A new app that helps remove unwanted calories from meals can also help feed the hungry. FoodTweeks, a free mobile app provides tips– or “tweeks”– that suggest easy ways to remove unwanted calories from food. Users tell the app what food they are thinking of eating. The app responds with three or more tweeks that suggest ways to remove calories without compromising taste. For example, if a user wants to eat lasagna, FoodTweeks might suggest using low fat cheese or vegetables instead of meat filling. What’s more, the tweeks aim to make a positive difference not only in the user’s health, but also in the health of those who depend on local food banks. Every set of calories removed from – or “tweeked out” of – an item results in a donation to a local food bank of the same number of nutritious calories, at no cost to the user.
“For most people, just three tweeks a day is enough to make a positive impact on weight,” said Elisa Shannon, FoodTweeks Vice President of Partnership Development and a former food bank executive. “A couple of days of tweeking provides a full meal to a hungry family.” If a FoodTweeks user posts a tweek on Facebook or Twitter, then the donation is doubled. The FoodTweeks company is in the process of developing working relationships with dozens of food banks across the country.
FoodTweeks was founded by Jay Walker, an entrepreneur whose firm, Walker Digital created the travel website Priceline. The company’s aim is to use new technology to solve old problems. Walker is also the curator of TED MED, the health and medicine edition of TED, a nonprofit dedicated to spreading ideas about topics ranging from science to business to global issues.
“FoodTweeks believes the reason most weight management efforts fail is because they work against human nature,” said Walker. “FoodTweeks is designed to work with people’s natural desires and behaviors. It’s fun to tweek your food, and it’s rewarding to know you’re feeding a hungry person every time you do.”
The tweeks offer variety and breadth. The company maintains a picture database of over 44,000 small changes that show users how to tweek their meals. Meals from popular restaurants as well as a wide range of homemade dishes are included.
