#39
Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself.
-Michael Pollan, Food Rules
Partly in an effort to move away from overly processed foods and the fast food chains that are homogenizing America, and partly because I’d love to see my abs again, I’ve been really trying to keep an eye on my diet, particularly my fat intake.
Now, some fats are good. You should always go ahead and spoon a bit of full fat dressing on your salad— it helps you absorb the nutrients. I think full fat dairy is better than dairy that’s been processed. And the fats in olive oil, almonds, etc are beneficial.
But the fats in french fries, Chinese food, anything cooked in heavy oils or drenched in butter… yeah, not so much. Heart disease is America’s #1 killer, guys, and preventable. We need to move more, eat better, trim those bad fats.
I love Michael Pollan’s Food Rule about making your own junk food. It’s just plain sensible: potatoes, in and of themselves, are actually not bad for you. You could live off potatoes for a long time. Chinese food has a lot of good stuff in it. There’s nothing inherently bad about an onion ring until you drop it into a vat of heavy oil.
That being said… making french fries can be a time-consuming process. This is why the Food Rule works: you’re just not going to be willing to take the time every day, so the indulgence gets balanced out over time.
But what if you could make the process easier and healthier, but still tasty?
What if you could do it in a way that’s no muss, no fuss, no nasty hot oil splatter burns? (I have NEVER deep fried anything without burning myself slightly.)
What if you could do it without that lingering smell of cooking oil that takes seemingly days to go away?
What if you could do it without the waste/expense of using large quantities of oil?
And perhaps most importantly, what if it was so easy you could delegate it to the kids?
Oh hai. Allow me to introduce you to my nifty new friend the Actifry.
The Actifry uses a pulsating heat system on a T-Fal ceramic non-stick (PTFE and PFOA free) pan. A revolving paddle (reminiscent of an ice cream maker paddle) continually turns the food so oil is evenly distributed throughout as it cooks, making for a crispy exterior.
One tablespoon of oil (I used olive oil) is all you need to make 4 servings of french fries.
OK, OK. I also added Italian seasoning to make them supah tasty. But with only one tablespoon of oil, we’re talking 3% total fat per serving, compared to 16% in fast food fries.
Chicken wings? Just throw them in and hit the ON button, and you’ll have wings that are crisp tender in 30 minutes. IT’S REALLY THAT EASY.
I used to make both fries and wings in the oven, which works but doesn’t get that crispy texture. Plus, the oven uses way more energy than the Actifry (not to mention, heats up the house: a big deal as we head into summer).
Cleanup is easy: all the major pieces come off and are dishwasher safe. No more scrubbing grease off the cooktop! (Jeffrey’s pet peeve. Well, one of a million.)
Got kids? One of the easiest ways to get a kid to eat (and understand why it’s upsetting when they don’t eat foods YOU’VE cooked) is to let them prepare meals themselves. With Actifry, you can do that with much younger kids: help them chop, let them season and place into the Actifry. Then let them set the timer and hit ON. They can watch the food cook under the clear steamless lid (no need for stirring) and serve it from the removable pan. “I made it all by myself!”
Check it out:
The Actifry comes in white and black to match your decor or wardrobe (only sort of kidding). I think of it as my slow cooker’s husband; they will make a great team this summer, keeping the kitchen cool and the kids cooking. I’m also thinking it will work great to keep those wings coming on the 4th of July.
It retails for about $200, depending on vendor (all the usual suspects carry it), and comes with a handy-dandy booklet of good-looking basic recipes. The website helpfully includes community-submitted recipes.
Keep up with Actifry on their Facebook page and on Twitter (@Actifry). They post good stuff like recipes, Twitter events and blog giveaways.
LIKE THIS ONE!
Giveaway!
Actifry has supplied me with one unit to give away to a lucky health-conscious reader. Just follow the directions in the Rafflecopter widget to enter. Up to 12 entries are possible, do as many as you like. Good luck!
Disclosure:
I received an Actifry for review purposes and one to give away, as well as compensation for my time. All opinions are my own.
We are trying to eat healthier and better, so this would definitely help us.
I’ve been wanting to try one of these. I’m glad to know someone who has tried it personally.
Would love to make healthy french fries!
I am SO into this thing. My family loves fries to no end. If I could make them taste as good as a restaurant, but more healthy…I’m all over it. 🙂
I would love to have one of these to make French Fried!!
I would love it because my family loves fried foods. I won’t make them, because they are so unhealthy. This would be great!
I would love to be able to give my kids healthier versions of some of their favorite foods…the Actifry seems pretty awesome!
I would love an Actifry becuase I would be able to make a wide variety of healthier food options for my two very picky little girls.
When my husband jokes that he married me for my deep fryer, I think he’s only half joking. Between him and two picky eaters who only seem to want chicken nuggets, popcorn shrimp and fries — all deep fried of course — I’d love the chance to prepare things they’ll actually eat in a healthier way that maintains texture. Plus, I won’t have to buy so many candles to try to hide that lingering deep-fried oil odor (hear that honey, oh, and btw, candles are 2 for $20 again starting today at B&B Works ;))
I’d love to have one and make healthier food for my family
Our family loves fried foods, I hate that so much oil is needed and unhealthy! This family of 4 NEEDS an Actifry!
Potatoes!
Would love to have one to give to my daughter, easy to use, she could cook safely, no more deep fat frying those french fries!
i would love one so that i could make healthier fried foods with less mess
Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself.
-Michael Pollan, Food Rules
That quote summed up perfectly what I was attempting to explain to my husband a few days ago- I’ll make a batch of super buttered chocolate chip cookies and eat the entire batch (hey, I’m breast feeding two I need those calories…or that’s what I tell him) and I still feel I’m doing right because I’m not eating a batch of super processed oreos or store bought cookies.
I already eat whole batches of cookies, so you can imagine my frying habits — if I don’t win this fryer my hugely obese self will come back and haunt you!
I would like an Actifry to give my family a healthier option than fried foods and tastier than baked.
I want one so bad they look awesome!
My mom has wanted an ActiFry for months. I hope to win her one and surprise her for her birthday!
I want to make healthy fried zuchini
would love to try fried steak in this machine. yum yum yum
I would love to make homemade french fries or chicken nuggets for my kids!
because we are trying to eat and thus cook a little healthier in my family
would love to try chicken nuggets.
I like fries but hate grease. This looks like a win/win
Been hearing a lot about the actifry and think it sounds like a neat gadget!
Because it sounds great!
Would love to try making fries with coconut oil, especially sweet potato fries. Looks like a great kitchen tool!
Heathier way for cooking!
I would like an Actifry because I like that you only need one tablespoon of oil to prepare food in it and the recipes on their site look great. This would give me a lot more food options for my family.
I’m all about sweet potato fries, especially if I can make them in a healthier way.
I’d like an Actifry for making sweet potato fries.
I’d love one so I can eat sweet potato fries and roasted chick peas whenever I want, without the ‘fried food’ stigma!
I love how it gives you healthy meals and how parts are dishwasher safe to make cleaning up easy. Easy meal….easy clean up 🙂
What a great idea! So glad I saw the Facebook post about this. Does it do doughnuts?
Because I have a box of beignet mix from New Orleans that Nathan brought back for me and we need the actifry to make the beignets!
make chicken wings with thanks
I would love to be able to make healthier meals using less oil, especially fried items like potatoes.
I NEED one! I am trying to lose weight and this would help!
Would love to make healthy stirfrys and french fries too!
we LOVE wings but can’t find a place that makes them well – would love to try myself
because we love eating healthy and this would give us more options for cooking
I would love to cook stir fry, french fries, zucchini, etc. in a healthier way! Plus my friend has one and she loves it!
I love that is a healthier alternative to frying
Thank you for hosting this giveaway
Louis
pumuckler {at} gmail {dot} com
Why? Because I’d like to cook with less oil and keep all the flavor.
I’d love to be able to make fries more easily!
we need to eat a whole lot healthier and this would help..
I’d like to fix healthier meals
I would love to win it for my Mom
Me too. I want to win on this giveaway. I love this stuff.:)
I love that it would make some of our favorite foods healthier!
I like that it uses less oil! This would be great for my family! Thanks for the giveaway!
I would love to win this because my family loves fried foods. I could still make what they like, but be able to make it a little healthier for them.
I’d like to make healthier versions of fried foods that my family wants
I have 4 guys to feed, I prefer to cook healthier
senn this on tv and would like to try it
I’d love it because it is a healthier alternative to fried foods
I’d love to win because I could make crispy fries without all the fat. Thanks!
I’ve heard so many good things about the Actifry. Food is so much healthier and is still delicious.
tssk10(at)gmail(dot)com
I’d love to make healthy fries!
I also love eating foods that have fats as well. In fact, I am not on diet so it is okay for me to eat fat foods.
i would like to try this b/c i like to cook healthy
I’d like to make healthy meals.
We love fried foods, but don’t own a regular fryer because it would be unhealthy.
My new years resolution was to eat healthier in the new year. I have to admit..it has not been going the greatest…but I am trying. I have never heard of this before, but this would be wonderful! I think its so great that you hardly need any oil! Would love to win and help me get on track with eating healthy!
Hello, I have been doing some research on these, as I really wanted one, but according to T-Fal’s website, they do use PFOA to make the non-stick coating but it supposedly is burned off during the manufacturing process (they have independent studies of testing after manufacturing to show PFOA’s)BUT they clearly state that their coating is a PTFE….