It’s that time again: mid-January, when willpower wanes and the good intentions we soberly started a few weeks ago have become a challenge to maintain.
If eating healthy (and cheap) was on your list, now’s the time to harness the power of your air fryer to keep you motivated.
An air fryer may not seem like an obvious choice when it comes to tasty food. Many people even consider it the enemy of good food and good cooking. This is partly due to the word “fryer” in the name of the device, and partly due to the association with beige frozen food.
But remember, air fryers don’t actually fry food at all. They cook in the same way as a convection oven – by circulating hot air around food – except they do it faster and more efficiently, saving you time and money while cooking.
Try a low-effort dinner
When it gets dark early and is cold all the time, it’s hard to muster the motivation to cook a meal. That’s when delivery apps start to look extremely tempting.
But a much better option is to throw the ingredients for a quick, healthy dinner in the air fryer and then hide under a blanket for 20 minutes while they cook.
Rachel Ogden / Foundry
There are hundreds of healthy and quick air fryer recipes you can search online and they don’t require a bunch of complicated ingredients to make or a lot of prep time.
Here are four easy air fryer recipes for you to try:
If you regularly prepare a meal that consists of proteins such as chicken breast, fish fillet or steak and some vegetables, you will find that a two-drawer air fryer is the fastest and most hassle-free way to prepare it.
The sync feature on most dual-drawer models allows you to add food to both drawers, choose different cooking times and methods, and have everything ready at the same time.

Ninja
You can check out our top recommendations in our roundup of the best dual-tray air fryers we tested.
Make your own snacks
In winter, you may want to opt for snacks to give you a quick energy boost, or if you need something to mindlessly munch on to maintain your focus. But processed snacks probably won’t get you any closer to your healthy eating goals.
Instead, you can use your air fryer to make your own healthy snacks.
Most air fryers have a dry setting and you can use this to make jerky from meat or dried fruit. You can even make your own raisins. If your air fryer does not have a special dry setting, cut the meat or fruit into thin, even strips and arrange them in a single layer on the crisping plate. Set your air fryer to approximately 60°C and the timer to a maximum of 6 hours.

Rachel Ogden / Foundry
While you’re experimenting, turn it on for an hour and check the jerky or fruit frequently to make sure it doesn’t dry out too much.
Give leftovers a second life
It’s all very well to batch cook or use your leftovers to prepare another meal, but if the food is unappetizing when you come to eat it, your thoughts turn to a delivery app again.
You don’t need as much willpower to avoid less healthy choices if the food you make tastes good.
Microwave leftovers or pre-cooked meals can often leave food watery or soggy, and an air fryer is a better option because the food crisps up as it cooks.
You can put food in baking tins or earthenware pots in the air fryer, but you may also find silicone air fryer liners useful for storage. You can buy them very cheaply from Amazon.

Emma Rowley / Foundry
If you’re looking to upgrade your air fryer, check out our top recommendations. We also have reviews for the best Ninja air fryer, the best dual tray air fryer, and the best air fryer oven.
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