I’ve been into fitness for the last 8 years of my life. I’ve gone from chubby to
I learned that I can’t go against my own body and its needs for too long, because it will shut down. However, I can make my body perform in order for me to reach my goals by listening to what it needs.
If your goal is to lose weight, eat healthier or why not both, then I’m sure you’ve restricted your diet or made significant changes in your life. The question is, for how long can you see yourself staying away from the food you like?
If the answer isn’t “forever”, then you’ve gotta find the right balance. One of my favorite tools for keeping that balance has been the air fryer. The air fryer allows me to eat great tasting food without falling off-track with my diet.
Are air fryers good for low-carb diets? Yes, the air fryer is a good option for someone who is on a low-carb diet. It’s possible to make low-carb alternatives that taste amazing, using only the air fryer. With a wide selection of techniques and methods, the air fryer will open up a ton of doors for you while you’re on a keto diet. You can make keto-friendly variations of snacks, appetizers, desserts, main dishes and much more. And with the number of low-carb recipes available online, you’ll be in the best shape of your life once you’ve gone through them all.
Eating Air Fried Food On A Keto Diet
The primary goal of the air fryer is to cut the fat content, it successfully does so by cooking food without the use of oil. When you’re on a low-carb diet you’re not worried about fats, instead, you want to stay away from the carbohydrates.
Well, luckily for us, the air fryer is capable of producing low-carb variations of our favorite foods. And as someone who has been on a keto diet before, I know some of you are really craving french fries right now.
If you’re craving the texture and taste of that crispy exterior that deep-fried food has, you’re probably doing alright with your diet, seeing as you’ve stayed away from it long enough to crave it. However, with the air fryer, it doesn’t have to be one way or another.
- When frying in the air fryer, use a low-carb breading option to achieve that crispy texture. There are many alternative ways of making a keto-friendly breading, these are my two favorites.
- Nut flours are low in carbohydrates and work great as breading. If something as fine as flour doesn’t give you the texture you want, try chopping nuts to get a crunchier texture.
- A mixture of egg, parmesan cheese, almond flour, and pork rinds. Dip in the eggs, then the flour, then in the mixture of pork and parmesan cheese. Experiment with the cooking times to achieve the best results. The breading is so tasty.
Other Reasons Why Having An Air Fryer Is Good For A Low-Carb Diet
Except for the low-carb breading, are there any other benefits to having an air fryer when you’re on a low-carb diet? Do I need to say it? Yes, there are more benefits. I’ve made a list.
1# You can make the perfect chicken wings with very little effort
Crispy and tasty chicken wings were the foundation of my diet back in the day. The bad thing about them was that they were full of calories. With the air fryer, you can make low-fat or low-carb chicken wings that taste just like you want them to.
Either place them in the air fryer as they are, with your favorite spices or low-carb sauces, or put your own low-carb breading on them before cooking them.
2# The air fryer is very fast
The air fryer is very fast, firstly, because it doesn’t have much room to heat up, and secondly, because it is a very powerful oven that circulates super hot air using the convection mechanism. The air fryer can reach top temperatures in less than five minutes. Being able to prepare and cook your food quickly can be beneficial whether you’re on a low carb diet or not.
3# You can make the best kale chips you’ve ever tasted
Some may argue that kale chips never will be able to replace regular potato chips, they may be right, they may be wrong. Taste is such an individual thing, if you happen to love kale chips, then you’ll understand the wonders of having a machine that can cook really good ones.
Drip a little olive oil on a couple of kale leaves, add salt and pepper, then place in the air fryer for 7 minutes at 370F. Shake halfway through.
4# Air fried vegetables are incredibly good. Almost like snacks.
The air fryer offers the ability to transform any vegetable into a snack. With the crispy exterior and salty
Put a little olive oil, your favorite spices and herbs, place in the air fryer and cook as the instructions for that specific vegetable recommends. (Search for air fryer specific instructions online, using oven or microwave instructions won’t give you the results you want)
5# Low-carb french fries are an option with the air fryer
Here we go! Got your attention now, didn’t I? Well, I didn’t lie. By using a substitute for potatoes, you can actually enjoy french fries that have a similar taste to the regular potato fries, but without the carbohydrates.
Click the links below to go to the recipes for these delicious fries made with low-carb substitutes.
- French Fries On Jimaca
- French Fries On Rutabaga.
- French Fries on Zucchini
- Bonus: 15 French Fries That Don’t Include Potatoes
Losing Weight Is Easier With An Air Fryer
Losing weight has many health benefits that one shouldn’t ignore as the need for them may come later in life. Losing weight is a product of a lowered caloric intake.
In reality, you don’t have to exercise to lose weight, however, there are a ton of benefits of doing so, the one thing you have to do to lose weight is to reduce the number of calories you take in throughout the day.
With the air fryer, that’ll be much easier to do, seeing as the air fryer cuts fat content by 80%. In the case of a keto-diet, the air fryer does wonders because of how it broadens your everyday options and lets you enjoy the things you love with little-to-no carbohydrates.
I believe that you can maintain your diet easier if you have a quick way to prepare your food and a lot of options that you enjoy eating. In order to successfully lose weight, one has to be incredibly disciplined or understand that restricting yourself from everything you love isn’t a long-term option.
Instead, one should try to find the right balance needed to reach the goal you set. Few people can see themselves living a life in which they aren’t allowed to eat the things they like. Therefore, they fall back to their old habits.
By finding a balance, you slowly start to merge your two lifestyles and the choices you make. Sooner or later, you’ll enjoy both just as much and still maintain your figure and stamina.
Lastly, I recommend getting a cookbook for ketogenic diets using an air fryer.
Low-Carb Food To Cook In The Air Fryer
What else can you cook in the air fryer to substitute the carbohydrates in your life when you’re on a low-carb diet? Here’s a list of things that you’ll enjoy now that you’re on the carb-less side of the grass.
- Bacon
- Brussel sprouts
- Burgers
- Pork Chop
- Bratwurst
- Asparagus
- Zucchini
- Carrots
- Shrimp
- Mushrooms
- Jerky
- Fish
- Ribs
- Nuts
- Low-carb Desserts
- Steak
- Low-carb chips
- ….and much more. Once you become familiar with the air fryer and its capabilities you’ll see the possibilities and how endless they are.
Low-Carb Desserts In The Air Fryer
Finally! Right? As much as one may crave a slice of bread, a toast, potato chips or french fries when doing a low-carb diet, the cravings for something sweet are still, in my opinion, less bearable in comparison. Thankfully, someone has come up with low-carb variations for many of the traditional pastries.
With the help of the air fryer, you can bake delicious low-carb desserts like cheesecakes, muffins, donuts, protein cakes, pies, brownies and more!
Search for recipes online. You can find “low-carb” variations of anything online.
The Air Fryer Is A Versatile Tool That Requires Little Maintenance
To have one single appliance that can bake, roast, grill, toast, dehydrate, defrost and air-fry (a close cousin to bake) is greatly appreciated. Moreover, it would be an even bigger bonus if that same appliance was easy to clean, prepare and use.
The air fryer can do a variety of things. Depending on the model of the air fryer, you may have up to 8-9 different functions on a single fryer. That’s like replacing your entire kitchen, except for the microwave oven, which uses radiation to heat food.
Something that most air fryers have in common is that they require very little maintenance overall. Cooking in one is really as easy as ABC. Prepare the ingredients, throw them in the air fryer and power the machine.
The same goes for cleaning. If there’s a lot of grease residue in your air fryer, take the components and bathe them in warm water and soap.
Take a rag, dip it in the water and soap bath and wipe the inside of the air fryer. That’s it. It doesn’t take more than 5 minutes, if even that, to have the air fryer looking as good as new.
Which Air Fryer Should I Get To Make My Diet Easier?
There are a couple of things that you want to know about an air fryer before buying it.
- Size: How much food can the air fryer cook in one batch?
- Performance: How well does it perform?
- Price: Does it offer enough value for its price?
- Features: What can it do?
- Simplicity: Is it easy to use, clean and store?
- For meticulous pickers, it may be relevant to know about warranties and noise-levels.
What I prioritize and why:
- Performance: First I want to know how well the air fryer performs and how well it “fries” food. The taste and texture of
the food is very important.
- Size: I prioritize size over features and ease of use because I have kids at home. Having a large capacity air fryer makes my life so much easier. This isn’t the case for everyone. However, if you’re on a diet, I bet you would benefit from food-prepping. For those who don’t know, food prepping is when you cook large quantities of food and store it. That way you always have something homecooked waiting for you. It makes it much easier to keep to your diet.
- Price: Can the price tag be justified by the air fryer’s features, size, performance, ease of use or not? There are decent air fryers on the market for under 100 dollars, but there are great air fryers on the market for $300. There’s a wide range to pick from.
- Simplicity: How time-consuming will my experience with the air fryer be? It everything is an uphill battle then I’d prefer to stay away from that appliance. I’m buying it to make my life easier, tastier and more automated. Cleaning and cooking should be easy.
- Features: While I’ve used every single feature on my air fryer, I seem to fall back to the 3 or 4 same ones all the time. Seeing as most air fryers actually have those 3 or 4 features, I haven’t really put much focus on features. However, having an air fryer with a bunch of different features is not bad. It’s great. But we’re talking about prioritizing here.
- Warranty and noise levels: The warranty of the product is obviously very important too, even when you purchase high-quality brands. The noise level of an air fryer tends to be somewhere between 50 and 65DB. If these numbers don’t tell you anything, 50-65 decibel equals the loudness of a conversation. The lower end of that range equals conversation while the higher end is more like laughter.
With these qualities in mind it is much easier for us to make a strategic decision.
Philips HD9216 – The Cheaper Alternative
When it comes to air fryers, Philips has established itself as a trusted brand that delivers high-quality products over and over again. With state-of-the-art appliances coming out every year, the development and improvement of their products are rapid and concise.
- Performance: Perfect crispy exterior every time. The first couple of rounds were experimental but the food was still great. With full control of the appliance and its functions, I was able to create incredibly tasty and crispy dishes. Additionally, it is very quick and lets you control both the temperature and time. Like many other air fryers coming out of Philips factories, the HD9126 combines the regular mechanisms used in an air fryer combined with something called “The Starfish Design”. The unique design facilitates air circulation in the air fryer and allows it to cook your food to the perfect texture from all angles.
- Size: This is the downside to the HD9216. If you’re planning to prepare large amounts of food or even cook for a family of 3, the HD9126 may not be the right air fryer for you. For a single individual, however, it’s a good pick.
- Ease of use: It’s very easy to use very easy to clean. The removable parts can be placed in the dishwasher.
- Features: It’s a very versatile tool, capable of baking, roasting, grilling.
- Price: Check on Amazon.
- Warranty: 12 Months
- Noise level: Low
Philips HD9240 – The Beast Alternative
As you might’ve guessed by reading the subheading, the HD9240 model is a bit bigger and more powerful than the 9216 but comes at a more expensive price. The smaller alternative shows you the potential of a Philips air fryer but holds you back by being a bit too small. This one, however, delivers enough space to cook a delicious dinner for an entire family.
- Performance: The HD9240 gives food that brown, crispy exterior that we’re craving. In less than 20 minutes, the HD9240 will have any kind of food ready to be served, the tastes and textures it is capable of achieving are nothing else than what you want them to be. It uses the same rapid air technology combined with the starfish design.
- Size: This is a large-capacity air fryer, capable of cooking 2 entire bags (2.65 lbs) of french fries in one single round.
- Ease of use: The manual that comes with the product is somewhat hard to decipher. A much better source for answers to your questions would be the internet. Other than that,
the air fryer is very easy to use and operate. It comes equipped with a digital touchscreen. The components have a non-stick coating to them to make cleaning easier. They are also safe to use in the dishwasher. - Features: It can roast, grill, bake, fry and dehydrate. With a bunch of accessories available (not included with the purchase of the product), the possibilities are endless. It has a 60-minute timer and adjustable temperatures. An option to memorize your favorite settings.
- Price: Check on Amazon.
- Warranty: 12 Months
- Noise level: Low