Future apps should include a wider range of features and BCTs to promote engagement and improve the behavior change potential of such apps. Thus, the purpose of this review was to identify and assess popular, commercially available food and nutrition-related mobile apps that have the potential to offer behavioral support for the provision of healthy family food. Specifically, the objectives of this systematic assessment were to describe app scope and characteristics, assess app quality, and conduct a behavioral analysis of app content and features.
Best Meal Planning App With Grocery Lists: Plan to Eat
Apps were rated between 1 and 5 for each of the criteria, with 4 mean domain scores and an overall mean score across all 4 domains being indicative of app quality (a score of 5 indicating the best performing apps). Both reviewers viewed a Web-based training video before app assessment [38]. Inter-rater reliability of the overall MARS score was tested on the sample of double-assessed apps using the two-way random effects intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) [39].
App Characteristics and Quality
Excessive consumption of energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods is a key cause of poor diet quality [1-4] and is contributing to the high prevalence of overweight and obesity globally [5-7]. In Australia, these foods are contributing 30% to 40% of the total daily energy intake of children and adolescents [2]. Similar figures have been reported in the United States and Canada, with children and adolescents consuming at least one-third of their daily energy intake in the form of energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods [4,8]. The increasing reliance on these generally highly processed foods may be in part because of the conflicting demands that the modern lifestyle places on the resources available for family food provision [9]. A simple piece of paper will also work just fine to plan out your meals for the week.
Build My Dinner Plan
- Even if you’re a college student like me, meal prepping is 100 percent doable.
- However, as the information within the apps assessed in this review was mostly limited to recipes or food skills, the information quality rating is less relevant.
- Our tester noticed that Mealime’s grocery list is a bit different from the other apps on our list.
- You can see how a central screen brings order to a busy home by exploring what’s possible with a digital family command center.
- The fanciest tool in the world is useless if it doesn’t fit into your life.
- For families trying to create a single source of truth for their home, this approach is a game-changer.
I really like the format of the app to use while cooking, and the grocery lists are pretty ok, although their sorting isn’t quite the same categories as my grocery store, which is annoying. Start with a free meal plan, or read the full best meal planning app for families comparison. More often than not, choosing the meals can be the hardest part. Have no fear—Cozi is updating Recipes to give you more choices that fit your needs and your schedule. Cozi has a meal plan with recipes all “Under 45 Minutes.” Are the kids feeling under the weather? Choose from 7 different recipes in the “Get Well Soon” meal plan.
Everblog Digital Calendar Stand
Mean (SD) Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS) subscores and overall scores by app type. As you’re shopping, you can cross of the ingredients you purchase from the list so you always know exactly what you need to purchase. Simply choose up to three different ingredients you have in your kitchen already to find a recipe that uses up those leftover ingredients. With the help of Use Up Leftovers, you can find recipes based on the ingredients you already have.
Behavioral Support Content and Features
With Nutrino’s meal planning app, FoodPrint, eating healthy is a lot less daunting. Nutrition is integrated into every part of the app from scanning bar codes to inputting your meals to tracking the health content of your own recipes. Meal planning means you’re always on the hunt for recipes your family will enjoy. With the help of one of my favorite meal planning apps Yummly, you can view a variety of amazing recipes with the push of a button. Thanks to the seamless cloud sync inside the app, you can instantly access your meal plans, recipes, and shopping lists from any of your devices, including your phone, tablet, and desktop computer. There are a bunch of meal planning apps out there—some good, some bad, and others that are downright atrocious, but don’t cost a thing.
Feature Comparison of Leading Meal Planning Apps
Similar to reviews of published app studies, commercial apps pertaining to food provision in a family context have yet to be explored. To ensure that current technological and behavior change potential in this area is fully understood, and to understand gaps in the commercial space, a review of existing, commercial apps fiton app review 2026 addressing family food provision is required. This review, assessing commercially available food and nutrition-related apps for family food provision, demonstrates that apps could be used to deliver behavioral support for healthy food coping strategies.
Common Questions About Meal Planning Apps
Our tester thinks that importing a lot of recipes into the app could be an involved process but could be something that you do slowly over time as you find recipes you enjoy. Reduce the use of heat in the kitchen with recipes that feature little to no stovetop or oven use. Preheat the oven to 400ºF, cover a pan in tin foil, drop some veggies, and your dinners are one step closer to being ready.
Everblog 13.4″ FridgeCal™ Calendar
It’s about moving beyond a patchwork of apps and building a unified system that actually works for the whole family. You can see how a central screen brings order to a busy home by exploring what’s possible with a digital family command center. Check out our list of the best meal delivery services for weight loss. Saving money helps, but the bigger family benefit is reducing decision fatigue. A good plan also lowers food waste and makes weeknight dinners less reactive.
Best Meal Planner Apps in 2025
Researchers and developers should consider features and content that improve the engagement quality of such apps. App content and features relating to the provision of healthy family food are presented by app type (see Table 2, and for details by app, see Multimedia Appendix 2). Several common app features supported the use of key healthy food coping strategies, for example, meal planners, shopping lists, and social supports. Meal planners were the primary feature of all 12 meal planning apps and featured in around half of the overall sample (51%, 26/51).
