Make Your ActiFry Meals Even Healthier

Everyone already knows that you can cook delicious and healthy meals in your ActiFry with minimum fuss – and if you don’t, where have you been?

However, if you want to make big changes then it’s good to make some more changes to your eating habits too.

When it comes to eating healthily – even if you are using an ActiFry air fryer – there are a few tricks you can use to reduce your calorie intake and still ensure you feel full.

In fact, once you’ve made a few changes, you’ll probably find they are super easy to stick with and you don’t notice them anymore. Your family probably won’t either, so dinner time will be healthier but in a much sneakier way.

To help you make your ActiFry meals healthier, give these tips a try:

One of the easiest ways to cut down calories and make your meals even healthier is to swap out ingredients that are high in fat or sugar. There are a lot of options to try that taste almost the same – if not exactly alike – so you can still enjoy the same meals without having to give up your favourites.

There are a lot of food swaps to be made, but we’ve got a few ideas in our blog that could help you transform dishes into low-calorie versions that the whole family will still love.

Did you know that the size of your plate can affect how full or hungry you feel? You might serve up the perfect portion size, but if you use a large plate to do so, your brain sees a lot of empty space and so thinks that you aren’t getting a full portion.

This is why it is a good idea to serve your food on plates or in bowls that are similar in size to your portions, especially if you’re trying to cut down on how much you’re eating. This means that even when portions are smaller, your brain will still see a full portion so you’re less likely to feel hungry again any time soon.

Even when we’re eating healthy foods, a lot of us fall down when it comes to the portions of different food groups included in a meal. The temptation to pile your plate with chips – because if they’re cooked in an ActiFry health fryer rather than a chip fryer, they are a lot healthier – and then only have a small portion of veg on the side is often overwhelming, but it isn’t the best way to go.

Pay attention to how you’re serving your food up, remembering that around a quarter of your plate should be protein, with just under a quarter being carbohydrates like potatoes or pasta and over a quarter being made up of vegetables.

Sectioning your plate when you’re serving up can help you get these ratios right and will ultimately help them become second nature.

In fact, if you want to bulk a meal out a bit, you should just use more vegetables in the first place. Adding extra vegetables to your dishes not only helps portions go further, it also helps to ensure meals are healthier and your family is getting all the nutrition they need.

Any meal with a sauce – such as pasta bake, curry and bolognese – can easily benefit from a couple of extra handfuls of vegetables. Alternatively, you can start serving your meals up with side salads to increase the number of veggies you’re eating and ensure you fill up on all the good stuff.

One of the best things about cooking in an ActiFry – besides it being super easy – is the fact that you can use hardly any oil, which instantly makes things healthier than using a deep fat fryer or even oven baking in some cases.

However, it isn’t just about using as little oil as possible, you also need to look at the type of oil you’re cooking with. Certain ones are healthier than others, which is good to know whether you’re counting calories or not. Some are also great for cooking specific foods with, which can make them even tastier as well as better for you.

To help you find the right healthy oil for your kitchen – whether it’s for general use or specific meals – have a look at our handy guide.

Of course, the final stage of making your ActiFry meals as healthy as possible is to enjoy them!

There’s no point in cooking the healthiest meals going if you don’t actually like them. Not only will this mean meal times are less enjoyable, it can also increase the likelihood of you cheating and eating more foods you shouldn’t, which can really set you back.

Find ways to ensure you like every meal you eat and don’t deny yourself the odd treat, especially when you definitely deserve it.