There are free apps for almost every part of our life be it entertainment, games, books or house. But my favorite apps are the ones which make your day-to-day more productive and simple. That’s why I am loving today’s post by Fabida which focuses on one of the most dreaded task for every busy mom- Menu Planning!

This post is by Fabida Abdulla, the regular contributor to The Mom Views and blogger at Shocks and Shoes. Fab writes about parenting, baking, shopping and all the little joys in life. 

‘Plans are nothing; planning is everything – Dwight D. Eisenhower’

In most households, even though if there’s a cook, or if Dad helps out in the kitchen, the role of The Official Meal Planner more often than not rests with Mom. And most Moms will vouch for the ease that menu planning offers them. Haven’t we all had days when we’re tired and cranky, and then stare at the fridge with no idea of how to feed the minions?? Yes, we’ve all been there.

I know so many people who say that it takes them longer figuring out what to cook than to actually make a meal! Planning a menu in advance offers many advantages:

1. You don’t have to waste time staring at the fridge 3 times a day, 7 days a week.

2. You have fresh, healthy and home cooked meals, since the chances of ordering/eating out are less.

3. You save money, since you can make judicious use of leftovers and produce that is prone to spoilage.

4. You can ensure some variety, rather than eating oatmeal every morning.

5. You can make do with one grocery visit a week, which again saves you money.

6. You can prep your veggies and meat once a week, so all you have to do is just defrost and cook.

So to help you lovely ladies take the drudgery out of meal planning, here are some must have free android apps that do more than just plan your menu:

 5 MUST HAVE FREE ANDROID APPS FOR MENU PLANNING

At a glance, you can see and do your meal planning for the entire week. You can tap on the date to enter your plan for each meal, and all your meals are saved for future reference as well. The handy grocery list feature helps you make categories for all items, like vegetables, bread etc. in case you need to go to different stores for them. Another very helpful feature is the ‘Inventory’ which shows what’s left in your pantry. Isn’t that super?

This one is for the rabid recipe collector;; which is probably all of us. You can import recipes from anywhere into your Pepper Plate account, which syncs up your phone and computer; you can organize them into meals, set meals for every day of the week and make a shopping list. The best part – you can arrange the shopping list in the order you’ll be shopping at the store. No more running around the aisles like a headless chicken!

With a simple and clutter free interface, this meal planner app is real easy to use. Upload your recipes and create meals for a week. However, it’s the shopping list part that really stands out. The food categories are well-defined and you can also list quantities and prices for each product – real handy if you go shopping with cash instead of card and it also does away with wastage! The online sync feature is yet to be updated, but even so, this looks like a winner!

A pretty popular app among the meal planner apps, this one has an additional feature of letting you know of grocery store specials, which unfortunately, doesn’t seem to be available in India. It offers a printable grocery list, so if you’re grocery shopping with little kids and holding a smart phone in your hand isn’t the best idea, go ahead and print it out. Apart from the usual menu planning and grocery list preparing features, this one actually reminds you to prepare your weekly meal plan. Procrastinators, what’s your excuse now?

This is one detailed app, and with a beautiful interface to boot! Voted one of Time magazine’s 50 best apps of 2012, you don’t have to fear when one of the internet’s biggest recipe inventories is at your fingertips! This app offers unique search options, like searching for a dish by ingredient, or even cooking time. You can also apply dietary restrictions for completely personalized recipe options. They have also introduced a scanner system, which makes list making even easier. Want more? Shake your phone, and they promise you surprise recipe ideas – meal planning was never this fun!

Now you’re all set for fresh, home cooked food at every meal, served by a smiling, stress free Mom (or Dad)! Some of the apps don’t include snacks in the meal plans, so be sure to check it out before installing. Bon Appétit!