I know people who collect apps like kids used to collect baseball cards. The more the merrier! Fine, but how many of those are of any use, actually provide worthwhile information, or are just plain no good? More than you might think. In Kelly’s Kitchen, I was thinking about that while on vacation last week. You might have seen the article in USA Today in the Your Life section from exercise physiologist Carol Torgan. She had a good point about everyone considering themselves an expert and putting it out there for all the world to download. Just remember, it’s not a one size fits all kind of world, and when it doubt - check it out. She also said you also might want to check of the official government app store. They recently had a contest from the US Surgeon General for healthy apps. See if they work for you!

   So for now, here’s five that were suggested to me by friends and a few I found while reading and chilling on Anna Maria Island. It’s nice to have something with you on the road when you’re looking for a great new place to eat, wondering what the calorie count of that dish might be, and just how long ago was it in some farmer’s field. Guess what...there’s an app for that. So for February we bring you five (fun) apps.

   We’ll start at the very beginning. Just where did the lovely leaf lettuce sitting in the produce aisle come from, and how long ago was it picked? Check out HarvestMark; all you have to do is enter the code that you’ll find on the product label or on the free iPhone app and it will tell you just where and when the food was grown. You’ll even get nutritional information, and if there have been any recalls. Love this!

   Along those same lines, is one I’ve heard about from a lot of people. It’s called Locavore, and is a free iOS or Android app that will help you support local growers. You can check where to find your favorite local produce, and when it’s in season. Right now, I’m thinking strawberries and Plant City!

   This is one from Carol Torgan article in USA Today. From the Apple App Store, check out Lose It!. If you’re trying to lose weight, you can figure out how many calories you can have to meet your goal on a daily basis, take advantage of a very large database of foods that can also give you nutritional information. It will even tell you when you’ll meet your goal if you stick to the plan.

   Next, from Cook’s Illustrated magazine. Their newest book is big...and heavy. Why not lighten the load a bit and check out the Cook’s Illustrated iOS that’s free for your iPhone. Free is good, and you’ll learn a lot. I also advocate a subscription to the magazine. Timeless and delicious.

Our final app suggestion from Kelly’s Kitchen comes from iTunes. It’s called Urbanspoon, and it’s kind of fun. Shake up the iPhone and you’ll have a number of choices to check out, make a reservation, and see if your friends want to join in.

There’s more out there...and endless array and you’re welcome to send your favorite apps to me in Kelly’s Kitchen at ann.kelly@coxmg.com.

WORDS OF WISDOM FROM KELLY’S KITCHEN

Okay...I couldn’t resist. There’s also an app for that. Quotes that it. It’s also in the iTunes apps store, and numbers somewhere over 53,000. Find your own!