Thanksgiving? There's a FREE app for that!

Are you ready for Thanksgiving? If not, perhaps there's help right at the tips of your fingers!

My list of must-have mobile apps includes two Thanksgiving-themed apps and three great apps that you can use for Thanksgiving, other holidays, and all the days in-between!

All of the apps on my list are free (though some offer paid versions too), highly rated by customers, and with one exception, available on both iPhone/iPad and Android platforms.

 

Ready to cook? Sure, there are a number of Thanksgiving recipe apps, but why choose them when Epicurious is available?

The Epicurious app has more than 30,000 food and drink recipes available. A quick search turned up over 1,800 Thanksgiving recipes to choose from, such as "Deconstructed Holiday Turkey with Sage Gravy" or "Pumpkin Pie with Toffee-Walnut Topping." Yum!

The Epicurious app also makes it easy to create quick shopping lists, check off items as you shop, save favorite recipes, and cook via easy step-by-step instructions.

 

Stay organized. Want to have a sane Thanksgiving? Then you'll want to keep track of all the things you need to do with Evernote.

Walt Mossberg calls Evernote the Digital File Cabinet You Can Bring With You Anywhere. I use mine for all sorts of lists: shopping lists, to-do lists, and even best healthy dishes to order when eating out. The ability to tag and search makes finding what you need fast and easy.

 

Let me entertain you. Whether you're cooking on Thanksgiving or driving to Grandma's house, odds are that you may want to keep a child (or cranky grownup!) entertained at some point.

For the iPhone, check out Thanksgiving Match, a fun, Thanksgiving-themed version of the game Concentration. There are bonus points for doing it quickly, so the family can compete for most points or fastest time.

For Android phones, check out Thanksgiving Puzzles, a Thanksgiving sliding puzzle game that rewards puzzle solvers with a Thanksgiving fact.

 

Find a great deal. Okay, I'm not a big fan of shopping after Thanksgiving (still recovering from all that eating!), but I know a lot of you wait all year for the great deals. So for you, there's TGI Black Friday.

With this app, you can view ads for all major retail stores, download PDFs of Black Friday circulars, search for deals, create your own shopping list, and compare prices to make sure you're getting the best deals.

 

Keep the pounds off. I'm with nutritionists who believe in the 80-20 rule. But if you don't want to be facing New Years with a huge post-holiday weight gain, then an app like SparkPeople may be just the tool you need to enjoy splurges when appropriate, but staying mindful throughout the season.

This app is great for tracking all sorts of items, like food eaten, water intake, exercise minutes, and calories burned. You can set goals and monitor your progress. SparkPeople syncs with your SparkPeople.com account online, where you can set up meal plans, browse food databases, or enter your own food items.

 

Have your own suggestion for a great Thanksgiving app? Share it in the comments or tweet me at @BethAARP. Happy Thanksgiving!