Our toaster oven was a throwback to the 1980s and last weekend we decided to buy a new one. Kohls had a number of choices and we selected a nice looking Cuisinart model. This had lots of bells and whistles including a feature our old one did not have: Air frying.
We all know that deep fried foods, such as French fries taste LOTS better than baking fries in an oven. The crispiness and taste of deep fried foods provide a superior eating experience. But, this comes at a cost: LOTS of calories and LOTS of fat ingestion.
I looked more into the nutritional differences between deep oil and air frying food and I was surprised at just how many calories and grams of fat can be saved by using the Air Fryer:
| Food | Deep Fried Calories | Air Fried Calories |
| Jalapeno Poppers | 432 | 133 |
| Fried Calamari | 1180 | 143 |
| Fried Cheese Balls | 1060 | 177 |
| French Fries | 340 | 226 |
| Fried Chicken | 549 | 280 |
The fat content is decreased over 30% by using the Air Fryer.
As a “test”, I threw some Nathans frozen fries into the Air Fryer and they came out really good…not nearly as good as the deep fried ones I got at Nathans in Coney Island, but lots better than baking at 425 in an oven.
“Fried” foods usually do not translate into healthy SP dietary choices but if a fried food is going to sneak into your diet, use an air frying system. You will save lots of calories and fat.
