The Costco Connection - October 2018

s a professional chef, health and fit-
ness expert and entrepreneur, I lead
a rather busy, hectic professional
life. I am also the mother of six
ACTIVE (yes, all caps) boys. I want us to eat
well, but I need to balance that with simplic-
ity and trying to satisfy the finicky taste buds
of a tableful of kids. Thankfully, preparing
tasty, healthy meals does not need to take a
lot of time with the latest appliances, includ-
ing one of my favorites: the air fryer.

An air fryer is just what the name says;

it cooks food through the circulation of superheated air (up to ;;; F). In essence, hot air replaces the fat or grease that is used in traditional frying methods. The movement of heated air around and through the cooking basket locks in flavor and creates a perfectly crispy exterior.

An air fryer is similar to a convection oven, as both use hot air to cook. Ovens, however, don’t use rapid air movement to

Air extras

Want more ways to use your air fryer? Here are four tips.

1. For traditional oven-
baked recipes, experiment
with cooking temperatures
and time. Generally, reduce
the temperature by 20 to 25

degrees and the cooking time by 40 to 45 percent.

2. Cook all meals at one time. Put the food with the longest cooking time in first;

add the remaining parts of the meal as the clock counts down to have them all finish at the same time.

3. For crispier food, spray a thin coating of your favorite healthy oil on the food.

4. Is your leftover takeout soggy? Your air fryer can come to the rescue to reheat last night’s dinner and keep it tasting fresh.—CC

cook, relying instead on heating elements and fans to disperse the heat.

Air fryers are easy to use. They cook food in a fraction of the time it takes for stovetop or oven cooking. They use little to no fatty oil or messy grease, so they are ideal for preparing healthy meals. And, as my boys can tell you, air-fried cooking still satisfies the craving for the irresistible crunch of their favorite fried foods. You know, things like fried chicken, french fries, crispy hot wings, fried shrimp, fried poppers, kale chips, onion rings, chocolate banana empanadas and apple hand pies.

And I don’t mind them eating any of that, because there is no unwanted fat or grease, no overload of calories, no cholesterol worries or any of the other issues involved with traditional frying.