7 Awesome Apps for Vegans you Should Download
Although being a vegan has been made a lot easier in recent years thanks to the rise of many vegan brands, including vegan fashion brands, as well as big-name brands releasing vegan-friendly and eco-friendly products — it can require some effort to maintain, especially for beginners (you can read my Veganuary tips to help you make the jump too). Fortunately, there are apps for vegans available that can prove to be a lifesaver.
So, whether you’re doing your weekly vegan grocery list and want to know if certain products are suitable for vegans, or are traveling as a vegan and roaming a new city in search of a fantastic vegan restaurant — “there’s an app for that!”
7 Awesome Eating, Drinking and Lifestyle Apps for Vegans
Happy Cow
Likely the most well-known of all apps for vegans. At a glance, Happy Cow just looks like a helpful app to find nearby vegan restaurants, which of course it is — but beyond that, it offers so much more. The app itself is straightforward to use and utilizing your device’s GPS to find several great options close by. It’s worth noting that you can also use their website to search if you happen to be on your laptop. Right, so we know it can help me track down nearby vegan spots — but what else?
Another brilliant aspect of the app is that it encourages user contribution and interactions in several different ways. For example, there’s a section for recipes, which users can try out and review or even add their own recipes. Also, there is a “Veg Topics” section that features content about health, going vegan, humor, the environment, and much more. Overall I’d say Happy Cow is fantastic for finding restaurants and delivery options to suit your needs. However, beyond that, it’s also a great source of information and content about vegan and vegetarian culture.
Vegan Passport
As I mentioned above, there is a lot more vegan food and products available these days which most definitely has made it a little easier to maintain, and more appealing to people who are interested in adopting or trying a vegan diet. With that said, anyone who has traveled will know that from time-to-time it can be challenging to find food and drink choices to suit your dietary needs, but also to communicate clearly or translate correctly when speaking to waiting staff and shop assistants.
Vegan Passport is a must-have for jet-setting vegans who want to explore new cultures and environments without having to sacrifice their diet and life choices. With this app, you will be able to find local vegan options with ease and communicate using their comprehensive phrasebook. And if your phrasebook fails you, they also have some “fail-safe” images of food choices to convey your message if words aren’t working.
Vegan Pocket – Is it Vegan?
You’ll find Vegan Pocket – Is it Vegan to be a huge benefit when you go shopping and are unsure if certain products are suitable for vegans. While a large percentage of products these days do state whether they are vegan or not, vegan apps like this eliminate the risk of compromising your vegan lifestyle.
This app allows you to scan the barcode of a product and let you know if it is vegan or not, very similar to how the My Fitness Pal app tells the nutritional information of food and drink. Another impressive feature is that it includes cruelty-free products and vegan beauty products, so you can use the app for your entire shopping trip and have the peace of mind knowing that nothing in your basket goes against your beliefs.
Deliciously Ella
If you’re someone who does a lot of cooking at home and wants to enhance your recipe repertoire, Deliciously Ella is one of the most popular and useful vegan apps available. With over 400 healthy, plant-based recipes — including videos, shopping lists and step-by-step guides — as well as meal planners and helpful dietary tips, Deliciously Ella’s app is a one-stop-shop for vegan goodness!
But that’s not all it has to offer! The app is also a fantastic resource for health and wellness with an in-app podcast dedicated to living a healthy lifestyle, not to mention the vast range of beginner and advanced yoga and meditation videos.
Interested in yoga? You should check out my yoga posts!
Bunny Free
Bunny Free is an app that allows users to check if a company is cruelty-free or not. You can do this by using one of the app’s three features:
– Type a company name in the search box
– Scan a product’s barcode
– Browse the alphabetically-ordered list of brands.
The app is free and available for Android and iPhone and uses data from PETA’s cruelty-free shopping guide.
When it comes to apps for vegans, the simplicity of Bunny Free is undoubtedly one of its key advantages. Bunny Free is an ideal way to check the cruelty-free status of products quickly and efficiently, hassle-free and without wasting time. There’s also an option only to show you vegan-friendly brands, so you that will save you even more time!
AirVegan
Unfortunately not an all-vegan airline as the name suggests, AirVegan is actually an app for vegans that helps you to find airport terminals that have restaurants, shops or bars with vegan options. I’m someone who travels as much as I can, so naturally, I spend a fair amount of time hanging around in airports. Depending on the size of the airport as well as the time and effort you are willing you expend, you may well be able to track down some vegan options nearby — fortunately, AirVegan does that for you. So if you have an upcoming trip and finding vegan food in airports always drives you mad, this app can be a lifesaver!
Are you travelling to or around Europe soon? Check out my guide for the best European destinations for vegans.
Vegaholic
Gotta have apps for vegans who like their booze on the list! Although some people may assume that a vegan lifestyle mainly has to do with the type of foods you eat, there’s a lot more to it than that. For example, not all alcohol is vegan-friendly. So if you’re less vigilant with checking whether or not your drink(s) of choice are suitable for vegans — there’s a chance you have been consuming weird things you didn’t sign up for.
Many beers, wines and spirits are made of or use animal products during production. Wines go through a ‘fining’ process, which can involve gelatin, milk protein or egg whites. Also, beer brewers often use gelatins made of fish bladders when filtering cask beers. I know, it all sounds pretty disgusting and for vegans, it can be a bit tricky.
By using the online Barnivore database, the Vegaholic app makes it easy to search for and check your favourite drinks while out shopping or even during a night out. Unfortunately, there’s nothing the team at Vegaholic can do to save you from a nasty hangover!
For a little inspiration, read my article on the best vegan quotes.