If I have to be honest with you, I don’t enjoy the process of cooking meals. I just don’t have the patience it requires to whip up a delicious meal. I blame my Gen-Z attention span. Even during the COVID-19 lockdown, while everyone was busy experimenting with a new dish every other day, I stayed out of the kitchen. I will also have to credit my living with my parents for this luxury, and also, my mom is an amazing cook.
As much as I love the current situation, I am also aware that things will change soon. I will soon be moving out and living alone, and I will probably also have to cook my own meals. So, last night, while doomscrolling on Instagram, I decided to take up a “24-hour air fryer” challenge to figure out whether an air fryer would be the right appliance for my solo living adventure coming up. And I am going to tell you about my experience.
Currently, since my mom loves cooking, we have all the appliances at home- microwave oven, OTG, air fryer, electric tandoor, and a toaster. But living alone, I won’t have that much space or use of so many appliances. Even right now, I find myself using the microwave and toaster the most. If I do have to cook something, I would prefer a one-pot solution, or maybe wraps, and sandwiches, something that’s healthy, quick, and easy.
Setting Up
So, first things first. You can’t place your air fryer just anywhere. It requires a power plug point, and it is impractical to keep moving it when you need to use it. And it will take up a little bit of space. Just for reference, it will take almost as much space as your microwave, give or take a little. If you have a small kitchen, then you will have to keep that in mind.
Okay, next: one household chore I despise most is doing the dishes. I just can’t. And when I live alone, I will only call my house help once a day (assuming I find a good one). So, I can’t cook directly in the basket, or I will have to keep washing it over and over. I found parchment paper in my mom’s pantry, which does the job pretty efficiently.
I Tried Using an Air Fryer For a Full Day
Breakfast
Since last year, I have tried not to miss my breakfast at any cost. Even if I am running late, I make it a point to set aside 20 minutes, make my breakfast, and eat it. But the thing is, almost every other day, I just have 20 minutes for it. Time management is much. I make my breakfast on my own; it’s the same thing every day- one sunny-side egg, but with a fully cooked yolk (if you get what I mean), an avocado toast, and my coffee.
This whole thing usually takes me about 15 minutes. Instagram again came to my rescue as I found an air fryer breakfast recipe where they press a bowl into their bread, make a little pocket, crack an egg on top, and then air fry it. I did just that, but placed a piece of parchment paper first. Cooked it for 10 minutes at 160 degrees.
And in those 10 minutes, I didn’t have to check on my egg and was free to make my coffee and avocado topping. Very liberating. I’ll tell you why that’s important. My mom has replaced all our non-stick pans with steel and cast-iron ones, for obvious health reasons. And these pans are not easy to cook with; they have to be properly greased with oil/butter, and you need to flip them at the perfect time. So most of the time, I end up with a scrambled egg, unintentionally. With the air fryer, my egg and toast both got done together; it was crispy and well done, and without a single drop of oil.
Evening Snack
After a heavy breakfast, I usually skip lunch. So the air fryer got a break for that. But I had been craving a vada pav for a pretty long time, but was avoiding it because of the obvious calorie guilt that comes along. So, I did make that in the air fryer, and it turned out solid. I was very happy.
Dinner
Dinner was something that I was most excited about. I had marinated some chicken in the morning and wanted to have a grilled chicken sort of situation. My idea was that if I am living alone, I can meal prep things like these and toss them in the air fryer and get them done. Again, on a piece of parchment paper, I placed my marinated chicken and sprayed a little bit of oil. Set my timer for 15 minutes at 180 degrees. And then went to do my other things. I love how you don’t have to monitor everything in an air fryer. Halfway through the process, I just flipped it and sprayed a little more oil, and it was all done. I can see myself doing this.
The cherry on top was that the air fryer didn’t get dirty either. To keep things hygienic and clean, I did wipe it after use, and got it cleaned at the end of the day. You have to take care of your appliances and hygiene, too, no matter how much you procrastinate.
Midnight Snack
I thought we were done for the day, but since I stay up late, I felt the need for a midnight snack. I found my sister’s pizza lying in the fridge, and stole a piece and put it in my air fryer to reheat. Unlike a microwave that turns a pizza soggy, the air fryer got me a fresh, crispy pizza. So I was a happy kid, with a bit of unhealthy eating guilt, but it’s okay once in a while. But I forgot to click a picture, so you will have to take my word for it.
What Worked, What Didn’t
So, would I use an air fryer when I start living alone? Honestly, yes. A lot more than I expected.
It’s not because it can do everything, but it does the important things for me really well. It is perfect for meal-prepped food, quick fixes, reheating some kinds of leftovers, and those low-effort days when you just don’t have the energy to stand over a stove. The fact that you don’t have to constantly monitor your food makes a huge difference. It’s also forgiving and a lot less stressful than something like an OTG.
It’s also great for the kind of food I naturally gravitate towards: wraps, sandwiches, grilled proteins, roasted veggies, and yes, the occasional fried craving without the oil guilt. But it’s not a complete tool. You can’t make curries, rice or anything too elaborate in it. Even for my vada pav, I had to separately boil and cook the potato stuffing. So, you’ll still need a stove. And at some point, I’ll probably end up getting a microwave too.
If you’re someone like me, who doesn’t enjoy cooking but still wants to eat decently well without putting in too much effort, an air fryer just makes life a little easier.
