Diabetes recipe apps

Diabetes recipe apps

  • There are a variety of apps designed for people living with diabetes, which focus on food and recipes.
  • It's important to use these apps cautiously because there's no one-size-fits-all approach to food and diabetes.
  • It's advisable to talk to a qualified health professional to develop an approach that suits you. 
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Healthy eating is an important part of managing and living well with diabetes. Eating a healthy diet helps to keep your blood glucose levels within your target range, which reduces the risk of developing diabetes-related complications. There are a variety of recipe apps designed for people living with diabetes. It's important to know how to use these apps safely.


Tips when using diabetes recipe apps

Do (✔)

  • Look for apps from a recognised and credible source, eg, a dietitian or health organisation. 
  • Use an app for food inspiration or to plan and record food intake but remember, there's no one-size-fits-all approach to food and diabetes. It's important to talk to a qualified health professional to develop an approach that suits you. 
  • Adapt and amend recipes to include plenty of vegetables, and less salt and sugar.

Don’t (✘)

  • Trust everything you are told. It's important to cross check advice with a trusted source or health professional.
  • Be lured by photos or pics – they don’t always reflect healthy recipes. Check the ingredients and quantities.
  • Rely on apps which use food databases that are not from Aotearoa New Zealand or Australia.

Our reviews suggest these apps should be used with caution because the source of the content is not clear and recipes are not assessed to determine if they are “healthy” or nutritionally balanced for people with diabetes.

Alternatively, you could see the Diabetes New Zealand website, Diabetes-friendly recipes(external link), or Diabetes Australia, Recipes(external link)

App Description Clinical review

Glycemic Index Load Tracker app

  • Goal setting and journal.
  • Daily reminders for motivation and encouragement.
  • Simple traffic light colour scheme.
  • App community communication.
  • Extensive and good quality recipe database.
4 star review

Diabetic Recipes App & Planner

 

  • Recipes with images.
  • Cookbook categorised into meals, food types and occasions.
  • Recipes can be searched by ingredient.

Diabetic Recipes: Healthy Food

  • Recipes.
  • Ability to create a shopping list.
  • Recipes can be searched by ingredients.

Disclaimer: The NZ Health App Library is a free consumer service to help you decide whether a health app would be suitable for you. Our review process is independent. We have no relationship with the app developers or companies and no responsibility for the service they provide. This means that if you have an issue with one of the apps we have reviewed, you will need to contact the app developer or company directly.

Factsheets – using health apps safely

How to choose a health app
Healthify He Puna Waiora, NZ

Credits: Healthify editorial team. Healthify is brought to you by Health Navigator Charitable Trust.