gluten free apps & ideas

My Blackberry was a nightmare.  It was lovely in midnight purple, but the battery life was unpredictable - to the point that it died as my boyfriend was having outpatient surgery.  For Valentine's Day last month, he bought me an iPhone.  I've had a blast finding apps for it and being my nerdy self by doing things like reading how to optimize your smart phone home screen. (For one, it suggests naming folders verbs instead of categories.)  If you're gluten free and don't have an iPhone, you might want to consider switching when you get a chance. 

Today I came across Dish Freely after reading an article on Mashable.  The app just came out on February 22, and it's in the infancy stage.  For example, there's nothing listed for my area - yet.

If you like Urbanspoon -- I love their food slot machine -- then check out Find Me Gluten Free, which is free. Gluten Free Registry is similar and is $1.99.  iCanEat OnTheGo has fast food options if you also have one or more dietary needs with gluten, wheat, eggs, fish, milk, peanuts, treenuts, and soy.  Each is free and uses your location (but there is another iCanEat app for $2.99 that adds corn to options).  Is That Gluten Free? Eating Out is similar but only deals with gluten and is $3.99.

I've read good reviews for Is That Gluten Free?  My boyfriend added it to his phone, but I've never used it much.  Plus it's $7.99.  Gluten free food is expensive enough. However, it's updated frequently and verified.

Do you travel?  Check out Gluten Free Restaurant Cards from Pepper Stuff and CeliacTravel.com.  (Also free!)

Interested in gluten free magazine apps?  Delight Gluten-Free & Easy Eats each have a free app.

My biggest challenge:  I have a fast metabolism.  Annoyingly fast.  Despite eating four meals a day, I have a really hard time maintaining my weight.  Since January, I've lost 8-9 pounds completely on accident.  I've come to the conclusion that my diet just isn't working.  To combat this, I recently added a calorie counting app.  I'm aiming to get 2,500-3,000 calories a day, but it's very difficult when you cannot eat regular bread and don't enjoy gluten free versions on a daily basis.  I'm basically eating 2 dinners each night.

My second biggest challenge: recipes for all those meals!!  My boyfriend (who is a little bit picky) doesn't generally suggest meals.  Tired from work and needing to tackle assignments for my anatomy & physiology class, I tend to let myself get frustrated.  I like my Betty Crocker, Rachael Ray, and other cookbooks - my favorites have pictures that tantalize the tastebuds - but most I find for gluten free focus on baked goods.  I don't want cake - I want something hearty!  Gluten Free in the Kitchen is a promising recipe app with photos for $1.99, and I just bought Elizabeth Hasselbeck's cookbook Deliciously G-Free: Food So Flavorful They'll Never Believe It's Gluten Free.  (It should arrive on Monday, and I'll be sure to review it.) 

Big Oven is helpful for recipe ideas, but I'm trying to get myself on track with menu planning.  Unfortunately, that tends to require a larger stockpile than I have, more time than I'm generally willing to give, and freezer space.  The boyfriend and I plan to househunt this summer, and he's promised that the first addition to our place will be a chest freezer, the upright kind so I don't accidentally fall in head-first :)

Happy eating!!

 My budding cookbook collection