If you have been following me at all you know that I love my Instant Pot! It helps save me time in the kitchen and who doesn’t need that! To be honest, I have been obsessed with kitchen gadgets for as long as I can remember.
How Many Kitchen Gadgets is Enough?!
I may have many, many unused kitchen gadgets stored in my laundry room cabinets that I don’t use often. I just can’t bring myself to get rid of them… what if I want to make a mini apple pie one day, or get inspired by Martha Stewart and make my own french toast stick to freeze and make breakfast on school days a breeze?
It’s funny because if you know me in real life, you know I like to purge. I don’t like clutter and I love getting rid of things I don’t use. Kitchen appliances is NOT one of those things. I mean, how many kitchen gadgets is enough?! LOL
ToBox
My newest gadget I have been trying out is my Air Fryer that I got from ToBox. ToBox is a company that cuts out the middle man to save you up to 80% on products you would buy in your local store. They have a variety of products, from appliances, to cookware, cutlery and storage and a lot of items in between.
Air Fryer
An air fryer is a kitchen appliance that cooks its food by circulating hot air around it, using convection. It works like an oven so you can cook most things that go in the oven, in your Air Fryer.
Like any new kitchen gadget, it takes some time to figure out how to work it. I was a little intimidated, so I started an Air Fryer pinterest board. WOW, there are a lot of recipes out there! I could not believe how much you could really make in it.
The main benefit to an air fryer is that it’s giving you the fried food taste without all the calories that fried foods usually have in them. The air fryer works by coating your food with a thin layer of oil while circulating the heated air which allows for crispy chicken wings, perfect fries and easy potato chips. I am especially loving it for roasting veggies!
Most air fryers have temperature and timer adjustments that allow for more precise cooking. The food is cooked in a cooking basket so deepening on the size of your family, you may want to consider a larger size air fryer so you can fit more food in your basket.
I was sent the 3.8 quart Air Fryer. If I was wanting to cook a big meal for the family, I would definitely need a bigger one. I have found myself using it more for sides like fries, roasting veggies, reheating fries and tater tots from a restaurant or the kids frozen chicken nuggets.
The basket need to be periodically shaken to ensure even oil coverage. Some models incorporate a food agitator that continuously churns the food during the cooking process, while others have you do it manually.
You can see one of my quick sides I make for lunch from time to time. Crispy cauliflower taco bites. I add avocado oil, salt, pepper and taco seasoning. You could sub the taco seasoning for hot sauce and make cauliflower buffalo bites! The possibilities are endless!
What’s the Verdict?
Pros:
- It has allowed me to make quick and easy sides without having to even turn my oven on!
- It’s a healthy alternative to fried foods! I have a french fry obsession and I love that my fries turn out crispy in this. They never seem to get that way in the oven when I bake them. I true test will be when I make chicken wings for my family. I love cooking them in the Instant Pot, but then I typically throw them under the broiler to crisp them up a bit. I am definitely trying the Air Fryer to see how it changes the crispiness.
- Very easy to clean. The entire basket and accessories come right out and are dishwasher safe.
- It cooks your food fast! Unlike an oven which needs to preheat and uses longer cooking times, this is quick!
- If you like crispy foods, this gives you that crisp! Even baked potatoes turn out crispy on the outside and soft on the inside!
Cons:
- It’s big. I don’t like clutter on my countertops and I already have enough of my everyday appliances sitting out. You will need to have a large enough space to store it when you aren’t using it.
- You do have to play with the time of your food when you first get it. Set a time, pull out the basket and give it a shake and see how the food looks. I feel like this is with any new appliance, you just have to get use to how it cooks.
My biggest piece of advice is to do your research before you buy one so that you get the right size for what you think you will be using it for. I would hate to have you invest in one, only to get it home and not feel like the basket gives you enough space for what you want to cook. You can’t layer the food so you have to lay it out evenly, which only gives you so much space to work with.
If you are looking for a bargain and don’t want to break the bank, check out ToBox for your next purchase. They offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee, 3o day free returns and free shipping on orders over $19. They have been easy to work with and so far my Air Fryer has worked great!
Do you have an Air Fryer? What have you made in it?
This is a sponsored post. I was given an Air Fryer from ToBox to test out and share my honest review with my readers. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thanks for reading!
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