Free app guides lake-goers

Sea Tow Services International released its mobile application for iPhone and Android smartphone users across the U.S. The free Sea Tow App is a multifunction navigation and boating safety tool. The free Sea Tow App, provides smartphone users with fingertip access to current marine weather forecasts, alerts and radar; tide tables and graphs; GPS location; speed and heading; and access to on-water assistance. Simply swiping a finger on the slide bar at the bottom of every screen connects them to Sea Tow's 24-Hour National Dispatch Center. 

App coaches users on super food diet

SuperDiet Genius iPhone app generates daily and weekly diet plans with exact portion sizes of super foods based on your build, weight loss goals, and even what foods you have in your kitchen. Using the top 100 super foods—the healthiest, antioxidant and nutrient rich foods on earth—the app customizes your diet based on your weight, height, gender, age, activity level, rate of weight loss, and even food preferences.

It costs $3.99.

New iPad App Tracks Personal Carbon Footprint

Verde, the new app for iPad, is a tool that reveals how to save at least $200 each year in energy efficiency upgrades. It educates users on the money and carbon that can be saved by simply upgrading older appliances. Users also learn how simple behavioral changes, like hibernating a computer, turning off unused lights and  notching the thermostat down one degree can lead to significant savings.

The app offered by Verde Sustainable Solutions, L3C has an opt-in automated energy cost finder that looks at a person's entire home to make recommendations to help save energy. It is an educational tool dedicated to helping its users make better decisions for their pocketbooks and the planet.

Verde Sustainable Solutions, L3C is a Chicago-based environmental firm founded in 2010. Committed to mission before profit, Verde promotes and educates others on the principles of sustainability by advocating for renewable energy and increased energy efficiency.

It costs $4.99.

Top fish to eat in order to save ocean populations, plus app

Want to know what fish you should buy or order based on whether it is being overfished? The Monterey Bay (Calif.) Aquarium now offers an app for that dubbed Project FishMap. It lets users share the locations of restaurants and markets where they have found sustainable seafood. In addition, they also have a pocket guide that will tell you which fish to pick. I’ve included a list below of the recommended fish to eat, which will help you save our ocean's fish populations. Stick to this list and feel good about it.

While some of the list recommends farmed fish, most environmentalists say it is better for your health and to protect wild populations to protest farmed fished. I don’t eat farmed myself. But that is a choice left to the individual.

Best Fish to Eat

Abalone (U.S. Farmed)

Arctic Char (Farmed in Recirculating Systems)

Barramundi (U.S. Farmed in Fully Recirculating Systems)

Capelin (Iceland)

Catfish (U.S. Farmed)

Clams (Farmed)

Clams, Softshell/Steamers (Wild-caught)

Cobia (U.S. Farmed)

Cod, Atlantic (Hook-and-line from Iceland and Northeast Arctic)

Cod, Pacific (U.S. Bottom Longline, Jig and Trap)

Crab, Dungeness (California, Oregon and Washington)

Crab, Kona (Australia)

Crab, Stone

Crawfish/Crayfish (U.S. Farmed)

Croaker, Atlantic (U.S. Non-trawl)

Giant Clam/Geoduck (Wild-caught)

Haddock (Hook-and-line from U.S. Atlantic)

Halibut, Pacific (U.S.)

Lobster, California Spiny (California)

Lobster, Caribbean Spiny (Florida)

Lobster, Spiny (Baja California, Mexico)

Mackerel, Atlantic (Canada)

Mackerel, King (U.S. Atlantic and U.S. Gulf of Mexico)

Mackerel, Spanish (U.S. Atlantic and U.S. Gulf of Mexico)

Mahi Mahi (Troll/Pole from U.S. Atlantic)

Mullet, Striped

Mussels (Farmed)

Oysters (Farmed)

Perch, Yellow (Lake Erie)

Pollock, Atlantic (Gillnet and Purse Seine from Norway)

Prawn, Freshwater (U.S. Farmed)

Prawn, Spot (Canadian Pacific)

Rockfish, Black (Hook-and-line from California, Oregon and Washington)

Sablefish/Black Cod (Alaska and Canadian Pacific)

Salmon (Drift Gillnet, Purse Seine and Troll, from Alaska)

Salmon Roe (Drift Gillnet, Purse Seine and Troll, from Alaska)

Salmon, Freshwater Coho (U.S. Farmed in Tank Systems)

Sardines, Pacific (U.S.)

Scad, Big-eye (Hawaii)

Scad, Mackerel (Hawaii)

Scallops (Farmed)

Scallops, Sea (Diver-caught in Laguna Ojo de Liebre and Guerrero Negro, Baja California Sur, Mexico)

Sea Urchin Roe (Canada)

Seatrout, Spotted ( Wild-caught from Florida and Louisiana)

Shrimp (U.S. Farmed in Fully Recirculating Systems or Inland Ponds)

Shrimp, Pink (Oregon)

Squid, Longfin (U.S. Atlantic)

Striped Bass (U.S. Wild-caught)

Striped Bass (U.S. Farmed or Wild-caught)

Swordfish (Hawaii Harpoon, Handline)

Swordfish (Harpoon & Handline-caught from Canada, the U.S., North Atlantic & East Pacific)

Tilapia (U.S. Farmed)

Trout, Rainbow/Steelhead (U.S. Farmed)

Tuna, Albacore (Troll/Pole from the Canadian and U.S. Pacific)

Tuna, Albacore ("White" Canned) (Troll/pole from the Canadian and U.S. Pacific)

Tuna, Bigeye (Troll/Pole from the U.S. Atlantic)

Tuna, Skipjack (Worldwide Troll, Pole-and-line)

Tuna, Skipjack ("Light" Canned) (Troll/Pole)

Tuna, Yellowfin (Troll/Pole from the Pacific and U.S. Atlantic)

White Seabass (Hook-and-line from California)

Whitefish, Lake (Lake Huron and Lake Superior)

Whitefish, Lake (Trap-net from Lake Michigan)

Wreckfish

There’s an allergy app for that No. 3: The G-Free Diet

The View personality Elisabeth Hasselbeck shares her experiences about living gluten-free. This app offers tips on how to find a gluten-free menu, create a gluten-free shopping list, lists of foods to avoid and how to stay gluten-free while dining away from the home. This app is a supplemental material to her book, The G-Free Diet.  It is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. It is free to download the app.

There’s an allergy app for that No. 4: Find Me Gluten Free app

The Find Me Gluten Free app lists restaurants ratings and reviews based on how gluten-friendly the businesses are in the area. This app is designed for travelers to find restaurants with a complete gluten-free menu, gluten-free ingredients or a restaurant that will cater to gluten-free customers. Businesses are tagged with special gluten-free features they offer, such as pizza, pasta or bread. It is  Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. It is free to download the app.

There’s an allergy app for that No. 2: CeliacFeed

CeliacFeed is an app that can be used to locate gluten-free restaurants and products. The Academy of Nutrition and Dieticians found the interactive map highlights the nearest restaurant with gluten-free products and interfaces with GPS systems on phones. Users can post photos with their recommendations and reviews of gluten-free restaurants. It is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. It is free to download the app.

There’s an allergy app for that No. 1: AllergyEatsMobile

The AllergyEatsMobile app offers gluten-free menus, allergen lists, certifications, nutrition info, links to dining tips and other outside resources. The Academy of Nutrition and Dieticians found the app’s restaurant database was comprehensive, including both large chains and local listings. Users can search by zip code or GPS location and covers many different allergies, such as peanuts, tree nuts, dairy, eggs, wheat, gluten, fish, shellfish, sesame and soy. It’s compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Download the app. 

USDA unveils SuperTracker online diet and exercise tool

Ready to lose weight? Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack unveiled the USDA’s SuperTracker, a federally funded free online diet and physical activity planning, assessment and analysis tool. The tool lets users track their diet, activity and weight over time. It is designed to assist individuals as they make changes in their life, help them reduce chronic disease and encourage them to maintain a healthy weight.

“Overcoming the health and nutrition challenges we face as a nation is critical and the SuperTracker provides consumers with an assortment of tools to do just that,” Vilsack said. “This easy-to-use website will help Americans at all stages of life improve their overall health and well-being as they input dietary and physical activity choices into the tool."

The online tool offers the following:

■ Personalize recommendations for what and how much to eat and amount of physical activity.

 ■ Track foods and physical activity from an expanded database of foods and physical activities.

 ■ Customize features such as goal setting, virtual coaching, weight tracking and journaling.

 ■ Measure progress with comprehensive reports ranging from a simple meal summary to in-depth analysis of food groups and nutrient intake over time.

 ■ Operationalize the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines.

 ■ Support family and friends by adding their individual profiles.

Watch the YouTube video featuring Administrator Vilsack to learn more.

There’s an app… to track food from the farmer to the grocer

Want to track your food from the farmer to the grocer? Then check out HarvestMark’s free Food Traceability App, which lets consumers connect to the farmer and keep a history of the food they’ve traced such as when, where and how it was grown.


After downloading the app, users look for the 16-digit code on HarvestMark fruit, vegetable and poultry brands, then scan or type the code to retrieve information specific to the package of food they’re holding.  Shoppers also can ask questions and give feedback to the people who grow and sell their food using the Talk to the Farmer feature.  In addition, the Food Safety Notification feature updates a food’s safety status in the event of a recall.

HarvestMark sells products across the U.S. and Canada on brands that include chicken from Coleman Natural Petaluma Poultry; berries from Driscoll’s; fruits and vegetables from Fresh Selections by Kroger and Private Selection by Kroger; and produce from Sun World, Del Campo, Alpine Fresh, Borders Melon, Frontera and more.


The app is available for iPhone 4, 3GS and iPad. Shoppers also can trace their fresh food by entering HarvestMark codes at HarvestMark.com/.

Green vending machines in Colorado? You betcha!

Owner of Colorado Healthy Vending, John Griffin, is on a mission to replace dated vending machines with an eco-friendly, hi-tech alternative that only vends nutritional foods -- HUMAN Healthy Vending machines. Griffin is partnering with HUMAN to create healthy vending programs in Boulder, Colo. and surrounding areas.