Apps T hat Promote Healthy Eating

WWhether your kids are going to day or sleepaway camp, or are just hanging out with their friends in the neighborhood, the summer months are full of exciting food choices. How can you help them make good choices and encourage them to eat healthy — at least most of the time? Here are some of the very best healthy eating apps around that are both educational and fun. The best part is that they’re all completely free so encourage your kids to download an app — or three!

Color Quest AR

(Apple Appstore, Google Play)

Kids are more likely to make healthy food choices when they know what they’re actually putting into their bodies. Color Quest AR teaches kids about fruits and vegetables in a fun way. They get to select a fruit or vegetable, color it in, and then watch it come to life in cartoon form. Each image is accompanied by healthy eating facts. They can also take photos and videos of themselves with their creations and share them with friends. They can win badges and compete in games to become a “Magic Health Master.”

Eat-And-Move-O-Matic

(Apple Appstore)

Eat-And-Move-O-Matic is a great companion app to Color Quest AR. This app teaches kids about the consequences of their food and beverage choices. It lets them compare the calories in their food and drink consumption with the type and length of time of physical activities like biking, running, or walking that are needed to burn off those calories. This way, kids get a real-life comparison between nutritional intake and physical exertion that they can relate to.

Family Farm Seaside

(Amazon Apps, Apple Appstore, Google Play)

Research shows that kids are more likely to eat healthy when they’re involved in growing their own food. Few kids live on farms or have access to fruit and vegetable gardens. For all those other kids out there, Family Farm Seaside is a great alternative. This app lets kids pretend that they’re farmers who do everything from plowing the field, fertilizing the soil, to manufacturing food products that they can “sell” to further expand the farm. Kids can create a circle of “farmer-friends” with whom they can exchange the products that they manufacture.

Fooducate: Nutrition Coach

(Apple Appstore, Google Play)

Unless you happen to live on a real farm, chances are that you take frequent trips to the supermarket. Bring your kids with you and have them download

Fooducate: Nutrition Coach. When they scan the barcodes of food items, they get a detailed nutritional breakdown as well as suggestions for healthier alternatives. You can use this app to plan the most nutritional meals possible, and even to make a super-healthy, weekly meal plan.

Gardenscapes

(Amazon Apps, Apple Appstore, Google Play)

What Family Farm Seaside does for farming, Gardenscapes does for gardening. This app teaches all the steps involved in creating and maintaining a garden, including design, maintenance, and the removal of trash. Kids are encouraged to create todo lists that they can use to better plan their gardening activities in an organized manner.

iDo Food

(Apple Appstore)

Kids are more likely to choose healthy food when they help prepare those foods. iDo Food is a great app for two reasons. First, it teaches kids how to prepare various food items. Second, it is specifically aimed at kids with special needs. Kids learn how to wash fruits and vegetables, create salads and sandwiches, as well as set the table and eat the meal with a fork and knife. Each of the skills taught are accompanied by a video and sequencing guide.

Panda Robot Kitchen

(Apple Appstore) iDo Food focuses on basic food preparation. Panda Robot Kitchen goes one step further and teaches actual cooking skills. Featuring cute pandas that live in outer space, a flying pot, and an oven robot, this app teaches young kids practical cooking like baking, chopping, grating, and mixing. They choose a dish, select the ingredients, and then cook the food.

Wello: Healthy Habits for Kids

(Apple Appstore, Google Play)

Wello: Healthy Habits for Kids is a great app for inspiring the whole family to get — and stay — healthy. You can use this app to track your family’s eating habits and time spent on various physical activities. You can also get personalized, nutritional plans that fit your family’s specific preferences. You can also set up realworld rewards to be redeemed when one or more in the family reach certain goals that you’ve set for yourselves.