The iPhone Mom

The name of this app, Picky Eater, is deceptive. It’s not about dealing with a finicky two year old who won’t eat anything orange. Here the picky in Picky Eater refers to watching what you eat because of food allergies. The app provides allergen information for over 100 different types of food and nearly 2,000 food ingredients.

If you tap the “Allergen” button at the bottom of the screen you’ll see an alphabetized list of foods that cause allergies. There will be the name of the food, a thumbnail picture and the number of ingredients associated with it. Tapping on the food will display those ingredients. They’ll be shown in another list, along with the number of allergens that they in turn are associated with. Tap on an ingredient to see it’s definition and the list of those allergens. It’s like a giant, intertwined circle. The allergens lead to the ingredients which lead to the allergens again. Here’s an example of how it works. I would first tap on chocolate, it’s a type of food that can be associated with food allergies. Next I would see a list of food ingredients that are connected to chocolate. A few of them are bakers chocolate, chocolate chips, cocoa butter, and many, many more. Chocolate is a big one. I’d tap the ingredient I’m looking for, let’s say it’s chocolate chips. Now I’ll see a definition of what a chocolate chip is, along with the different food allergens it’s involved in. They are beet, chocolate, cow milk and sugar cane. So chocolate chips are involved with more allergens than just chocolate.  Picky Eater also allows you to begin your search with the ingredients instead of allergens. To do this you’d tap the “Ingredients” button at the bottom of the screen.

If you’ve got a child, or if you yourself struggle with food allergies then you know how important it is to have the necessary resources to decipher what’s in your food. Having that information easily available is a bonus and Picky Eater provides a lot of information. I think where it would be helpful for me is if I needed help figuring out some of the more obscure allergens and ingredients. Cow milk I can pretty much figure out on my own. But figuring out what allergens are associated with a Jiffy Raspberry Muffin Mix, that I need help with.

One last note, Picky Eater is associated with the website www.cookingallergyfree.com. I checked it out and it looks like a fantastic resource. It provides recipes, a discussion board, and more. If you’re dealing with this food allergies I suggest you give the site a look!

Price when Reviewed: $1.99 – This is a special introductory price.

Seller: CovertApps.com

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this app for review purposes.