Tag Archives: iPhone app

October 11, 2012

ProPoints iPhone app

I was surprised to find that I’ve been trying to lose weight for two and a half weeks. I have to be honest and say I’m finding it more difficult that I thought to find the time to learn the ProPoints way and plan healthy meals. Watching what I eat has made me realise just how much I snack in the evenings when the kids are in bed and I put my feet up!

However, I shall not be deterred, I think I just underestimated the effort I would need to lose weight.

One of the features of WeightWatchers ProPoints is the iPhone app which is free to download from the iTunes App Store (but an eSource account in required for full functionality). I’m addicted to my iPhone as anyone else and the app is a bit of a mixed blessing.

It’s great for tracking on the go. It contains tons of useful information, such as information about the ProPoints values of all meals and drinks – great when going for an unexpected meal. It also holds a database of over 30000 foods and a selection of over 1000 recipes in easy to find categories. You can even track the Activity ProPoints you earn from exercise!

For me it gives easy access to the ProPoints plan and a great way to track how active I am. However, my iPhone is full of apps (Facebook, Twitter, my blog, Pinterest, Instagram, etc) and I find it’s one more thing to look at and distract me from what I should be doing – looking after the children. It’s useful but I don’t rely on it for everything as I’d rather sit down every evening with my laptop and track my points and think about the foods I’ve eaten and the activities I’ve done.

If you fancy trying out Weight Watchers for yourself, then you can access the online plan for a week for just £1 and trial the app for free here. Please make sure you read the small print though as the plan will automatically renew unless you instruct otherwise.

The Great British Bake Off (iPhone app review)!

I’ve always loved baking but The Great British Bake Off has really encouraged me to be a bit more adventurous with my baking. I still have baking disasters (too many to mention) but I love baking and seeing people enjoy what I’ve made.

The new series of The Great British Bake Off aired this week and a new iPhone app is available to download for the first time (priced £2.99). The app contains fifty fabulous recipes to whip up at home and are all based on The Great British Bake Off books published by BBC Books in conjunction with Love Productions.

The new app is really easy to use and has 4 main sections: browse recipes, find a recipe, my favourites and shopping list. I’ve already ear-marked the stem ginger shortbread and stem ginger gingerbread recipes to make at some point. Each recipe is shown in detail with an overview, ingredients and equipment needed and takes you through each step needed to recreate the recipe in the comfort of your own home. I especially like that each recipe has a skill level so you can be as adventurous as you dare!

Recipes are taken from renowned cookery writer Mary Berry and master baker Paul Hollywood, and include favourites, such as Love Heart Biscuits and Caramel Cake, all taken from the series tie-in books – The Great British Bake Off: How to Bake and the new book for this year, How to Turn Everyday Bakes into Showstoppers. The recipes are searchable by occasion, ingredient or skill level, or by browsing through stunning baking photography for inspiration. The unique touch-free technology means that users can move from step to step without touching their iPhone when they are in ‘cooking mode’ – no more sticky fingerprints on the screen, which is a really great feature! You can easily mark your favourites for ease of reference and share them on Facebook and Twitter. A lovely app and a must have for all Bake Off! fans.

Disclosure – I was sent a free code for this app

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Filed under baking, food review, gingerbread, Tech!

Tagged as baking, iPhone app, The Great British Bake Off

May 13, 2012

City of Friends app for pre-schoolers

The new City of Friends app (for iPhone and iPad) contains games and activities for children 2-6 years, based on the successful children’s TV series, City of Friends.

The series centers around the three emergency services – Police, Ambulance and Fire and three friends (Max, Ted and Elphie) who are dedicated to their new positions in the emergency services. They experience lots of adventures which all lead to new experiences and life lessons.

The app enables you to get to know the three recruits, Max, Ted and Elphie as they join their respective emergency teams on exciting missions. There are 6 games:

Put out fires with Elphie

Organise Ted’s First Aid kit

Fly the helicopter with Max

Get to know the City of Friends in a classical memory game

Check out the emergency vehicles

TV series movie snippets rewards

My toddler just loves his ‘nee-naws’ so I thought this app would be perfect for him. He’s scarily good at navigating his way around our iPhones and iPad so I knew he would have fun with the app. It’s pretty easy to use and he enjoyed all the games although needed a bit of help with some of them. This gets a big thumbs up from us and, as there are three levels of difficulty in some of the games, it’s one app that he’ll get lots of enjoyment from as his skills develop.

The City of Friends app (for iPhone and iPad) is available from the iTunes store.