Air Fryer, is it a healthy alternative?

Think I want to get an air fryer, not only after spending hours in my day off yesterday cleaning the oven and extractor of fat and grease, I'm also thinking about the health benefits of an air fryer……as the wifes onto me about my weight and that, I figured might be a good way to still enjoy some of the fried foods…..
Can you cook for 2.5 people in one?
Is it much healthier? (one tea spoon of oil apparently)
Are they worth the $100 Plus price tag?
Is this XL version worth paying extra for?

Thanks in advance…

Comments

  • +11

    Can you cook for 2.5 people in one? - NO (based on my portion sizing which is larger than recommended), the good new is since it heats most items pretty quickly you can batch 2 or 3 rounds of items pretty quickly before batch 1 goes cold.

    Is it much healthier? (one tea spoon of oil apparently) - NO, as it becomes much easier and faster to re-heat and heat pre-fried foods, you will eat much more of this type of food. My personal favourite is the cinnamon doughnuts from Woolworths (between $1-2 per pack depending if they are on sale - you will eat somewhere between 12-24 per week, you will also have frozen chips permanently printed on your shopping list to save you writing it on each week, you will also become an expert in every brand and type of chicken nugget as you will sample many boxes of them)

    Are they worth the $100 Plus price tag? - YES

    Is this XL version worth paying extra for? - YES

    Overall the air fryer is my personal favorite kitchen appliance - but if you think you are buying something to become "healthier", consider a carrot peeler instead.

    • Sorry to say it's not the airfryers fault that your diet is so, so terrible.

    • Thanks. Good info. Appreciated.

  • Air is healthy, it has no kilojoules. ;)

  • +1

    If you have a decent oven I dont see any reason why you would want one. My friend has one and they do not taste like deep fried chips, they taste like oven chips. Heaps or articles out there that will explain how they work

  • Rub chicken breast with cajun rub and place in air fryer for 25 mins @ 200 degrees. With 10 mins to go add corn cob brushed with butter wrapped in aluminium foil. Can't see how that isn't healthy.

    • Depends on your definition of healthy. It would be healthier than deep fried chips yes, but it is still cooking in vaporized fat. Cooking that in an over would be healthier again. Eating the corn without butter would be ever more healthy. And then replacing the corn with some fresh greens even more so. The point I am trying to make, is using this doesn't mean its healthy, it is still a poor option for health.

      • +1

        I'm confused. Trim fat from chicken breast and you have a fairly lean meat right there. Provided you clean the air fryer regularly then how is it cooking in vaporised fat? Isn't it actually just a fan forced oven?

        I see the point you're trying to make but your lead up isn't exactly solid. Chicken breast and corn with a little butter is by no means unhealthy. There are solid nutritional values in the constituent parts and the air fryer doesn't detract from this.

  • We use coconut oil in hours and find it tastes a lot better than conventional frying. It really depends on what you put inside the fryer, ours came with a few handy recipes and the option to purchase a cake tin (crazy right?)

  • +1

    I have the XL Kogan one, granted I've just sent it back for replacement as it's making a horrible grinding noise, but we used it flat out. Cooked roasts in it frequently and they came out amazing, even produced superb crackling without any extra effort. Now I have a WeberQ (Chrissy present) I will probably use it for Roasting veggies now though (once I get my replacement)

  • Thanks all for your input.
    Have decided to buy one and now on the look out.
    Have some good info for what I should be looking at, now to find the bargain.

Login or Join to leave a comment