Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the most beautiful cooking app of them all? At the moment, it’s a brand new app: The Whole Pantry. Don’t let the name fool you — there’s nothing homely about this app. It’s a one-of-a-kind sexy, modern girl’s guide to healthy cooking and living. Gorgeous photos, vibrant recipes and a handful of articles written by experts in yoga, nutrition and holistic medicine come together for an app that inspires you to live your best life now.
The Whole Pantry covers a wide range of topics, from dealing with stress to herbal medicine to eating to promote health. You’ll find info on the diet and fertility link, plus herbs that promote wellbeing during pregnancy. Learn how to make healthy versions of your favorite treats (peanut butter cups and decadent desserts). Recipes are all vegetarian, gluten free and Paleo friendly with a focus on eating whole, unrefined foods. No matter your diet or lifestyle, there’s inspiration to fit your needs.
Looking to live a healthier, more beautiful and happy life? Keep reading to learn more.
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Getting Started
The first thing you notice when you launch the app is that it’s gorgeous. The opening scene is a beautifully distressed wooden table strewn with fresh fruit, steeping tea and magazine clippings. It’s basically every girl’s idea of a perfect Sunday morning. Transition to the home screen where you’ll find a main menu of everything The Whole Pantry offers: Recipe of the Day, all Recipes, lifestyle Guides, Our Pantry filled with the things the Whole Pantry loves and Favorites (for the things you love).
Launch the app and it’s obvious you’re in for a treat- strikingly beautiful lifestyle photography, delicious recipes and healthy living guides.
Tap the white bars in the top right corner to learn more about the app and set measurements for metric or the American cups and spoons. The story behind the app is tragic and inspiring at the same time. Whole Pantry founder, Belle, was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. The experience inspired her to envision a wellness app to help others get back to basics and “live their whole life by eating a little better, moving their bodies a little more.” We all have a desire to do that little bit better for our bodies and minds, and so this app will resonate with many.
Cook Healthy Recipes
The back to basics theme lends itself to cooking that’s simple, healthy and comforting. This app strikes a nice moderate balance by encouraging you to return to whole foods without endorsing a strict diet plan. All the recipes are plant based, focusing on fruits and vegetables while minimizing dairy and omitting sugar, grains and gluten completely. Belle’s recipes are aimed at promoting health by using ingredients with properties that improve sleep, aid digestion, balance moods, aid weight loss, heal your skin and reduce allergy symptoms.
Recipes are displayed in a collection of appetizingly photographed tiles, left. Tap a tile for the recipe name and dietary stats, right.
The first release of The Whole Pantry includes 37 recipes, all gluten free, vegetarian, and Paleo friendly. Recipes are attractively displayed in a collection of appetizing tile photographs. The look is sleek and modern, drawing you into an immersive app experience. Tap a photo for the recipe name and dietary stats. You can see if the recipe is gluten free, dairy free, vegan, etc., but it would be nice to have a key because some abbreviations aren’t that obvious (what diet is R?).
Each recipe comes with multiple photos and a generous introduction to whet your appetite.
It’s fun to browse recipes by all categories or look for something by course: Drinks, Breakfasts, Mains, Salads, Sweets & Snacks, Condiments, Fermented and Body. Fermented foods are a huge trend right now, which shows that the app is in tune with what’s hot. Recipes for body treatments like facial masks and body scrubs are fantastic for getting spa luxury at home.
Ingredients lists and recipe instructions are clear and easy to follow, perfectly designed for the iPhone interface.
It’s good to see a range of nourishing drinks, hearty main courses, colorful salads, cookies and luscious chocolate desserts, pesto and snacks (roasted nuts and baked bars). Each recipe has multiple photos making the dish almost irresistible. Belle has included a generous introduction to each recipe, providing the encouragement of a good friend letting you know how do-able the dish is and detailing its specific health benefits.
The Whole Pantry aims to regularly update with new recipes and guides. Keep track of content to refer to it again in your favorites.
Health food often means complicated, but Ingredients lists are simple and straightforward, while steps are broken down into easy-to-follow tasks. This is an app you’ll cook from again and again. As the app updates each month you’ll be glad to have an area dedicated to keeping track of your favorite recipes. The app has no shopping list tool, but you can email ingredients lists.
Be Inspired by Wellness Lifestyle Guides
As a cancer survivor, Belle understands how important it is to be well informed and up-to-date on health issues. She pledges to provide non-bias, current information from qualified experts to help you live a healthier life. The Guides section is a collection of inspiring articles categorized by topic: Mind, Body, Food & Drink, Home & Garden and Family.
The Guides section is a collection of articles dedicated to physical and emotional wellness, left. Learn more about the guide contributors, who are inspiring innovators in the fields of natural medicine, fitness and more.
Whether you’re trying to be more present in the moment or looking to the future with dreams of starting a family, you’ll find thought-provoking and enlightening articles in the Guides. It’s great to be able to learn more about Contributors who specialize in fields of nutrition, yoga, meditation, Chinese medicine and holistic health. The beautiful thing about the promise of a frequently updating lifestyle app is you may find great new website or guru you never knew existed!
Discover Something New in Our Pantry
Our Pantry is a collection of resources where you can find additional inspiration. This section is divided into Cookbooks, Books, Wellness & Healing, Family, For Kids, Fitness, A Simple Home, Films, Products and Websites. Compared to the rest of the app, this section feels a bit one dimensional and lacking in attractive design.
Our Pantry is a resource list of favorite books, blogs, websites and documentaries. Cookbook section shown here.
You find yourself tapping on boxes that lead nowhere and wondering if something has gone wrong with the app. It’s too bad because there are a ton of great resources in this section. Still, if you’re looking for a new healthy diet/cookbook to try or seeking on guidance on dealing with illness, you’ll find it here.
Conclusion
The Whole Pantry is a beautifully designed app full of must-try recipes and helpful advice. It’s a truly unique offering in the app store and will fill a need for many people looking for a healthy cooking and lifestyle app that’s got it’s finger on the pulse of what women are interested in right now. The “back to basics” theme is refreshingly accessible and does a great job of encouraging everyone, no matter what diet or lifestyle, to try a new recipe, healthy diet, holistic therapy or physical workout. It will be interesting to see if the monthly recipe and guide updates are free or in-app purchases. Regardless, The Whole Pantry has gotten off to a great start, and I can’t wait to see what’s on offer next month.
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