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If you’ve chosen to follow a low carb diet, you know how important it is to get more creative in the kitchen, both in recipes and tools.
The trending air fryer claims to fry food to perfection by using just a teaspoon of oil at a time, so it surely can work for most dieters.
However that point leads people to wonder and ask, “Is the air fryer good for keto diets?” That is because the point of a keto diet is to consume more fat, such as oil.
Let’s take a quick look at how an air fryer actually works and the difference between deep-frying and air frying to see if the air fryer is a good investment for keto-dieters.
We’ll also introduce a trending program known as the Keto Resource 28 Day Keto Challenge.
Table of Contents
What Is an Air Fryer?
The air fryer is a relatively new invention that has been sweeping the nation over the last decade.
Patented by the Philips Electronics Company, it made its debut at a consumer electronics fair in Berlin in 2010.
Essentially, an air fryer is a leveled-up version of the convection oven.
It is a compact kitchen appliance where you place food into a fryer style basket at the bottom.
How It Works
The top of the unit has a heating element and a fan that circulates the hot air down and around the basket of food.
The rapid hot air can crisp food in a similar way that a deep fat fryer would, without the need to submerge it in oil completely.
In fact, you will need just one or two teaspoons of oil to cook most foods in an air fryer.
The browning and crisping achieved in a deep fat fryer are due to something called the Maillard reaction.
The Maillard reaction can only be achieved with very hot temperatures and hot oil attains considerably higher temperatures than boiling water, for example.
An air fryer, however, can achieve the same effect as a deep fat fryer, by reaching high temperatures up to 445 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on the model.
If you enjoy that breaded taste, then you can inject it back in by using nut flours, to stay within your allowed carb limits.
Or you can even try using finely chopped nuts for extra texture and crunch.
Is the Air Fryer Good for Keto Diets?
Keto-dieters can definitely benefit from an air fryer, even if you don’t use oil.
It allows you to achieve that deep-fried taste and crispiness without actually deep frying anything.
Let’s compare air frying to deep frying to see why it can work for keto-dieters.
Why Is Deep Frying Bad?
Bearing in mind the keto diet is a low carb, moderate protein, high-fat diet, why is deep frying so bad for keto dieters?
The answer lies in the fact that deep-fried food is bad, not just for keto dieters, but also for everyone.
The reason for this is that there is a resounding difference between good fats and bad fats.
Good Fats vs. Bad Fats
When you’re following a keto diet, you should try to consume around 70% of your calories from fat sources.
But there is a massive difference between “good”, healthy fats and “bad” unhealthy fats.
In fact, for health reasons, you should try to avoid these bad fats whenever possible, no matter what diet you’re following.
The keto diet is such a high-fat diet, so when you’re following it, it’s more important than ever to ensure you’re sourcing more good fats than anything else.
Bad Fats
Bad fats include artificial and trans fats found in vegetable oils commonly used for deep frying.
Bad fats are one of the main contributors to weight gain, clogged arteries.
Consuming too much of which is also one of the leading causes of an increased risk of many diseases.
Good Fats
Good fats are unsaturated and omega-3 fats and have the opposite effect of bad fats.
Good fats can lower your risk of heart disease and stroke.
It can also help decrease your blood pressure and bad cholesterol levels.
They can also help boost your energy levels, improve your mood and wellbeing, and even help you lose weight.
Sources of Good Fats
Here is a list of some healthy, high-fat food items suitable for people following the keto diet:
- Nuts like macadamia and pecan nuts
- Vegetables such as olives and avocados
- Fish such as salmon, mackerel, sardines, and herring
- Fatty meat such as pork, lamb and mutton, beef, and duck
- Some oils such as those derived from avocados and olives
- Dairy, including butter, ghee, and eggs
- Sauces made from the ingredients listed above such as mayonnaise and hollandaise
Other Benefits of Owning an Air Fryer
Besides being able to achieve a deep-fried texture without deep frying, there are several other excellent reasons for owning an air fryer:
1. Cooking Versatility
The keto diet is generally viewed as quite a restrictive one. Pizza, chips, candy bars, sugary drinks, and deep-fried food items are restricted with most, if not all weight-loss diets.
With keto, pasta, bread, potatoes, and even most fruits are also taken off the menu, so many people find it difficult to follow.
We all tend to fall into similar kitchen routines, cooking up old family favorites, and sometimes it can be challenging to think outside the box.
Luckily, one of the easiest ways to expand your cooking abilities and menus is to invest in a new kitchen gadget.
An air fryer offers you massive versatility in the kitchen since there are literally hundreds of different food items you can cook in it.
Perfect chicken wings every time, chicken nuggets, shrimps, crab cakes, mozzarella sticks, calamari rings, and eggplant and kale chips are just a few examples.
You can also cook all of your more standard fare such as steaks, chicken breast, bacon, vegetables, and desserts.
2. Faster Cooking Time
Air fryers also cook food extremely quickly. Remember when we said that an air fryer was like an amped-up version of a convection oven?
Convection ovens can cook food faster than a standard oven, and air fryers can cook even faster.
3. Less Wasteful
Think about how much oil you need to use to deep fry anything.
It’s an incredible amount, especially when you compare it to the one or two teaspoons needed in an air fryer.
If you have a deep fat fryer and are tempted to continue using it for the rest of the family, you should think again.
Maybe you can reuse the oil a couple of times before replacing it.
However, it’s still considerably more wasteful, not to mention more financially draining than many other cooking methods, air frying included.
4. Easier to Clean
Depending on the model you buy, most of the parts are dishwasher safe, so all you have to do is dismantle it and then put it back together after it’s washed.
When you’re frying your food, the first thing you have to tackle is how you’re going to dispose of the used kitchen oil.
Firstly you need to find a heatproof container to pour it into and wait for it to cool and solidify.
Then you need to scrape it into a throwaway container, followed by wrapping it in even more plastic to ensure it doesn’t leak.
The whole affair is extremely messy and unpleasant, not to mention the amount of plastic you probably just used to ensure it doesn’t leak all over your bins.
What Benefits Would You Get From the 28 Day Keto Challenge?
Air fryer or no air fryer, the easiest way to ensure personal keto success is by following a diet plan, like the 28 Day Keto Challenge.
It takes all of the hard work out of the carb calculations and, at the same time, inspires you with great recipes and a meal planner.
1. Multiple Recipes
It’s all too easy to get stuck in a rut when you’re on the keto diet and is one of the biggest reasons people fail on this diet.
The routine eggs and bacon for breakfast, a bunless burger with salad for lunch, and meat and steamed or boiled veggies for dinner.
Or one night you might have pork, another night salmon, and another lamb, and you even swap out your bacon in favor of sausages from time to time.
You can vary the meat all you want, but it still feels like you’re eating the same thing repeatedly.
The 28 Day Keto Challenge doesn’t allow you to get stuck in a rut. It encourages you to learn new recipes and cooking methods.
It’s packed with ideas for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as 36 mouth-watering desserts that will satisfy your sweet tooth along the way.
2. Achieve Ketosis Healthily and Fight Off Keto Flu
The balanced recipes and meal plans ensure that you’re getting the right amount of protein and fat each day while keeping your carbs low.
They also make sure that you’re getting the right kind of fats from every meal, making your health a top priority.
It also provides you with vital nutritional information and how to avoid the dreaded “keto flu”, which is another one of the biggest reasons people fail at this diet.
3. Become a Keto Master
The 28 Day Keto Challenge covers everything you need to know about the keto diet, such as how it works, how it was developed, and which food items to enjoy and avoid.
You will learn how to calculate your own macronutrients and stay motivated with some amazing tips for keto success.
You will also learn how you can handle social situations with the tips for dining out with friends and family and safe alcohol consumption that won’t kick you out of ketosis.
The 28 Day Keto Challenge is packed with literally everything you need to become a master of your own keto success.
Check out our full 28 Day Keto Challenge review here.
Fabulous Frying for a Healthy Keto Diet
So, now you know why people have been going so crazy about air fryers!
Next time you hear someone ask “Is the air fryer good for keto diets?”, you can confidently answer with a yes.
In fact, the air fryer is pretty good for everyone, especially if they enjoy deep-fried food.
An air fryer is a perfect way to compliment the 28 Day Keto Challenge for those days when your fried food cravings just won’t go away.
If you’re cooking for the family, it can be annoying and time-consuming to cook everything in batches, but it’s certainly better than most fried alternatives.
By helping us produce a wide variety of healthy and delicious food, it’s safe to say we’re big fans of air frying.
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