With so much hype around air fryers, you might be wondering whether the claims it’s a healthier, quicker and more energy-efficient cooking method are a little too good to be true. If there’s one person who can answer this once and for all, it’s Nathan Anthony. The talented home cook, known as Bored of Lunch on his thriving Instagram and Tik Tok channels, specialises in slow cooker and air fryer recipes and what he doesn’t know about getting the most out of both appliances isn’t worth knowing. Following on from the publication of his smash hit The Healthy Slow Cooker Book (you can find Nathan’s slow cooking tips here), Nathan is back with a second collection of recipes and this time they’re for your air fryer. The Healthy Air Fryer Book features eighty quick and simple recipes that prove that with a little know-how, an air fryer is unrivalled for its ability to create delicious, healthy meals with minimum effort. Ahead of its release, we turned to Nathan to get his expert air frying tips and tricks. Over to you, Nathan…
From the book
Bored of Lunch: The Healthy Air Fryer Book
80 quick and healthy air fryer recipes.
Fan favourites and brand new recipes.
From speedy lunches and midweek dinners, to fakeaways and desserts.
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1. In my air fryer cookbook I have a helpful time conversion chart for cooking in an air fryer vs an oven, including recommended cooking times and temperatures. As a rule, your air fryer will usually cook things in roughly 60% of the time it would take in your oven, so I recommend using a meat thermometer until you perfect your timings.
2. Using a low-calorie spray to coat your food is absolutely key to keeping food delicious and crispy. If you don’t have or use oil sprays you can just use a tablespoon of oil and a pastry brush to glaze the food instead.
3. To save yourself some extra clean-up time and keep your air fryer clean, it can be helpful to purchase some cheap silicone liners and trays or use baking paper to cook your food on. This will be easier to clean than if you place the food straight into the air fryer basket.
4. When making fakeaways, like one of my favourite recipes, Honey Chilli Chicken, it’s important to preheat the air fryer for around 2 minutes (much less time than it takes to preheat an oven). This will ensure you get ultra-crispy coatings or batters as when the food instantly hits the heat, it produces a much crispier result.
5. When purchasing an air fryer, it’s good to know that those that have a basket give the best result. Some air fryers have a rotating option which moves the food but in my experience, this often removes some of the coating from the food while cooking, whereas with a basket you can lightly shake the food throughout the cooking time, ensuring a perfectly even cooking result.
Ready to start your air frying journey? Discover some of our favourite recipes from Bored of Lunch: The Healthy Air Fryer Book now.
