For me, oil has become a serious IBS trigger food...which is devastating considering all the delicious foods for which it is an ingredient. Although substitutes exist for oil in recipes, I was disheartened at the thought of never indulging in French fries, fried dough, and the like (a girl needs her fried food every now and again!). Low and behold, one day while casually searching the web for new allergy-friendly recipes to try, I came across (what I considered) the holy grail of healthy cooking: an air fryer.
This appliance consists of a fryer basket suspended within a larger tank. Hot air is then rapidly circulated around the food, which is placed in the inner basket. The result is a crispy, fried taste without any additional fat, calories, splatter, or mess. An added bonus? The dual tank and inner basket set-up allows grease to drain from meats and collect in the outer tank- so not only are there no added fat and calories due to oil, but there are LESS fat and calories altogether! WIN! The appliances also have easy-to-set temperatures, fast cooking times, and can be used for more than just frying (think baking, grilling, roasting, etc.). So of course, this was my number one Christmas gift two years ago (thanks, Mom and Dad!). Since then, I have given my air fryer quite the workout, constantly making air fried potatoes (yay, healthy French fries!), barbecue chicken tenders, fried dough, meatballs, air fried chicken breasts, hamburgers, etc. Keep on the lookout for an upcoming post about my go-to allergy-friendly barbecue sauce! With the air fryers, there is no special preparation necessary – just cook how you normally would. Heating time is so quick that I never even have to pre-heat the fryer! I just toss in my potatoes, meat, or whatever I’m making, and it’s good to go. So if you're sick of feeling guilty while double-fisting french fries on a Friday night, get an air fryer and indulge in oil-less frying as much as your heart desires!
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