Grocery shopping is a chore many folks do not enjoy. Others love wandering the aisles to see what’s new or to be inspired to create a healthy supper with the fresh ingredients on display. No matter how you feel about grocery shopping, your smart phone is an amazing aid to help you organize, save money, and be a discerning shopper. Here are some ways:
Making a list
1. iPhone users: Use the “Hey Siri” function to create your list. First, turn on “Hey Siri” in your settings. Then, simply say “Hey Siri” (your iPhone has to be nearby) and ask to have an item added to your shopping list in the Reminders app (an app on your iPhone). “Hey Siri, add dog food to my shopping list in Reminders.”
Siri responds!
Here’s the shopping list in Reminders
2. Alexa users: Here are the directions for asking Alexa to make a list: https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201549900
3. A handy free app—OurGroceries: With this app you can create a variety of shopping lists and share them easily with the folks you split shopping duties with. Get this tool at either the Apple App Store or Google PlayStore.
As you look at the image to the left, please notice a couple of things. You can…
- Name your lists.
- Maintain multiple lists.
- Add specific recipes and then list their ingredients.
This screen lists the recipe plus its ingredients.
It is also possible to list an URL which will link directly to a recipe. As long as you can access the internet, you can check the ingredients directly from the website.
Tasked someone else to pick up the ingredients for supper? Just text or email them your list via the app. No more worries about a missing, critical ingredient.
Checking ingredients
Dietary restrictions are pretty common these days. Perhaps your grandchildren can’t eat peanut products or your spouse needs to avoid gluten. Pesticides are worrisome, and you would like to avoid foods saturated with them. You will find these two apps most useful.
1. The Dirty Dozen—The Environmental Working Group distributes this app. It focuses on two categories of food. The Dirty Dozen products (non-organic) that are found to have high concentrations of toxic chemicals within them and the Clean Fifteen. These are foods you can purchase confidently without worrying about pesticides and other dangerous substances.
It’s depressing that strawberries are # 1 on the Dirty Dozen list!
On the other hand, sweet corn on the cob is # 1 on the Clean Fifteen list!
The app also provides the reasons why foods make the list.
2.Fooducate: This app is multi-purpose. You can personalize it to your personal wellness goals, or you can just check a product’s ingredients and nutritional value. It works by using your camera app to scan barcodes.
Once you scan the barcode, you will have several choices:
- Read reviews and see the rating for nutritional value (letter grade).
- Examine the explnation for the rating.
- Peruse the ingredients for any lurking red flags for your family (sugar, dairy, gluten, etc.).
- Check out alternative products.
Explanation for the A- rating
Saving money
We all love to save money, and fortunately, a multitude of ways exist to access coupons online. Check out this article for a description of several of them: https://www.moneytips.com/best-apps-for-grocery-shopping
The Coupons.com app is a favorite of many and is probably worth your time to check out. Not only will it provide you with coupons for stores in your area, it will also automatically link to your store’s loyalty program. You simple tap on the coupon and share it with the cashier.
This image gives you a peek at some of the stores included.
Here are the coupons for a local grocery store. Notice at the top there is a button to link to the store.
You probably have your favorite apps related to shopping. Won’t you please share them with all of us in the comment section? Thanks!
Let’s go shopping!
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