App of the Week: Flashlight

The first time I saw the Flashlight App I thought it was goofy, but I downloaded it anyway. Because the AppSmitten Newsletter told me it was cool, and I listen to AppSmitten. The "How-To" is pretty self-explanatory. What's not evident on first download is how often you'll use it. Like when you drop your keys in the theatre (at the movie that you learned about on Flixster - see, it call comes together!) or you get halfway up the stairs and your loving spouse turns off the light. It's a simple but effective way to shed a little light on things. Ha! Me so punny.

From the App Store description:

Flashlight uses the LED light on iPhone 4 and fills your screen with bright white light to illuminate your world when you find yourself in a dark spot or concert.

Features:
- Use LED light on iPhone 4, including as a strobe light
- Full white screen
- Open to the effect of your choice
- Custom color (defaults to Bondi Blue)
- Slide/flick up and down to dim the screen
- Slide with two fingers to change the speed of effects
- Customize every screen and colors

How do I find out about the latest and greatest in cool apps? OK, this one isn't necessarily "cool," but it sure is handy... Anyway, it's the appSmitten newsletter, a free service that picks the world's finest apps and  delivers them right to my inbox. Pick the device, pick the categories you want to hear about and poof! There they are. Want a summary of your very own? Sign up for the appSmitten newsletter today!

Disclosure: This review is not sponsored by Flashlight. However, I am an AppSmitten affiliate. If you sign up for the newsletter using the link provided, I earn a small commission.

Review: Longo's Chicken Pad Thai Meal Kit

I avoid boxed dinners because the sodium levels are nearly always too high to mesh well with The Husband's high blood pressure. I enjoy cooking from scratch and my family eats well as a result. Having said that, I don't think convenience foods in moderation will pave the path to hell, it's just a matter of finding ones that taste good. I'm a fan of Pad Thai and I was ordering from Grocery Gateway, which is supplied by Longo's, so I thought I'd give their Chicken Pad Thai Meal Kit a shot. 

I will say the ingredients looked fantastic. The vegetables looked crisp and fresh and it was really a appetizing presentation out of the box. It was dead simple to prepare, as a meal kit should be. I know generally North Americans eat more meat products than we should, but it really did seem a little light on the chicken. There were four tenders in a meal kit meant to feed two adults. I think if I were to buy one again, I'd toss in a few frozen shrimp to bulk things up a little.

The most important question is, obviously, how did it taste? It was... OK. I wasn't expecting it to be as good as my favourite Thai restaurant or anything, but I found the seasonings pretty bland, and while the appearance and the freshness of the veggies was a nice surprise, I would have loved to see more of them. At $9.99 for the kit, with 610 mg of sodium per serving and flavour that was just... OK, I don't think I'll be picking this one up again.

This is not a sponsored post, no compensation has been received. All opinions expressed are my own.

App of the Week: Cook's Illustrated - The Best of Everything

Since I post weeknight recipes and meal plans every week on Life with a Parasite - The Facebook Page, you might guess I'm a big fan of all things food. That guess would be correct! When my AppSmitten newsletter arrived this week with the subject line "The best of everything food related" I could barely contain my excitement. Especially when I saw the Cook's Illustrated app.

If you're not a PBS geek, you might not know the wonder of America's Test Kitchen, and that's too bad for you because it's pure foodie gold. They test recipes, gadgets and kitchen wares to share the best and the best value with viewers. The app puts that body of knowledge into your phone! From the website:

• 50 of our all-time best recipes, covering appetizers and main courses to side dishes, breakfasts, and desserts
• Browse recipes by cuisine or category
• Recipe overview videos for every recipe
• Dozens of taste test reviews for supermarket ingredients
• Shopping list feature expandable to accommodate additional items
• Start and manage multiple kitchen timers
• Organize recipes and ingredient reviews in your “Favorites”
• Share free recipes and ingredient reviews via email or Facebook

AND! If you already subscribe to CooksIllustrated.com (and of course I do!), you get enhanced access:

• Members can log in to access all members-only recipes and ingredient reviews
• Favorites content automatically synched up with members' Favorites content organized online

So far my favourite feature is the ability to add items directly from the ingredient list to the shopping list. *Love* I can't wait to get to know this app better. I think we're going to be the very best of friends.

Disclosure: This review is not sponsored by Cook's Illustrated. However, I am an AppSmitten affiliate. If you sign up for the newsletter (and you should, because you learn about awesome apps) using the links provided, I earn a small commission.

App of the Week: Flixster for iPhone

I don't get out to the movies as often as I used to. Oh, who am I kidding, I don't get out much at all anymore. Now that it involves childcare and transportation, I'm more discerning than ever. Life is too short for bad movies. I'm going to the movies with a friend tonight, so the first place I checked when deciding what to see was Flixster, a FREE app I recently downloaded.

Flixster on iPhone (from their website):

• Watch high quality trailers and video clips for almost any movie
• See the top box office, hot upcoming movies, and new DVD releases
• Get info on any movie in theater or on DVD
• Get local showtimes and buy tickets from theaters that sell tickets online
• Read critic reviews from RottenTomatoes and user reviews from Flixster.com
• Connect with Facebook to save your ratings and share them with your friends
• View and manage your Netflix queue
• Rent or buy movies on iTunes

I was pleasantly surprised to see my Canadian location was recognized! Do you know how often I sign up for something like this and find out it only recognizes U.S. locations? *sigh* I try not to feel like a leper. Anyway, I'll be going to see The Decendents tonight (Mmmmmmmm, Clooney!), and it's because Flixster let me know it is still playing at a theater near you. No, wait. It's playing at a theater near me. 

How do I find out about the latest and greatest new apps? The appSmitten newsletter, a free service that scours the corners of the earth for what's new, hot and cool in the world of apps and then delivers them right to my inbox. Pick the device, pick the categories you want to hear about and poof! There they are.

Want a summary of your very own? Sign up for the appSmitten newsletter today!

Disclosure: This review is not sponsored by Flixster. However, I am an AppSmitten affiliate. If you sign up for the newsletter using the link provided, I earn a small commission.