Going vegan does not need to be a difficult transition, and with the incredible range of apps and technology we have available at our fingertips 24/7, it becomes even simpler. Today I’m sharing apps that have helped me in my transition, some of which I used before going vegan so they’re useful to all! From the food you eat, the cosmetics you use, and the clothes you wear, there is an app for everything to help you find vegan alternatives.
Happy Cow | This is such a great app when you’re in a new place and don’t know where you can find the best vegan food. You can search for entirely vegan places, vegetarian places and veg-options, as well as looking for vegan grocery stores and much more. It’s been really helpful when we’ve been out and about and hangry, and it works all over the world which makes it the perfect travel companion app.
Food Gawker | I’ve been obsessed with Food Gawker for years because I think it’s the best place to find recipes online, and the app is enjoyable and easy to use. The results can be filtered into vegan options which makes it quick and easy to find what you’re looking for. As all the submissions are filtered by the Food Gawker team, you know the imagery and the content of the recipe will be high quality and reliable, which I think puts it that one step above Pinterest (although I can’t be without Pinterest either, a girl’s gotta’ work on her food boards.)
Cruelty Cutter | Shopping for cosmetics and household cleaning items has to be one of the hardest tasks at first. Not all products are clear about their animal testing policies, there is the shady business around cruelty-free brands owned by non-cruelty free parent companies and some brands who claim to be cruelty-free use suppliers that are not. Complicated? Yep. To cut out some of the guess work, Cruelty Cutter uses a simple barcode scan or product name search if you need reassurance before parting with your cash.
Vegan Amino | Vegan Amino is probably the best place to meet other likeminded people, in your area or from anywhere in the world. You can share photos, ask questions, play quizzes – it’s like a mini social network for vegans. It’s been great for me to keep a log of my journey and I’ve found recipes, products and chatted to some really interesting people along the way.
Palm Oil Scanner | Obviously not exclusively for vegans, but as I like to try and minimise my palm oil consumption, this is a really useful app to have if you’re ever in doubt when you search the supermarket shelves. It seems to work well with a lot of the products I’ve scanned here in Australia, with only a few products not being recognised by their database.
Is It Vegan | Another scanner, similar to the palm oil one above, this app uses barcodes to detect whether a product contains all vegan ingredients or not. This is definitely useful as things like milk products can take so many different hidden names. Although I do like this app, I have found that it seems to recognise less of the products I scan, but it does have a good search function too.
Good On You | This is a great one for conscious consumers who want to make the shift to purchasing clothing from more ethical brands. It has ratings for your favourite big names based on their stance towards use of animal products, workers rights, environmental impact and many other factors, meaning you can look good and feel good in the clothes you wear.
If you’re vegan, or even just toying with the idea, I’d recommend giving these apps a try. Most of them were free, with the exception of Happy Cow, which I’m pretty sure was under $5 to buy. Of course, there’s a ton of other vegan apps out there and I’ve only scratched the surface, so if you’ve got any other recommendations, be sure to send them my way!
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