Sad, right? That I can even make a statement like that. That I wouldn’t shop without apps. Who thought this behind-the-technology-curve girl who hasn’t even owned a smartphone for a year would say that?
But once you have the convenience in your hand, it’s hard to ignore. Our lives only seem to get busier and more hectic, and somehow having so many resources in the palm of my hand seems to help my sleep-deprived, scattered brain keep it together, if only just a little bit.
{This is a follow-up post to my Freshpedition post, in which 2 guys venture across the country showing how technology can bring fresh food to surprising places.}
Catch is an on-the-go bookmarking app. You can use it from your phone or computer, meaning everything is all synced up no matter where you are. I use this for a lot of things, but most often for recipes or meal ideas. As I’m reading blogs, news, or searching for recipes online, I “Catch” things I want to remember. Then I can easily open the app when I’m making my grocery list or while I’m at the grocery store to see what exactly it was I was thinking about making and what I need to make it.
I’m pretty sure it’s like Evernote, but I could just never get on board with that one, I’m not sure why.
Cozi is best known as a shared family calendar. That’s a great feature, but I use it instead for it’s list-making abilities. From to-do lists to shopping lists, it’s nice to have it all in one place. As we run out of things or I think of something I want to eat, I add it to the shopping list. When I’m at the grocery store I never have to worry about forgetting to copy down the grocery list from the board in the kitchen or trying to remember what we have or don’t have. You can also store recipes in a recipe box and drag and drop meal ideas into a calendar for the week so you never have to wonder what’s for dinner.
I’ve never been much of an organic food buyer. I know, I know. But now that I’m feeding a precious life with a brain new digestive system, I’ve been paying more and more attention to organic foods and pesticides. Even though all organic would be the best scenario, there’s no getting around the fact that organic foods cost more and there’s just not room in the budget for that. Enter the “Dirty Dozen” and “Clean 15”: the 12 most pesticide-contaminated produce items and the 15 least contaminated items. Even though there’s only 12 on the dirty list, I can rarely remember more than one or two. Pulling up this app makes it easy for me to make a decision while wondering among the fruits and veggies at the store.
What apps do you use to make your grocery shopping/meal planning experience easier? How does technology play a role in healthy living or eating for you?
Guess who’s ready to climb out of his crib? This guy.
With ultra-filtered water from the first ever hands-free dispenser, and micro-climate controls powered by TwinChill technology, the new GE French Door Refrigerator is engineered to push the limits of fresh.
Disclosure: Compensation was provided by GE via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of GE.
I’m very lucky to live in a town that has a farmers’ market: fresh food, locally grown produce, a place to learn directly from the growers.
Now, we don’t have one of those crazy awesome markets that go on for miles and bring bounds and bounds of fruits and veggies like I’ve heard about in some bigger cities, but we do ok. There’s always plenty of fresh zucchini and peaches, tomatoes {ew} and okra. The farmers’ market is where I first discovered my love of okra. Mmm okra.
The best thing about the farmer’s market? It’s open every day. No waiting until the crack of dawn on Saturday morning to stock the fridge.
I normally trek out to the farmer’s market every couple of weeks, but this week I decided to try a different market: the farmer’s curb market. Our farmers’ market is a bit of town, down the highway. The curb market brings the farmer’s in closer, but only on Wednesdays and Saturdays, like traditional farmers’ markets.
Yesterday morning I packed up the babe and we headed to the curb market, reusable totes and cash in hand.
I was thrilled when I walked in; so many veggies to choose from! Until I took a few more steps. All but a few vendor tables were empty. Unfortunately the market doesn’t seem to draw in a crowd…or farmers.
At least we have the other market to fall back on, but this one is so much easier for most people to get to. That experience combined with reading about the #Surviveon35 challenge really got me thinking. There are so many people without access to fresh food. They rely on packaged and processed foods to get them through. But then there are the people that think they’re getting fresh, nutritious food and decide that is something they’re willing to spend their money on. Unfortunately, most of the “fresh” food in grocery stores that are easy for most people to access isn’t really all that fresh. It travels hundreds of miles, if not more, to get to the store. The longer these foods sit before they hit the grocery shelves, the less nutritious the foods get. Yes- foods loose nutritive value as soon as they’re picked- they’re not being sustained by roots and sun and soil anymore. {This doesn’t even begin to address the whole issue of food now being less nutritious than it was years ago because of growing regulations, pollution, subsidization, etc.}
Of course all of these thoughts were brought on by these videos I watched last week for the Freshpedition campaign. Normally I’d skip actually watching the videos, but this time I did. Now, this isn’t going to solve any world hunger problems, but at least it’s a step in the right direction of keeping food as nutritious as possible {it certainly doesn’t help with any economic-hardship situations.} With better technology, more people can have access to fresher food.
The Freshpedition is the adventure of an engineer {he made a fridge that keeps food fresher than fresh, even if you don’t wrap things up first} and a chef. They traveled around testing to see if the fridge really could keep foods fresh in less-than-ideal situations. The two make quite the pair- they had me chucking more than once. And yes, watching the goat cheese video was a little like rubbing salt in an open wound.
<—farm fresh egg vs not
You can watching the adventures of this interesting duo yourself here: {if you’re in reader you may see a bunch of mumbo-jumbo code, but if you click over you can see the video}.
>GE is continuing this same passion for fresh food with the Freshpedition Sweepstakes. This sweepstakes uses Pinterest, which means you can actually pin for a chance to win all new GE kitchen appliances.
But wait, there’s even more to win!
You can also enter each day of the sweepstakes for a chance to win a $100 VISA® Prepaid Card. Entering for this prize is fun as you’re asked to pin your favorite fresh foods or your own recipes. Also, these pins when hashtagged with your state (e.g. #GEfreshTX) become part of a “Best of Fresh” map featuring freshness from around the country. Explore the map here: http://www.freshpedition.com/sweepstakes/fresh-map.htm
Compensation was provided by GE via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of GE.
I'm Heather, a sports dietitian specializing in food sensitivities {and a implementation strategist for fellow health & nutrition professionals}.
5+ years ago the docs told me I'd never run again due to a chronic pain disorder. I'm here to prove them wrong.
