15 Meal Planning Apps to Make Your Nutritionist Job Easy

As a nutritionist, planning healthy and balanced meals for your clients can be time-consuming and overwhelming at times. Thankfully, there are some excellent meal planning apps available that can take a lot of the work off your plate.

These apps provide extensive databases of recipes along with powerful tools to organize and plan meals. They allow you to quickly find recipes suited to your client‘s dietary needs and restrictions. You can also easily create customized meal plans, generate shopping lists, and track nutrition intake.

In this comprehensive guide, we will explore the top 15 meal planning apps to simplify and streamline your meal planning process as a nutritionist.

Why Meal Planning Apps are Useful for Nutritionists

Here are some of the key reasons why meal planning apps are invaluable for nutritionists:

Save Time and Effort

Meal planning apps eliminate the need to spend hours searching for recipes or creating meal plans from scratch. Their extensive databases and smart features allow you to quickly find suitable recipes and put together customized meal plans.

Meet Client Needs

These apps make it easy to accommodate your clients‘ dietary preferences, restrictions, and nutrition goals. You can filter recipes by ingredients, nutrition values, cuisine types, etc.

Variety and Inspiration

With thousands of recipes in their databases, these apps provide tremendous variety and inspiration. You can ensure your clients‘ meal plans are diverse and interesting.

Portion Control

Many apps provide portion or serving size controls. This allows you to adjust recipes to meet your clients‘ calorie and macronutrient needs.

Grocery Lists

Most apps generate a grocery list based on your meal plan. This takes the guesswork out of shopping and ensures you get just what you need.

Accessibility

Meal planning apps are available on both iOS and Android. Your meal plans are accessible to you and your clients anytime, anywhere.

Progress Tracking

Many apps allow you to track clients‘ nutritional intake over time so you can ensure they are sticking to the meal plan.

Must-Have Features in Meal Planning Apps

When evaluating meal planning apps, keep an eye out for these useful features:

• Robust recipe database – A large database of diverse, healthy recipes is essential.

• Customizable filters – The ability to filter recipes by dietary needs, ingredients, nutrition values, etc.

• Meal planning tools – An easy way to schedule recipes into daily or weekly meal plans.

• Grocery lists – Auto-generated grocery lists based on your meal plan.

• Offline access – Ability to view meal plans without an internet connection.

• Nutrition tracking – Tools to record and track daily nutritional intake.

• App syncing – Options to sync between mobile and desktop apps.

• Sharing tools – Ability to share recipes and meal plans with clients.

• Image and video – Having pictures and videos help bring recipes to life.

The Best Meal Planning Apps for Nutritionists

Here are 15 of the top-rated and most nutritionist-recommended meal planning apps available for iOS and Android:

1. Mealime

Mealime is one of the most popular all-in-one meal planning apps. It offers weekly meal plans tailored to your nutritional needs and diet.

The app has recipe filters for diets like keto, paleo, vegetarian, and more. It also lets you exclude allergen ingredients. An auto-generated grocery list saves you time shopping.

Key features:

• 12 weekly meal plan options
• Filters for diets and allergens
• Grocery list generator
• Macronutrient tracking
• Timer to cook recipes
• Photo gallery for recipes

Platforms: iOS, Android

2. Paprika

Paprika excels as a personal recipe organizer and meal planner. You can import recipes from any website and add them to meal plans on a calendar. The app tracks ingredients for grocery lists.

Paprika also makes cooking easier with built-in timers, instruction step tracking, and photo guides for each recipe. You can sync recipes across all your devices.

Key features:

• Cloud sync
• Built-in browser to import recipes
• Meal planning calendar
• Grocery and pantry list
• Cooking timers and instruction tracker
• Photo gallery and notes for recipes

Platforms: iOS, Android

3. Plan to Eat

Plan to Eat is a simple, user-friendly app for building meal plans and generating shopping lists. Just drag recipes onto your meal plan calendar. Recipes can be imported from anywhere on the web.

The app is ideal for clients who want a straightforward way to stick to a meal plan. Plans can be easily customized and recipes substituted as needed.

Key features:

• Drag-and-drop meal planning
• Adding custom recipes
• Built-in cook timer
• Automated shopping list
• Nutrition info for recipes
• Sync across devices

Platforms: iOS, Android

4. Forksy

Forksy is a great app for discovering new recipes. It provides a personalized feed of recipe recommendations based on your diet, nutrition needs, and food preferences.

You can easily add recipes you like to your meal plan calendar. The app also generates a shopping list for you. Nutritional info is provided for all recipes.

Key features:

• Personalized recipe feed
• Option to refine recommendations
• Save recipes to meal plan calendar
• Nutrition info for recipes
• Auto-generated shopping list

Platforms: iOS, Android

5. Whisk

Whisk has a vast database of over 400,000 recipes to search. You can browse recipes, preview nutritional info, and add favorites to your meal plans.

Handy features include scaling recipes, meal plan templates, adding notes to recipes, and generating grocery lists. You can also clip recipes from the web into the app.

Key features:

• Database of 400,000+ recipes
• Clip recipes from the web
• Nutritional info for all recipes
• Notes section for recipes
• Photo gallery
• Grocery list generation

Platforms: iOS, Android

6. Yummly

Yummly is one of the most feature-packed meal planning apps. It offers recipe recommendations tailored to your taste preferences and dietary needs.

Handy tools allow you to track nutrition, build meal plans, generate shopping lists, and get cooking help with Guided Cooking. There are over 2 million recipes to discover.

Key features:

• Personalized recipe recommendations
• 2+ million recipes
• Advanced recipe search tools
• Meal planning calendar
• Nutrition tracking
• Guided cooking help
• Grocery list generation

Platforms: iOS, Android

7. PlateJoy

PlateJoy takes the guesswork out of meal planning. Just enter your dietary needs and preferences, and it creates customized weekly meal plans for you.

Recipes come with detailed nutrition facts and cooking instructions. You‘ll also get an auto-generated grocery list. Meal plans can be easily adjusted.

Key features:

• Creates tailored meal plans
• Instructions and nutrition for recipes
• Grocery list generation
• Ability to swap, add, or remove recipes
• Choose recipes you want to include
• Integration with fitness trackers

Platforms: iOS, Android

8. MealBoard

MealBoard is an easy-to-use app for building meal plans and grocery lists. You can browse recipe sites and add recipes with a single tap.

Handy features include recipe scaling, meal plan templates, reminders, notes, and integration with your iPhone calendar. Recipes can be organized into custom categories.

Key features:

• Adding recipes in 1 tap
• Notes and reminders
• Recipe category creation
• Meal plan template creation
• Syncing with iPhone calendar
• Grocery list generation

Platform: iOS

9. Mealime

Mealime provides customized weekly meal plans based on your nutritional needs and diet. Pick your plan based on goals like losing weight, eating clean, or bulking up.

Exclusions can be set for allergens and intolerances. A shopping list is auto-generated from your personalized plan to simplify grocery runs.

Key features:

• Custom meal plans
• 12 diet types like keto and vegan
• Set ingredient exclusions
• Nutritional data
• Photo gallery
• Smart grocery lists

Platforms: iOS, Android

10. SuperCooker

SuperCooker offers meal plans and recipes tailored to your nutritional goals and diet. After selecting your plan, you get weekly recipes programmed into a grocery list.

The app has handy recipe features like scaling servings, nutrition facts, cooking timers, and photo instructions. You can also save recipes into categories.

Key features:

• Personalized meal plans
• Recipe scaling
• Nutrition facts for recipes
• Photo recipe instructions
• Categorize favorite recipes
• Weekly grocery lists

Platforms: iOS, Android

11. Dinner Spinner

Dinner Spinner makes it easy to discover new recipes for your meal plans. Just set your diet, restrictions, and nutritional needs. Spin for a recipe personalized to you.

Save recipes you like into categories like Breakfast, Lunch, Snacks, etc. Nutritional data is provided to ensure recipes fit your diet.

Key features:

• Spin for personalized recipes
• Save recipes to custom categories
• Nutritional data for recipes
• Grocery list generation
• Sync across devices
• Photo galleries

Platform: iOS, Android

12. Cookmate

Cookmate provides an extensive catalog of recipes to browse and customize into weekly meal plans. Recipes are conveniently categorized for easy access.

You can set up profiles for clients directly within the app, incorporating their nutritional needs and restrictions. Meal plans can be customized and shared.

Key features:

• Huge categorized recipe database
• Client profile creation
• Shared meal plan access
• Grocery list generation
• Nutrition info for all recipes
• Photo galleries

Platforms: iOS, Android

13. Pepperplate

Pepperplate offers advanced tools for saving recipes and planning meals. Recipes can be organized into custom categories and added to meal plan templates.

The app generates a needed grocery list from your meal plan. You can also make notes and meal plan reminders. Syncing is available across devices.

Key features:

• Drag-and-drop meal planner
• In-app recipe browser
• Custom recipe categories
• Meal plan reminders
• Grocery list generation
• Recipe nutrition info

Platforms: iOS, Android

14. PlanEats

PlanEats streamlines meal prep with categorized recipes and meal plan templates. You can create templates for clients based on their nutrition goals.

Useful tools include scaling recipes, meal plan calendars, reminders, and grocery list generation. Nutrition data is provided for all recipes.

Key features:

• Categorized recipes
• Customizable meal plan templates
• Recipe scaling options
• Nutrition info and serving sizes
• Grocery list creation
• Syncing across devices

Platforms: iOS, Android

15. MyNetDiary

MyNetDiary offers advanced nutrition tracking paired with meal planning features. Input your diet details and this app creates tailored meal plans.

As you log your daily nutrition, MyNetDiary analyzes your intake. Meal plans are adjusted accordingly so you stay on track.

Key features:

• Nutrition-focused meal plans
• Analyzes diet and exercise
• Track detailed nutrition info
• Comprehensive food database
• Grocery list creation
• Syncs across devices

Platforms: iOS, Android

Get Meal Planning Like a Pro

A good meal planning app should make your life easier by saving you time on recipes and nutrition calculations. Look for apps that offer:

• Customizable meal plans
• Recipes tailored to dietary needs
• Easy planning and scheduling tools
• Reliable nutritional info
• Grocery list generation
• Accessibility across devices

The apps profiled above provide these essential features and are highly rated by nutritionists. With the strategies and tools provided by an app, you can take the complication out of meal planning for both you and your clients.