We’ve found ourselves on another 5th Monday, which means we’re switching things up on the blog with a good old LIST. This list is brought to you by some of my favorite, wholesome, wellness and vitality promoting apps (none of which are actually sponsoring). Let’s get to it.
HabitShare
This is my most recent favorite app find. A friend introduced me to it as a way to hold each other accountable for some daily goals we were working on together. It’s so fun, easy, and helpful!
HabitShare is an app for keeping track of the habits you want to set and doing it with friends. It’s really basic and simple, which is nice. On the home page you can add any habits you are working on. For example, I have positive affirmations on there, as well as evening prayers. You are able to choose how often you want to do this habit and if you want reminders sent to your phone (including how many reminders and when). As you mark off each day, you can see your streak (how many days in a row you have accomplished this task) as well as your overall completion percentage. You are also able to choose which friends can see any habits you are working on.
This leads me to the friends tab. You can add any friends who have the app and choose which of your habits you want to include them in. As you mark off doing your habit each day, your friends can see what you’ve done and cheer you on! Likewise, you get to see the habits they’ve accomplished each day.
Other than that, there is a message tab, where you can send messages to your friends, and then the settings tab! Really simple, fun, and effective.
JustServe
This is a cool app I have used off and on over the years. Basically, it’s a place where groups or organizations looking for volunteers can post their projects and then people in the community can choose to volunteer!
When you first download the app and create your account, you are asked several questions about who you are, what types of volunteer work you are interested in, what skills you would like to share, etc. After that, the app can recommend available projects in your area that fit your answers! You can also just browse the listings to see if anything sparks your interest.
There are so many different opportunities. They have one-time volunteer events, on-going projects, in-person or remote. Some of the projects I have seen based on my answers include playing games with seniors at the retirement center, helping with Kids on the Move, cleaning the local food bank, etc.
If you’re interested in giving back to your community and making the world a better place, check out the JustServe app or their website (justserve.org) and see what’s available in your area!
Solid Starts
I saved this for last because it’s geared toward a narrower audience… moms with babies! I got this app 3 years ago when I had my first child and let me tell you, it’s completely shaped the food culture in our house for the best!
Solid Starts is all about helping babies transition from milk to real food in the simplest and most straightforward manner, reducing the chances of picky eating and empowering parents to handle challenges that may arise (such as allergies and choking).
It was all started by a mom who didn’t know how to transition from milk to pureed baby food to regular food – and she got stuck in the fears of choking and the trauma of seeing her child have an allergic reaction to something he ate. As a result, her son developed severe picky eating that took years and many specialists to work through. Of course, this led her to learn and research everything and Solid Starts was born. I know myself and millions of other parents are so grateful for the work she has done!
You can see a lot of their content on their website (solidstarts.com) or their social media pages (@solidstarts) but for the purpose of this post, we’re focusing on the app.
The free portion of the app is called the Foods Database. It is a giant database comprising over 400 different foods. As their goal is to help babies all over the world, you will find plenty of familiar foods as well as foods you have never heard of (but your friends in Africa may eat daily!). Everything from provolone to maitake, lamb to goldenberry, jalapeño to blood sausage… and so much more.
All you have to do is search for the food you want to serve, click on it, and see a page full of helpful information! Each food shows a picture and then 6 areas of guidance:
- Introduction: What age is appropriate to introduce the food
- Choking: Whether or not it’s a choking hazard and how to mitigate that
- Nutrition: Whether or not it’s healthy for a baby and why
- How to Serve: Shows how to cut and prepare it according to the age of the child, as well as videos of babies eating it in different ways
- Allergens: Discusses whether or not the food is an allergen, how to introduce it safely if so, and what to look for as far as a reaction
- FAQs
They also have a free guide you can download called Infant Rescue: Choking First Aid & CPR. It’s so helpful to learn about what choking is compared to gagging and then how to handle it if your child is truly choking. Once I learned how to help my baby if he choked, I felt so confident watching him gnaw on a full chicken leg at 6 months old, knowing I’d be able to help him if it came down to that (fortunately, it never did). They also talk so much about how babies’ mouths and tongues work and gave me a lot of confidence in their ability to learn to eat and to cough or spit things out that are not safe
All of that is free on the app. If you want to pay for a subscription, there’s a whole lot more you can do, including track the foods your baby has tried, take notes, track milestones, see step by step instructions for introducing allergens, and view hundreds of recipes.
They have so many other guides and resources on their site, too.
As for our experience: I went all out in offering as many different foods and textures and tastes as I could when my child was ready to start solids. I gave him stuff I had never eaten myself, including chicken liver! Through it all I was guided by the Solid Starts app and the guides they offer. While I am sure some of it comes down to luck and personality, I credit my toddler’s love of all food to this method of food introduction. He is literally the least picky person that I know. He is not afraid to try anything – in fact, he loves variety and trying new foods. I don’t ever have to make him his own special meal or cater our family dinner to his own special plate. He eats what we eat and it is amazing.
If you or someone you know is having a baby, check out Solid Starts!
