apps i can’t live without
Like many of you, I’ve become more and more reliant on my phone. There are some major efficiencies and benefits of course, but I’m beginning to realize how much I truly depend on it. For better or worse, I’ve created an arsenal of can’t-miss apps that make my life so much easier and I wanted to share my findings with you! [When I find something I really get behind, I can’t stop blabbing about it to anyone who will listen.]
First off:
Mealime
This app has truly changed my life, and if you’ve ever so little as said the word “cooking” to me, chances are I’ve vehemently recommended it. There are so many benefits to it; it took me from cooking once a month to cooking almost five times a week. My favorite aspects include:
Many different meals to choose from, with new ones added every week and the ability to save your favorites. And they all taste so good! Most are healthy and comprised of very whole foods. The recipes tend to surprise me with their ingenuity: I’d never put potatoes, corn and snap peas together into a warm stir fry, but that shit is good!
After picking your meal plan for the week, it creates ONE CONSOLIDATED GROCERY LIST, categorized by grocery section. If that doesn’t sell you I don’t know what will. You can also add your own groceries if you need to pick up other items like ice cream or Gatorade.
You can filter recipes by diet types, preferences or specific ingredients you dislike.
Most recipes are elemental, meaning you’re cooking simplistically and from scratch. For example, instead of buying spicy mayo, Mealime recipes will direct you to whisk mayonnaise, chili garlic sauce, garlic, pepper and lime together. Voila you are a sauce maker.
You can adjust the number of servings for each meal: from two (one full dinner and leftovers for lunch, or two medium dinners with lighter leftovers for lunch) all the way up to serving six.
The most amazing part of this is realizing how good at cooking you really can be. I’ve made so many unique dinners that I never could have dreamed of concocting otherwise. I finally feel confident cooking for others and understanding cooking nuances for different dishes.
I do have the “pro” paid version which comes in a bit steep at $50 a year. But, I really love the benefits of accessing all the pro meals and being able to add your own recipes into the repertoire. Plus, it easily rationalizes itself: $50 could save you hundreds in grocery costs. I’d say that’s well worth it.
2. Planta
On a scale of one to all of them, how many of your houseplants have you killed? All of them? Me too. And yet, I keep buying more. (I will never pass up a $30 Bird of Paradise from Home Depot.) A friend recommended this app and I didn’t think twice about downloading the paid version for $40 a year. Rationalization: $40 for an app that could keep you from killing a $40 plant? Sold.
Here’s how Planta works:
Take a picture of your plant, and it identifies the type of plant.
Put in your geographic location, window direction and use the light meter to understand the exposure and temperature of the atmosphere to see if it’s a good fit for the plant you have. For example, I had a couple that I kept on the patio in the summer, then pulled inside for the winter per Planta’s recommendation for the Seattle climate.
From there, Planta gives you detailed instructions for each plant and each day, which varies based on location, temperature and geography. I set my notifications for each morning at 10 a.m. and then just follow the directions to water, mist or fertilize my little guys.
Planta has certainly pulled its weight for me: I’ve killed far fewer plants than I normally would have: I currently have about 20 going strong, including some big Palms and Birds of Paradise I would have been devastated to lose. I know friends have also love Picture This or others, which I’ve used specifically to diagnose issues in my plants. All in all, 10 out of 10 stars for plant apps.
3. Goodreads
If you’re anything like me, chances are you adore wandering through bookstores. And when you stumbled upon an intriguing find but don’t want to buy it right then, you either logged it in your Notes or took a picture of the title. Then promptly forgot about it.
The year I committed to a reading as voraciously as I could, I had a moment of enlightenment.. there had to be a better way. And there was: Goodreads.
I have found so much joy in cataloguing the books I’ve finished, the ones I want to read and the ones I have loved thoroughly. Each time I finish a book, I get a strong dopamine hit by logging it in Goodreads. Plus, it does a great job of recommending new releases, updates from favorite authors and friends’ current reads. Although, please don’t follow me. Seriously. I read some really embarrassing shit and no one needs to see that.
4. Strong
As a relative gym newbie, I hadn’t given much thought to tracking progress in weightlifting. Again, the Notes app took precedence for documenting PRs beyond the tally I kept in my head.
However, after departing my favorite Seattle gym amidst COVID (I miss you Accelerate!!), I settled into a new routine at a conventional gym (helloooo Booty by Bret). I wanted to track my progress in a more effective way and after a quick Google, Strong rose to the top.
Now I love saving each workout as a routine, being able to track historical lifts, progress and PRs. I also love the measurement section, where I can measure and log different parts of my body: booty, waist. etc. Yay gains!!
5. Headspace
Oh, Headspace my love. The one I love to recommend and yet the one I betray the most. Do I meditate every day? No. Do I finish a meditation and then conclude I must commence with meditating every day? Absolutely.
But realistically, even if you meditate once a month - or never - this app is the perfect starting point. A delightfully fresh take on the ever-elusive mindfulness, Headspace offers a myriad of programs and settings for any level of meditation prowess. I set it to notify me every morning to meditate and sometimes I even do it!
6. Mint
Ok, this is kind of a classic. And while I have a handful of brokerage and banking apps on my phone, this is the one I enjoy checking the most. It pulls together all of my bank accounts, investments and credit card statements into one app, so I can track my overall financial sitch. Plus, it helps track budgets and spending so you can look at the cold hard reality of how much you spent on Amazon last month. Best of all, I love seeing my net worth tick up over time.
7. Audible
So although I have a love/hate dynamic with a few things about this one: Amazon’s shoddy UX design on any app that’s not its crown jewel, the fact that you can’t actually purchase audiobooks in the app and the confusing and sneaky subscription-only way to acquire new books, I still really love it. If I didn’t have Audible, there would likely be many a long run that went unfinished. It’s the best way to get through new books, and a chance to hear the author read in their own voice. I tend to go for celebrity and humor memoirs, or what I’ve coined “self-development” (self-help) and business books.
Now the real question: do we count these as books “read” in our Goodreads app? (I do, but have a separate Audiobooks section so I don’t feel like a poser.)
So there you have it: apps I can’t live without. Let me know if you’ve found any useful or have any others to recommend. To overusing our phones!
