Before Matt and I went off to do some shopping and get a bite to eat for lunch earlier in the week, I scrolled through my iPod, searching for vegan-friendly options in the area and marveling at just how easy modern technology has made being a vegan easy! Below are some of my favorite veg*n- related apps for the iPhone/iPod Touch:
1. VeganXpress ($1.99, by Brandon Berger)
Vegans often find themselves looking for a place to eat with non-vegan friends, family or coworkers, and the search can be somewhat difficult. While the population of vegans is growing, most restaurants do not specify which menu items are vegan. This app lists over 110 very common restaurants and their menu items suitable for the vegan diet. Whether you’re on a road trip, in a hurry, or looking for a place to eat with family or friends, you will be able to quickly find vegan options. VeganXpress also includes a full list of vegan / vegetarian beers, wine, snacks & junk foods that you may not have realized were vegan.
This is actually the first vegan-related iPod Touch app I’ve ever bought, and I have to say it’s worth every penny! Run by HappyCow, this app is a wealth of information right at your fingertips. Really lives up to its reputation, is incredibly detailed, and it helped me realize that I had more options than I thought!
Get VeganXpress >>
2. Vegan Yum Yum ($FREE, by VeganYumYum)
VeganYumYum Mobile lets you search, view, and organize all your favorite recipes from the award-winning food blog.
Author of best-selling book Vegan Yum Yum brings you an app jam-packed with delicious recipes and mouth-watering food photography! I absolutely love and recommend her book, and if you have an iPhone or iPod Touch, this app is a must!
Get Vegan Yum Yum >>
3. VegOut – Vegetarian Restaurant Guide ($2.99, by Front-Ended)
Every vegetarian knows that eating out can be a difficult task. VegOut makes this task easier by providing you with the world’s largest international listing of vegan, vegetarian and vegetarian-friendly restaurants at you finger tips (powered by HappyCow.net). Restaurant listings can be found by your exact location or a custom location if you’re planning to travel.
Another brought to you by HappyCow! This time, find locations all around the world that have veg*n-friendly cuisine and convenience food.
Get VegOut >>
4. Veggie Passport ($0.99, by Lior Weinstein)
When traveling abroad, vegetarians need to communicate their specific needs to service providers (waiters, dinner hosts, hotel management, medical professionals). Communicating these specific needs is not always easy (sometimes impossible) due to language barriers. Every word counts! Veggie Passport provides a simple solution in 33 languages!
What’s really neat about this is, you don’t need internet access in order to access these phrases. With my iPod Touch, it’s rather difficult to find reliable internet on the go, if at all, so having all the phrases at my fingertips is invaluable. Definitely recommended when traveling out of your country and outside of your native language!
Get Veggie Passport >>
5. Cruelty-Free ($FREE, by Symbiotic Software LLC)
Published by the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics’ (CCIC) Leaping Bunny Program, this shopping guide lists over 200 U.S. and Canadian companies that do not test ingredients, formulations, or finished products on animals. The Leaping Bunny Program certifies that no new animal testing is used, so you can be confident about your cruelty-free choices.
Need to find vegan-friendly cosmetics, personal care, and household products on the go? Simply whip out your iPhone or iPod Touch, and you’ll have a comprehensive list in a snap!
Get Cruelty-Free >>
6. Locavore ($2.99 $FREE, by Hevva Corp.)
Based on your phone’s GPS location, Locavore will make searching for in-season, local food a breeze by pinpointing farms and farmers’ markets nearest you. Read all about them on their profile page, find that specific local item you have been looking for or just check out what’s in-season right now. Plus, you can get recipe suggestions to make with your delicious local food and then, brag about it to all your friends through Facebook.
Veg*nism and local eating often go hand in hand, so keep in your hand a list of farms and farmers markets that carry the freshest of the fresh. It also lists what foods are in season in all 50 states!
Get Locavore >>
7. Veggie Lovers Recipes ($0.99, by Post Imagineering, Inc.)
Surprise your family and friends and enhance your meals with Veggie Lovers Recipes. This application contains 15 recipes for all types of vegetables, including okra and artichokes. Whether you are or aren’t a vegetarian, these meals are fun and really easy to make. Download and prepare your kitchen for delicious meals!
It’s a low-impact app with about 15 recipes that soon become household staples as they include casseroles, stuffed peppers, and a Christmas roast.
Get Veggie Lovers Recipes >>
8. iVegetarian ($FREE, by Magnolia Labs)
iVegetarian is the best vegetarian restaurant guide on iPhone bar none. It’s free with a nimble, ergonomic interface: good for the mind, body, soul and pocket. Meat is often transported across long distances and requires refrigeration along the way. Scholars have thus suggested that eating vegetarian contributes to a more sustainable world. If you are looking for vegetarian, vegan, nutrition, health, diet, sustainable, eco, earth, natural, organic, get this app.
Not only does this app list restaurants in the area that have veg*n cuisine, it also allows a space for your own review! It’s very similar to their own website, and is always good for second opinions on local veg*n fare.
Get iVegetarian >>
9. Vegetarian Blog Reader ($0.99 $FREE, by Liam Campbell)
The Vegetarian Blog Reader is an easy to use but powerful blog reader pre-loaded with heaps of the best Vegetarian and Vegan blogs around. Whether you’re a dedicated Vegan or Vegetarian or someone wanting to learn more about healthy eating and living, the Vege Blog Reader helps you to engage with like minded people. Most entries only take a few minutes to read and can contain some great material.
Hm… looks like I’ll have to throw my name in the pile at some point. 
A great app for information, recipes, and general vegetarian nutrition, this app is a powerhouse for new and seasoned veg*ns alike! Add your favorite blogs and search others, too, with their Add by URL or Search functions.
(FYI: NOTE TO 3G USERS RUNNING iOS4: please note that some 3G phones running iOS4 may experience problems running this app.)
Get Vegetarian Blog Reader >>
10. How to Cook Everything Vegetarian ($4.99, by Culinate, Inc.)
How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, the ultimate one-stop vegetarian cookbook—from New York Times columnist and bestselling author Mark Bittman—has more than 2,000 recipes, scores of how-to illustrations, and a cool set of features designed especially for cooks on the go. The How to Cook Everything Vegetarian app makes delicious meatless and vegan food more accessible than ever. It offers the depth, scope, and portability of the original How to Cook Everything app—and it’s all about vegetarian food.
Ah… one of my favorite cookbooks, now able to fit in my palm! Quite a nice change from the huge book, haha. Contains recipes, some stuff from the cookbook itself, and tags that allow vegans to find recipes just for them!
Get How to Cook Everything Vegetarian >>
Shame the only ipod I can use is the “ipod shuffle” (which is basically a glorifyed mp3 player), because some of these aps would be very useful!
Oh, this is true! Hm. It makes me wonder if they would make them more friendly for people who’d need to see the screens? Fortunately, many of these apps are powered by websites (HappyCow.net and Barnivore.com come to mind!), so that would definitely help!
Yep, I’ll have to have a look at the sites and see how helppful they are by themselves. You never know, they might give at least some of the info on their sites… *Looks hopeful*
HappyCow.Net seems to have their full details on their site… I went to that one because of the international stuff… World Wide resteraunt guide is on there. YAY!
Thanks for pointing that out… I honestly didn’t give just going to the site a thought! I’m such a dope sometimes! LOL!
How I wish I could get apps. ;A; Someday!