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When living with type 1 diabetes, cooking oftentimes can become an overwhelming and tedious task. You may find yourself spending hours in the kitchen preparing meals, which leaves you feeling drained, exhausted, and stressed out. As much as I love cooking, I don’t enjoy spending my hours on overly complicated recipes in the kitchen. I prefer to keep things easy, simple, and full of flavor. When it comes to protein and vegetables, I have a difficult time coming up with fun and delicious ways to prepare them. In this blog post, we are going to take a look at easy ways to cook a variety of proteins and vegetables that only require the use of an air fryer.
Which Air Fryer Should You Buy?
There are a number of air fryers on the market now and if you are getting ready to purchase one, it may depend on how much counter and storage space you have available, how much food you plan to cook with it, and other features for use. I personally own the Ninja Foodi 5-in-1 because we aren’t allowed to have an outdoor grill at our apartment complex and we loved that it had the feature for grilled, air frying and other cooking settings. Other popular air fryers include:
Why You Should Buy An Air Fryer
My air fryer is hands down my most used kitchen gadget. Here are just some of the benefits to air frying food:
Reduction of Saturated Fat Intake: When using an air fryer, you do not need to use as much saturated fat, like butter and oil, when cooking to make foods crispy and crunchy. High consumption of saturated fat intake has been linked to increased insulin resistance and impaired insulin sensitivity which can make blood sugars more difficult to manage for people with diabetes.
Convenience: the concept of air frying is similar to convection cooking in that it uses forced, heated and circulated air to cook foods faster and evenly in the process. Air fryers can significantly cut down cooking time compared to using traditional gas or electric ovens.
Easy to Clean: Since little to no oil is being used, there are no hard messes to clean up afterwards. The baskets inside air fryers are non-stick so it usually just requires a rinse after each use.
Versatility: Most air fryers come with a cookbook along with instructions for use. Air fryers usually just require pressing a few buttons much like a microwave oven. There are many accessories for air fryers now that can allow you to cook anything and everything from hard boiled eggs to dessert to full course dinner!
Importance of Protein & Fiber in Blood Sugar Management
Before diving into recipes, it is important to touch upon the importance of protein and fiber in regards to blood sugar management. We all know that carbohydrates raise blood sugar, but we sometimes forget to shift our focus to foods that can make your blood sugar management easier. In general, protein has a small effect on blood sugar levels and often tends to help stabilize blood sugar levels by slowing down the absorption of carbohydrates at a meal. Additionally, fiber helps support blood sugar management by slowing down the absorption of glucose from digesting carbohydrates. These two nutrients have a significant impact on blood sugar management and shouldn’t be forgotten about either- nor does this mean that you need to eat plain, boring grilled chicken or steamed broccoli. You deserve to make these foods fun and flavorful while managing your blood sugars.
Air Fryer Recipes- Protein Options
Frozen Burgers in Air Fryer Photo by Aubrey’s Kitchen Frozen Burgers in Air Fryer by Aubrey’s Kitchen
Lemon Pepper Wings by Mad Creations Hub
Air Fryer Chicken Fajitas by Little Sunny Kitchen
Delicious Air Fryer Honey Mustard Pork Chops by Xoxo Bella
Air Fryer Salmon by Fresh Coast Eats
Air Fryer Chicken Kabobs by Amanda’s Cookin
Air Fryer Keto Meatballs by Keto Focus
Easy Hard Boiled AirFryer Eggs by Two Kids and A Coupon
Air Fryer Salami Chips by The Six Figure Dish
Air Fryer Recipes- Vegetable and Other Side Options
Air Fryer Fried Pickles Photo by Confessions of Parenting
Air Fryer Green Beans by Strength and Sunshine
Air Fryer Radish Chips by Recipes from a Pantry
Air Fryer Shishito Peppers by The Short Order Cook
Air Fryer Zucchini Pizza Bites by Emily Fabulous
Air Fryer Kale Chips by Champagne Tastes
Air Fryer Fried Pickles by Confessions of Parenting
Air Fryer Roasted Bell Peppers by Simple Fresh n Yum
Buffalo Cauliflower Air Fryer Recipe by Simple Low Carb
Which recipes would you add? Be sure to comment below some of your favorite air fryer recipes to share with others!