Meal planning

Meal planning apps turn "what's for dinner" into a decision you make once a week. You pick or accept a set of meals, and the app builds the shopping list from them, merging the onions from three recipes into one line and sorting everything by store section. That alone saves a lot of standing in the kitchen with the fridge open.

The apps in this category take different approaches. Mealime offers a library of quick recipes and builds the plan and list from the ones you choose. Eat This Much generates a plan automatically from the foods you like and the time you have. Prepear, Plan to Eat and Samsung Food start from your own recipes: you save recipes from websites, drop them onto a calendar and the list follows. eMeals sends a weekly plan by style of eating. Mealie is open-source and runs on your own computer or server, for people who want their recipes kept at home.

When you compare them, start with where your recipes come from. If you already have favorites spread across a dozen sites, an app that imports from any site will save more time than one with its own recipe library. If you'd rather not think about recipes at all, a planner with built-in meals is the easier path.

Next, look at the shopping list. Good lists combine ingredients, let you tick off what you already have and sync between the phones of everyone who shops. Some can send the list to a grocery delivery service.