Ten Thanksgiving Apps for the Frazzled Caregiver

By Anna Hazard

Introduction

Here are a selection of apps to help cut down the stress, boost up efficiency, and overall help with Thanksgiving Day planning and preparations for harried caregivers, those with less free time on their hands, or anyone who wants to be a bit more organized this holiday season.
 
The focus is on free or inexpensive ($0.99 - $4.99) cross platform apps that can be used on both iOS & Android, especially the types that offer multiple platform syncing for easier collaboration. Chosen apps will help in ingredient selection & gathering, recipe organization, meal preparation, organizing holiday activities, or simply being an easy way to relieve stress in a seasonal themed way.

Smartphone Apps

Food Network In the Kitchen

• iOS | Android | Website (Free)
• A completely free app that features over 70,000 recipes, how-to videos, and tips from celebrity chefs based on shows featured on the Food Network.  Includes an entire section based on Thanksgiving themed meals as well as many other themed collections (Healthy, Kid Friendly etc) and the ability to collate your own collection or search by chef, type of course, type of cuisine, as well as recipes that were recently featured on TV. A fun Virtual Bakery game is included for a bit of stress relief after a hectic cooking schedule.

Allrecipes Dinner Spinner

• iOS | Android | Website (Free with in-app purchases)
• A food focused social app with a personalized feed for fellow cooks you follow & other suggestions based upon the user's selected preferences. Includes a fun spinner for generating a meal based on random ingredients, step-by-step tutorial videos, the ability to search by keyword, ingredient, and prep time, access to various themed recipe collections & the ability to create & share your own, shopping lists, and a tracker for ingredient sales near the user. A one time fee of $0.99 is required to access some premium collections.

Paprika Recipe Manager

• iOS | Android | Website ($4.99)
• A recipe organizer, meal plan generator, and shopping list manager that has the ability to sync across multiple devices and platforms. Includes a built-in browser for saving extra recipes from the internet and the ability to search for recipes by source, ingredients, or name. Saved recipes are interactive with the ability to add personal notes, highlight, or cross out steps as the user proceeds and grocery lists can combine ingredients across recipes & sort them by store aisles for more efficient shopping. Also includes timers, the ability to automatically scale up or down ingredients depending upon exact serving size or convert between metric & imperial measurements, a daily, weekly, or monthly menu planner.

SideChef

• iOS | Android | Website (Free)
• This app is an overall electronic kitchen assistant with over 11,000 easy-to-follow recipes that include step-by-step photo & audio tutorials, how-to videos, suggestions for meals based on ingredients within the house, and curated meal plans from professional chefs.  Create collections of recipes & entire cookbooks as well as use the weekly meal planner in advance. Recipes can be searched for through type of diet, dish, cuisine, and prep time required. Shopping lists can be auto-generated from chosen recipes and then ordered for delivery directly from the app. Compatible smart technology such as smart ovens & ranges can be controlled remotely through the app.

Kitchen Timer Pro

• Android ($0.99)

Sous Chef - Countdown Timer +

• iOS (Free, $1.99 to remove ads)
• Both of these apps are simple-to-use customizable multiple function timers that have been explicitly made to work well for use during cooking. Timers are either viewable on the lock screen or work through notifications even when the app is not running. Configurable timers can be broken down by appliance (burners, stove, microwave etc) or the type of food that is currently cooking. Includes default cooking times for standard meals or servings & popular measurements calculators.

Out of Milk

• iOS | Android | Website (Free with ads)
• A list generator and organizer explicitly tailored to work as shopping lists, pantry lists (items that you have at home), and more general daily to-do lists. Includes the ability to maintain multiple variations of the same type of list, breaking lists into categories, syncing and sharing lists in real time, as well as scanning item barcodes for inventory. The pro version that removes ads is currently unavailable as it's being updated.

Instacart: Grocery Delivery

• iOS | Android | Website (Free app, service fees for orders will apply)
• This app allows the users to buy groceries and other items on demand from their local stores and have them delivered within the same day (up to 1 hour turnaround in some areas) within participating locations. A zipcode check on the Instacart website can confirm if the user is within the grocery delivery network. The app includes exclusive coupons, shopping list organizer, nutrition filters for gluten-free, organic, and other dietary restrictions, and the ability to chat directly with the grocery shopper that's been hired for the user's particular run.

TickTick: To Do List with Reminder, Day Planner

• iOS | Android | Website (Free with in-app purchases)
• A simple app with easy-to-navigate interface that functions as an interactive to-do list, task manager, and schedule reminder/notifier. Tasks with their attendant reminders can be added within seconds through voice, e-mail, or typing directly in the app and then synced across multiple devices. Tasks can be set to repeat on schedule or to have multiple reminders. Includes widgets that can be added to the home screen as well as overall daily, weekly, and monthly calendar and the ability to integrate third party calendars. A premium subscription is required for access to all features.

Hidden Objects Thanksgiving Fall Harvest Puzzle

• iOS | Android
• Take a break and help bust some stress during the Thanksgiving holiday by playing this seasonal themed hidden object game. Includes a Chill Mode for relaxing, untimed play along with 30+ levels and severa; hundred different seasonal objects to find such as pumpkins, scarecrows, ghosts, and more. The first two levels of the game are free with a one time $0.99 fee required to unlock the full ad-free game.