Namaste Real – Wellness & Running – Train With Ally

It’s no secret: I love vegetables.

And crispy, roasted vegetables (like these below) are my absolute favorite.

I used to turn my oven on (nearly) daily, wait for it to preheat forever, and check my veggies constantly for 30-40 minutes to get the perfect bit of brown on the edges. Unfortunately sometimes, that never came. They stayed a little soggy, or I burnt them too much. It felt like a waste of time, and my kitchen was 500 degrees hotter.

Until I got my FAVORITE kitchen tool.

Most people love their crock pots and Instant Pots (I do, too!), but my AIR FRYER is the best small kitchen appliance I’ve ever owned. I have the Power AirFryer XL – I’m pretty sure it’s the As Seen On TV Model, but it can be found anywhere, even Amazon.

It makes perfect. veggies. EVERY. TIME.

And in less time! 

I make nearly every vegetable in my air fryer now. I chop them up, add cooking fat, add spices, any other garnishes (like garlic, lemon juice, sauces, etc.) and throw it in the air fryer for typically 12-20 minutes.

No pre-heating.

No hot kitchens.

No burning myself trying to stir them up on the pan. Just perfect roasted veggies.

And the beauty of it? IT’S NOT JUST FOR VEGGIES.

I’ve made breaded chicken in there, which came out wonderfully crunchy on the outside, and cooked to perfection on the inside. And there are plenty of settings for other frozen foods, meats, seafood, baked goods, and anything else you’d put in an oven or deep fryer.

And it’s called an air fryer, so fries have been perfected in that thing. You can buy frozen, or chop up potatoes and make your own! I used to hate doing that, because they never turned out well in the oven. In the air fryer, you can get them the exact way you like them.

When I rave about my air fryer, everyone asks “is it healthier?”

My answer is, yes, it’s healthier than ACTUAL FRIED FOOD. And probably sautéed foods. You’re not soaking your food in (nasty vegetable) oil or letting it sit in butter or a healthy cooking fat. You’re typically lightly oiling whatever you put in there (or not! I’ve cooked veggies completely plain in there).

But is it healthier than baking/roasting? Probably not. Just more convenient and more delicious!

 

A few tips:

• When you first get it, be prepared to keep checking on what you cook. They key to perfection is the perfect timing to it. You can open it up while it’s cooking at any point to check on the food, close it up, and it will go right back to work. Note how long it takes to make your favorite meals that you prep a lot and stick to it.

 

• Play with temperature, too. If you noticed something burning but not cooking, turn down the temps.

 

• Play around with how much cooking fat you use. I usually do avocado oil or ghee – ghee gets it extra roasty, and the more you put on it, the better.

 

• Cook often! The foods don’t take a lot of time in there, so work in small batches. Everything from the air fryer is way better fresh, so don’t batch cook too much, because the leftovers just aren’t as wonderful. On the bright side, it takes way less time and effort in the air fryer, so it’s worth it!

 

• If you do have leftovers, reheat them IN THE AIR FRYER. It will get them back to that wonderful texture and heat.

 

• Go get one right now, your kitchen needs it.