hundreds per year.
Yummly
Yummly's mission is to be the most intelligent, helpful food platform on the planet. Their personalized discovery system learns about you to better serve you. Yummly has built a community of food lovers who share recipes, cooking tips, and more. They use this collective intelligence to improve their discovery engine and make it even smarter. This helps everyone in the Yummly community get closer to answering the question, "what's for dinner?" with confidence.
Download from: App Store, Google Play
Features:
Search, save, rate, and share 2 million recipes from their database.
Personalized recommendations based on your profile and activity.
Online grocery ordering through the app.
Create your digital cookbook by saving recipes for easy access.
Shopping becomes more accessible with the smart shopping list. Add ingredients from recipes with a click, get suggestions.
The Yummly smart thermometer is convenient app-based cooking assistance that helps you be confident in your cooking.
Big Oven
BigOven is a kitchen cabinet of tricks. You can find inspiration from their library of 1 million recipes, plan meals and create grocery lists on one device! They are also home to an active community that shares your passion for being in the cooking chair, so get started today by downloading Bigoven for free.
Download from: App Store, Google Play
Features:
Access to their library of 1,000,000+ recipes.
Seasonal collection of recipes.
Plan ahead using their Meal Planner tool and leave the stress of deciding what to cook for the family behind.
Manage your grocery list and share it with your household.
Reduce food waste with their Use Up Leftovers tool.
Summary
Meal planning has many benefits that can save you time and money and help you to eat healthier. By planning your meals, you can make sure that you have all the ingredients on hand that you need to make healthy and delicious meals. If you want help in the meal planning department, check out some free apps. They can make your life a little easier and give you back some time to focus on things that matter more than dinner. These free meal planning apps will help you organize and make dinner time less hectic. Give one of them a try today!
Do you want to plan a menu based on what's in season in Texas? Visit a farmers market today or check out our TexasRealFood Promptuary here.
Don't forget to bookmark the Texas Mom Blog as we talk about the joys (and pains!) of getting kids to eat healthy, taking care of a Texan family, and celebrating everything about being a Texan mom.
