You ask, we deliver. Or at least we try to. When it’s reasonable.
We’re thrilled to announce that an Our Best Bites Mobile App is in the works! It’s actually rather close to being ready, but funny thing happened. I was chatting with a friend the other day and when the subject of our app came up she immediately listed off a whole bunch of things it needed to do. Things she loves about cooking apps and things she hates. And then a couple days later she emailed me a bunch more. The part that struck me? They were fabulous ideas. Simple ideas. And I hadn’t thought of a single one of them. So that made me think- duh! Ask the people who are going to use the app what they want it to do!
So here’s your chance. We’re looking for real, constructive, useful feedback. We already know that everyone would like an app available on every platform 🙂
– If you’re someone who has wanted an OBB app, what are you hoping for?
– What would be your main purpose in using the app?
– Are there any special features that you would love?
-Any ideas to make it especially unique and fun?
– Is there anything you don’t like about other cooking apps?
If you’re reading this via email, please do us a favor and click here to come on over to our site today- and then speak up, folks! We want to hear from you! Feel free to comment on anything you can think of. This is your shot to help design it in the final stages! We’re going to read every single comment and consider all of your feedback, after all- you’re the ones who have been asking for this and we pretty much live to make you happy. Really, we do. Muah!
I’d love to be able to search by recipe title. I usually have one of your recipes on mind when I’m searching, and I’m just looking it up to double check the recipe at the store or on the kitchen. If I’m looking for a chicken recipe, I would like to be able to only see chicken recipes…not all recipes with “chicken” in the text (e.g., “serve with chicken”). Hope that makes sense!
YES! I’m so excited! just as long as it’s simple and easy to use, I am a happy camper. A recipe index like the one you have above is what I would like. Along with suggested sides to serve with it, like in the cookbook 🙂 and congrats to you guys, thats awesome!
I am SO excited! I have been wanted this for over a year now!! I like the idea of searching by ingredient and menu building. I would like to be able to save my favorites in a folder. Photos are a bonus! At least one per recipe!
this OBB app, should have a “Pop-in” list so that it can automatically put on a shopping list all the ingredients needed for that particular recipe 🙂
and a way to “save” the recipe in a certain file/folder location (if possible)!
Thank you in advance,
lisa
I would use it to look up recipes that I already use from your blog. If I could look one up really easily I would be pretty stoked.
This isnt about app construction, but I would be more than willing to pay $1-$3 for this app, knowing how much work you ladies put into the blog… I use your recipes all the time via my iPad internet browser, and have looked them up on my iPhone in the grocery store many times! Though I’d mention this, in case some of these (awesome, suggested) features would only be possible if it was a paid app. Thanks!
I’m so excited!! I love how your cookbook has “rollover” ingredients, but I so wish that we could search by those! In this app, it would be great if we could type in our “rollover” ingredient, or whatever ingredient we have extra of that we don’t want to go to waste, and peruse the options. 🙂
I love using cooking apps on both my iPhone and my iPad. I think my biggest thing is being able to easily search for recipes several different ways, wither it be by name, meal or ingredient. I also find apps useful when they have quick references such as substitutions or measuring equivalents.
I don’t know if this is a given, but I would LOVE to have this app on my ipad. I can already imagine having one of your recipes right in front of me (well… to the side) while I prepare something yummy.
It would be helpful to be able to scale a recipe. I usually wing it, but it doesn’t always taste the same.
Ditto from above: Search by ingredient (especially critical by thursday of any given week when my boys have raided the pantry and fridge); share feature so I can share the love either via email or facebook.
Perhaps created like a magazine subscription so that recipes can be added as you release more?
Thanks!
Maybe a Make A Meal feature. Where you can add up to 4 recipes together that will figure what you need to make the entire meal. Like a salad, main course, side dish or more and of course dessert. This way if you have a main course that had chicken, lime and chili but your side dish had lime too it would total how many limes you needed. That way you don’t have to keep going back and forth on what items to get. 🙂 I use a lot of O.B.B. recipes so I would wear out this app. LOL
I also like what someone else said about the favorite recipe part. So you can save it and go by favorites to keep from digging through many recipes to get one.
Maybe a link to Pinterest too. (Pinaholic here)
1 – MUST be an app for Android. (I use my Android Tablet in the kitchen all the time)
2 – suggestions of sides based off a main course recipe.
3 – Recipe search based on 1 or 2 key ingredients
4 – building of a shopping list
it would be awesome if it could open more than one recipie at once. i frequently cook more than one thing at a time {because i am crazy, obviously} and it would be so much easier to have multiple recipies open {like using tabs while on the internet}
Definitely less articles, more recipes. Folks will want to be able to search by ingredient for sure! Maybe a “recipe box” like Epicurious has, where you can favorite some things for quick reference later… trying to remember which recipe you wanted, knowing it had “chicken and lime,” then spending 10 minutes scrolling through 500 recipes with “chicken” “lime” or “chicken + lime” in them can mean resorting to whatever’s handy instead of trying that recipe. My two cents; can’t wait for the app! 🙂
Can’t wait for the app! I’d like to be able to input an ingredient, and get a list of recipes. Also, I like it when the format is easy to see the ingredients at once, and then the directions at once. I hate having to scroll a lot with messy hands. Love the idea of choosing multiple recipes and getting a shopping list!
The most important feature of an app for me is the ability to search and find recipes quickly because when I am using the app it means I’m on the go. Probably standing in the produce aisle thinking, “What do I need for those Southwest Stuffed Bell Peppers?” So, I’m typically trying to pull up the recipe quickly.
I also agree with other comments that say it is important to be able to search by main ingredients. That’s probably because I finally made it home without something and I’m like, “What am I going to do with all this quinoa and no bell peppers?”
Anyway, much luck with the app. I’m sure it will be great!
I echo the menu builder and using leftovers. And use for kindle fire. What if there was a shopping list maker that you could click on a recipe like bbq cookoff sliders and it would make a list. But then if you click bbq pulled pork it would add what you need for that but it would take into account that you’re already buying a bottle of bbq sauce so it would only put it on once. Bad example but do you get what I mean?
I just want to be able to search for a recipe, and have it with me while I follow it!! Of course, a fabulous added option (which are probably not real easy) are to halve it, since I rarely make a full recipe of anything!! Although I also like Heather’s idea of suggesting accompanying dishes! But I figured I’d let you know that I’d probably be happy just being able to search easily (which can stump me on your website sometimes: like, I can’t search “pizza dough” and get to your pizza dough recipe… which I have to halve when I make it :-P… notice where my requests are coming from? lol! I’m not sure if it’s the site, or user error ;-P).
I would love it if I could make the device stay “on” without having to exit the app go into my settings. So frustrating to always have to touch the screen and unlock it when I am cooking. Some video clips would be cool, too!
Great idea, Melissa!
I love the video idea! Demonstrations would be AWESOME!
Melissa, I think that would be more of a phone setting, not an app setting.
I do LOVE the ideas about using up the rest of the ingredients from another recipe. Also, a search by “spice” would be cool. I have spices I bought specifically for one recipe and never use again!
Congratulations, super exciting! I agree, a weekly planner would be cool and ways to use a recipe’s leftovers or similar ingredients for the rest of the week (i.e. roast chicken, make into taquitos, etc). Scaling the recipe for different sized crowds. Nutritional information would also be really great.
I agree about scaling the recipes, I know the math isn’t that tough, but if you’ve got a smart device that will do the work for you, I say bring it on! Also, I know this had been mentioned, but in case you’re tallying up votes, searching by ingredients, preferably multiple ingredients. So nice to be able to check an app when I think “dang I need to use up that leftover chicken and my chopped onions.”
Sync with shopping lists! 🙂
1. If you’re someone who has wanted an OBB app, what are you hoping for? Something I can use, on my phone, while at the grocery store. Something easy to use with multiple search options (ingredients, complimenting side dishes/desserts, time it takes to cook, etc.)
2. What would be your main purpose in using the app? Meal planning and grocery shopping on the go.
3. Are there any special features that you would love? Search options (as mentioned above)
4. Any ideas to make it especially unique and fun? Being able to “like” it and have it post to my Facebook feed would be cool.
5. Is there anything you don’t like about other cooking apps? not specifically. Really, generally, you get what you pay for.
I echo the repeated comments about making the application available on multiple platforms. I have an android phone, but use a Nook and an iPad.
I like weekly menu building apps – like, where I can select one recipe for the week, and the app suggests other meals for the week that use similar ingredients.
I also second the idea of releasing for all of the platforms!!
I would LOVE this feature. Kind of like your list in the back of the cookbook with recipes that use small amounts of different ingredients.
I agree! This would be so helpful!
This is a fabulous idea!
I would love to use your cooking app! I am always looking up your website on my phone, which is a pain, but it works. I would love it if I could put in an ingredient or ingredients, and have it come up with a list of recipes. Also, as others have said, please make it for Android too. There is nothing more frustrating than finding out about a great app only to find out it is only for the iphone. Thanks so much for making an app!!
We don’t have smartphones….we DO have a Kindle Fire….so an app that is available for more than smartphones would be DIVINE!
Yes, please make an app for android phones!
Can you make it available for iPads too?
Yes, I agree! For iPads as well, please!
Yes, iPad compatible is a must! I refer to mine when making your recipes all of the time.
I agree – an app for iPad would be really useful!
Please release an app. for Android too. It is really frustrating when I want an app but it is only available for iPhone. I can’t tell you how excited I am to use it.
This a thousand times over. It’s really frustrating when an app is only available for a single OS, instead of all platforms.
I agree!! Go team Android!!!
I agree! Android.
Yes, Android! Please! And once you have it on Android, don’t forget to get it on the Amazon app store for Kindle Fire users. So much easier to see recipes in the kitchen on the Fire vs. phone!
Another vote for Android as well.
Tablet friendly would be awesome too. I can see myself using this more on my (Android) tablet.
I would love a feature that would suggest a full menu based off choosing one recipe. For example, if I looked up “Asian BBQ Chicken”, then it would possibly suggest “Lime-Cilantro Rice with Pineapple” as a side dish, etc. Linking related recipes together would be awesome to help put together a full menu. One other idea – having a way to make menu suggestions for particular occasions such as a baby shower, kids party, holidays, etc. In any case, I can’t wait for this app to come out – I am such a big fan of Kate & Sara! Thank you!!
I agree with #2, #3, and #4. I’m constantly looking for side dishes for my main dish. Also I would like the app. to link to ziplist. I love you guys so much. I’ve made so many of your recipes and have never been disappointed. I’m a professional chef and it is so much fun to impress the other “prof” chefs with an outstanding recipe from OBB! Keep up the great work!! I need OBB! Thanks for asking our opinions.
The only cooking apps that I have found useful are ones that let you search by ingredient, and not just by name or course. The ability to build a menu or even a week of menus and then email yourself a shopping list is always a bonus too.
Good luck app building 🙂
I agree with Chipper! Good cooking apps allow shopping lists and building menus. Super helpful!!
SO excited for the app!!
I want a recipe
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