My New Roots app review: a healthy vegetarian cookbook

Introduction

As we get a little older, we start to worry about things and for myself that means looking at what I eat and what it’s doing to my body. Coming from a family with a history of heart disease, this is of particular concern so I’m always looking at new ideas and new approaches. The My New Roots app really caught my attention with its healthy vegetarian recipes. I don’t know if I would ever give up all meats, but I’m certainly interested in moving towards a diet that’s predominantly vegetarian with the occasional piece of fish or chicken thrown in. This is exactly the type of lifestyle encouraged by the recipes you’ll find in the My New Roots app. This app is available for purchase from the App Store at a cost of $4.99 and it’s compatible with the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch.

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The Woman Behind The App

How this app got started is a really interesting story. It’s actually an extension of the blog by the same name created by Sarah Britton which she began way back in 2007. She had developed a love for healthy eating and whole foods while working on an organic farm in the United States and wanted to share her inspirations and recipes with the world. What’s great about her approach to this type of diet is that she doesn’t believe in being too rigid. She freely admits that she has the occasional egg and occasional piece of fish herself so she’s not entirely vegetarian – it’s just the primary component of her diet.

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Sarah has some strong credentials that add credibility to her expertise in creating this app in the form of a certificate as a Certified Nutritional Practitioner she obtained from the Institute of Holistic Nutrition in Toronto, Canada. She uses that knowledge to develop her blog and ultimately her app. She’s also released her recipes as a cookbook.

The app is a new venture for Sarah, but she brings the same enthusiasm to her app that she does to her blog and her cookbook. Essentially, what she wanted to create was an extension of the type of thing she was already doing. Sarah decided that she could make those recipes available in an app form as well as a cookbook version.

Healthy Cooking

There are tons of cookbook, nutritional, and healthy living apps available in the App Store. Some are great and some are average at best, but few of them take the approach that you’ll find in My New Roots. This app is more than just a cookbook app, it’s a motivational app that encourages the user to change their lifestyle. It’s always inspirational and that attitude is contagious.

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As we’ve indicated above, this app is not free, you will have to pay for it but if you’re a believer in healthy living it’s worth every penny. There are 110 different recipes and the app is organized into easily accessible categories and filters which make finding recipes for the right occasion a simple process. It’s got a nice user interface that uses mouthwatering images in each menu item, which show you what the particular recipe looks like as a finished product. This app will require 127 MB of available space on your iOS device.

The Anatomy of the App

The first time you run the app you’ll be able to view a short video which also includes a written explanation of the app’s main functions superimposed over the video. Once you feel you’ve got the gist of what the app is all about, you can jump right in and start finding those recipes.

By default the app displays a feed that includes every single recipe available. Each recipe tab includes a nice image sample of the finished product and a description of what it is. To access any recipe, you simply tap on its image. To continue on through the feed to the next recipe you simply swipe upwards on your screen until you find something that interests you.

Navigating your way around the app is very simple. There’s a menu app on the bottom left corner that will bring up a list menu that features different sections you can access such as your favorites, a shopping list, and a help section. The favorites and shopping list sections will remain empty until you add something to them.

If you want to filter by a particular type of recipe such as a dinner recipe, you can tap on the filter tab which is located at the bottom right of the apps screen. Here you’ll find different sections that you can choose from such as: drinks, dinner, lunch, snack, sidedish, dessert, and breakfast. Filtering this way makes it easier to find exactly what you’re looking for.

Inside each recipe, you’ll find three different tabs: a summary tab, an ingredients tab, and directions on how to make the recipe. The summary tab includes a nice write up by Sarah Britton on what she thinks about the recipe, her suggested serving size, and any nutritional information. I believe that this section really gives the app a friendly feel and connects very well with users.

Adding a recipe to your favorites list or your shopping list is a pretty straightforward process. You’ll find a small button in the top right corner of each recipe and if you tap on the app it will bring up a list of options that allow you to save the recipes ingredients in a shopping list, favorite the recipe, and there’s also an option to add notes about the recipe. It’s a very user-friendly experience which will appeal to most cooking fans.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Includes 110 different recipes
• Recipes can be filtered into specific categories
• Each recipe includes a summary, ingredients, and directions
• When you find a recipe that you like you can save it in your shopping list
• You can also add a recipe you like to your favorites
• Each recipe includes nice image samples

 

Cons

• This is a paid app

The Vegetarian Verdict

My New Roots is a unique and innovative cookbook app that promotes healthy living. If you’re concerned about the effects that all the processed foods are having in your life then this cookbook app is exactly what you’re looking for. It’s an app that brings out the author’s great personality and makes you feel right at home.