I'm going to sound like an old lady
in a rocking chair (and I'm not, really!), but when I was first diagnosed with Celiac Disease in 2002,
information and gluten-free foods were few and far between. There wasn't much on
the internet, except for a Listserv (does anyone still do that?), where
desperate people shared symptoms and recipes. I bought or borrowed just
about every book out there (there were 21.) Many were self-published
small handbooks, put together by patients for patients. Others were books
I refer back to, even today, by authors who are still big names in the
gluten-free world (Bette Hagman, Danna Korn, Jules Shepard.)
Nowadays (love that old-lady term!)
there are thousands of books (over 200 published in 2012 alone) and over 16 million
blogs dealing with celiac and GF issues. Recently on the scene are
gluten-free apps - application software - which are used
on one's smart phone, tablet or i-device, and with which the user can interface
directly. Looking for a restaurant with a gluten-free menu within 10
miles of your house? Ding! You got it. Is this cereal
GF? Ding! No! Stay away! (I don't think they actually ding...but, you get the picture.)
Following is a list of 8 important
gluten-free apps. (I'm sure there are more.
Please comment below if you know of a particularly helpful app.)
Allergy
Eats
iPhone and Android
Free
Free
Some restaurants are happy to help you have a pleasant, gluten-free meal; others cringe at the word "gluten." This app's peer-based feedback lets you see how friendly a restaurant
is to its customers with special dietary needs. You are encouraged to leave your thumbs-up or -down, too.
Find Me Gluten
Free
iPhone and Android
Free
Locate all gluten-free-friendly
restaurants in your area with this app. View menus, read reviews and get directions quickly and easily. Use the barcode scanner to determine if popular products contain gluten.
Is
That Gluten Free?
iPhone and Android
7.99
iPhone and Android
7.99
Lists over 24,000 manufacturer verified gluten-free products, with more being added all the time. You can rate products and even add your own notes.
Noshed It
iPhone
Free
"Noshed It combines the mapping
database of FourSquare with the social sharing of Twitter and Facebook. Other
users with food allergy constraints can share their favorite (and least
favorite) dishes for people with the same food allergies. Pick a restaurant
based on reviews, or find other customers’ favorites at the restaurant your
friends picked."
ShopWell
iPhone and Android
Free
iPhone and Android
Free
The ShopWell App is marketed as hand-held "healthy grocery lists and food scanner," but for someone who must eat gluten-free, it's much more than that. "Tell" the app that you can't have gluten, and it will alert you whenever you scan a product containing gluten. (This is one of my personal favorites. It has helped me out of many jams.) You can create personal grocery lists and make choices based on nutritional information.
Gluten Free Restaurant Cards from CeliacTravel.com
iPhone
Free
This app includes restaurant cards in
more than 40 different languages that can be shown to a server, chef or
manager to help ensure a safe meal.
 |
| Screenshot of Gluten Free Restaurant Card from CeliacTravel.com |
Whole Foods Market Recipes
iPhone
Free
Browse by special diet through this app's 3000+ recipes to find something yummy that's safe for you to eat. A great feature is the "On-Hand" search, in which you can find recipes that use ingredients you already have.
Kids with Food Allergies Foundation Forums
iPhone
Free
KFA is the largest online community for families with children dealing with food allergies. This app provides access to KFA's many forums, live chats and blogs authored by experts in the field of pediatric food allergies. More than one thankful parent has said that the KFA community saved their child's life.
Any of these apps can be searched for using Google, or in iTunes or Android.
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