Happy Friday!!!!! For being a short week man that was a long one wasn’t it? I’ve been thinking about reviewing these apps for quite some time, so I’m happy to get this post up today.

 

All three of the apps above are electronic versions of the book I used rather frequently in college, I can’t believe I still have it on my book shelf right in between skinny bitch and lab tests…..

The hubby has always loved fast food, especially when we were in college, so when I was counting calories to lose weight I bought this book to help me make decisions when we would go to Taco Bell, McDonalds, Wendys, In and Out, or anywhere else (I kept it in my glove box for a long time).  Thank goodness for iPhone Apps, now you don’t have to carry a book around with you to make healthy decisions on the go.

Fast Food App #1:  Fast Food

I’ve had this app on my phone since my very first iPhone (for the reasons mentioned above) so I actually use to use it pretty regularly.  (Unfortunately that means I don’t remember the cost.) I like this one because it is very user friendly and allows you to “count” calories as you pick different things from the menu.

The only real downside to this app is that it is probably not up to date with the latest and greatest creation that has been released. For instance, there is no caramel flan on the Starbucks Info, but most things seem to be updated.

Pros:

• Very user- friendly
• Tons of restaurants included
• Tons of information presented in an easy format
• Ability to make selections and keep a calorie count of those selections

Cons:

• Restaurants are hard to find, not alphabetically ordered
• Nutrition info may not be completely accurate/up to date
• No “healthy” suggestions

Fast Food App #2:  Fast Food Nutrition, Calories, Carbs…

This one was new to me and I was definitely impressed with the sheer quantity of restaurants included.

 

The restaurants are listed alphabetically which is nice, and there is an incredible variety included from the US, UK and Europe.  The information is presented in a  slightly different format which seems like it may be easier to keep up to date.

 

In addition this app has a few other bonus items to it, such as the ability to save favorite restaurants (which is good since there are so many.)

 

They also promote other iPhone apps the same company has developed.

 

Pros:

• User friendly
• Tons of restaurants included to choose from
• Alphabetical listing of restaurants makes them easier to find
• Ability to save favorite restaurants

Cons:

• Cost was $2.99
• All nutrition information may not be completely accurate/up to date
• No “healthy choice” suggestions

 

Fast Food App Review #3:  Under 600 Calories

After seeing this one in the “extras” list of the previous app, I just had to check it out. I literally spent an entire 8 months and then some putting together something really similar for the University of Riverside, Faculty and Staff Employee Wellness Program during my internship.  My assignment was to make quick healthy suggestions for all the restaurants in a certain area where many employees went for lunch.  Under 600 calories was one the guidelines we used to make our selections.  This one is laid out pretty similarly to the other one.

 

Pros:

• User-friendly
• Tons of restaurants
• Restaurants easily found
• Low calorie options listed immediately
• Ability to save favorites

Cons:

• Cost is 0.99 cents—-> I feel like this app should be part of the first one, not another one you have to purchase.
• Low calorie doesn’t mean “healthy”, it could still be empty calories (so you don’t get full and end up eating more)

 

Past Friday Healthy iPhone App Reviews:

• Harvest & Seasons—-> Shopping guides for produce
• Foam Roller—-> foam rolling techniques
• Dirty Dozen—-> shopping guide for produce
• Whole Pantry—-> vegan/vegetarian recipes
• Motion X 24/7—-> pedometer, sleep, heart rate, and weight tracker

Thats it for today everyone, have a great weekend!