It’s said that diet is more crucial than exercise when it comes to keeping healthy, losing weight or building muscle.

While there are arguments for and against this (and factors to do with metabolism and body type to consider) it’s definitely true that nutrition is key when it comes to a healthy lifestyle.

Apps are handy, simple (and often free) tools that are designed to make life easier. And there are excellent cooking apps out there to assist us, day to day, with what we eat in order to be healthier.

Here are 8 cooking apps that have proven excellent in keeping an eye on what you’re whipping up in the kitchen and eating afterwards…

1: Food Network’s In the Kitchen

This app comes directly from the television powerhouse Food Network, where plenty of people go for recipe ideas and healthy nutritional solutions. Of the many cooking apps out there, this one is rated one of the top ones in the App Store.

It features all the latest recipes from the channel’s resident foodies and chefs and provides a fast-track way to monitor ingredients and come up with the tastiest, healthiest ideas for meals.

It’s even got a virtual kitchen for you to practice in!

With 70,000+ recipes on offer, it allows you to customize dishes to help you make them extra health conscious. It provides facts, figures and how-to videos and offers a grocery list feature to keep those ingredients organized for your healthy weekly shop.

2: Calorie Counter and Diet Tracker by MyFitnessPal

Many cooking apps focus on calorie counting but arguably none of them do it like MyFitnessPal.

It has a catalog containing 5 million foods, meaning you can be 100% on top of anything you cook or eat, and be fully clued in on recipes nutritional values.

It’s a speedy, nifty app and logs any foods you put into it, for added ease in the future.

This makes it great if you have found some healthy dishes to cook and want to come back to them again another time.

3: Oh She Glows

There are 95 plant-based recipes on the Oh She Glows app.

This is one of the cooking apps that truly aims to deliver healthy and good-looking meals, bringing you all the nutrients you need. It keeps the user’s mind at peace, knowing all their dietary requirements are being thought carefully about.

Whether its gazpacho or heartier cheesy lentil bolognese casserole that you’re looking for, the app is beautifully designed and very user-friendly.

It also features a detailed search filter which allows you to narrow down which meals are best to create based on your nutritional preferences. This especially comes in handy if you’re on a health kick and are feeling a little lost in the kitchen.

4: VNutrition

Although designed specifically for vegan eating only, VNutritian is excellent should you want to ensure your body is getting all it’s vital nutrients.

Designed by The Vegan Society themselves, this is a great cooking app if you’re embarking on a very strict culinary journey and are concerned about getting all the vitamins your body needs, focusing on plant-based foods.

As the tips come directly from registered dietitians, you can trust it. There is also a feature with a checklist so you are able to track how close you are to hitting your daily nutritional targets.

5: My New Roots

Also focused on plant-based foods, My New Roots is there for the frustrated or flustered veggie lover.

Designed by professional food blogger Sarah Britton the app offers up ideas for any meal of the day (including snack ideas) and looks at grain-free ingredients as well as raw and gluten-free options.

Its nutritional information feature is fantastic for keeping track of your healthy eating and includes a shopping list feature and a metric and imperial measurements switch.

6: SparkRecipes.com

The app from SparkRecipes.com offers up 500,000+ recipes from the world’s largest healthy recipes website.

SparkRecipes.com is a sister site to SparkPeople.com, which is the #1 healthy-living website in the US.

With each recipe already tried and tested by a home cook the app prides itself on helping people who want to lose weight eating delicious, nutritious meals – all without breaking the bank.

Its features include calorie listings, carb tallies and 10 other key nutrients for each recipe.

7: Nutrifix

If you’re a busy person but are set upon keeping a strict reign on your dietary and nutritional habits, Nutrifix is an excellent app to use.

What’s more, the profile it builds for you will collate and store a multitude of information to keep at your fingertips, which will aid you when it comes to cooking meals.

It’s centered around healthy food choices and is best at locating restaurants or deliverable food sources that will help to keep you nutritionally on track. It’ll even be a guide for you when you take a snack from your nearest HealthyYou vending machine, which is another ideal source of nutritional eating.

And the information it stores is perfect as a tool to recreate these meals at home in your kitchen on your downtime.

8: ShopWell

This app allows you to scan items in stores so you’re 100% clued-in on what is and isn’t healthy.

ShopWell has been specifically designed for people with health-related dietary restrictions. But as well as offering up the precise details of the foods you are purchasing and cooking with, it has an advice feature as well.

The app provides its user with personal food recommendations based on your specific health goals.

Cooking Apps: The Best of the Best

These are our selection of 8 excellent cooking apps if you’re a home cook in need of some guidance.

These apps will offer you a reassuring and helping hand in the kitchen, making it all that easier to keep on track when it comes to your healthier regime.

If you’d like to suggest any others or want to leave a testimony for any of the ones listed above, leave a comment below this piece.