Air Fryers and ADHD
appliances and tools — ADHD Cooking Tips
it's no secret...i love em
The dang Air Fryer is an absolute staple in my house, and I don't care who knows it!!
If you're worried an Air Fryer might be another kitchen gadget you use twice and then completely ignore, this post is for you.
I felt similarly for years. Now, I love having one—so much that I wrote a whole pros and cons list about ‘em.
Here are the ways Air Fryers have worked with (and against) my ADHD.
a note: Like everything on this site, this is unsponsored. It's purely based on the functionality of an Air Fryer, rather than which model offers *peak performance*.
photo by Alena Shekhovtcova from Pexels
01. it's WAY faster to cook meals
I don't like to preheat ovens. I just don't. Especially if I'm super hungry and I needed to eat like, an hour ago.
This is where the Air Fryer really shines.
If you were to cook my go-to Air Fryer meal in the oven—Meatless Chicken Nuggets and Tater Tots—you'd be spending ~15 minutes preheating the oven, then ~18-35 minutes cooking each item.
With the Air Fryer, I throw in the Tater Tots and cook them about 80% of the way at the recommended heat. Then, I lower the temp and throw the Nuggets in for their recommended time.
This takes ~11-15 minutes, tops.
Yall, I swear, this meal turns out even better than when I make the same thing in the oven. No preheating. Almost everything is at least 50% faster to make.
For the speed of cooking alone, I think the Air Fryer is incredible for ADHD folks.
It's especially awesome for those days when you forgot to make a meal earlier and now you're feeling shaky and weird.
Now before everyone emails me: Some folks do preheat their Air Fryer for like 5 minutes every time they use it. Obviously, there is some benefit to doing so. But I've never done it and I still love the results I get. A heart wants what the heart wants and the heart wants minimal steps.
02. Perfect for no A-C homes
I live in a 100-year-old home in the Pacific Northwest of the US. None of these old houses have air conditioning because, at one point in time, they weren't needed. With climate change, my house might as well be a dang oven in the summer.
The Air Fryer is an absolute game-changer for making warm, fast food happen without melting into a sad sweaty puddle.
The amount of heat it lets off is *nothing* in comparison to the oven or my electric stovetop.
If you also live in an increasingly hot climate and would like to keep your home as cool as possible but you also love warm, fast meals, an Air Fryer could be the way to go.
p.s. During the 2021 heatwave, my housemate recorded 120 degrees Fahrenheit in the house. 120 degrees. In the house. 🙂
03. It's basically a tiny oven
In my initial Air Fryer research, I noticed that many home cooks balked at the idea of owning one. They always called them unnecessary because, essentially, it's just a convection oven.
A countertop convection oven.
But honestly, I think that's kinda great?? It's a tiny oven! That sits on your counter!
It does the same job as a bigger oven, but quicker. This is big for us ADHD folks who have a hard time planning ahead or waiting for meals to cook.
The only issue about the tiny oven's size is that it's not *that* tiny. It takes up a good amount of storage or counter space. We have to store ours outside of the kitchen.
Make sure you actually take out a tape measure to figure out how it'll fit in your space. Seriously.
they're sharing 🙂
Photo by Alena Shekhovtcova from Pexels
04. Great for making 1-2 person meals
I really love the Air Fryer for hearty lunches or when making meals for 1-2 people. It's truly been great for smaller quantities.
But because this thing is "just" a tiny countertop oven, it's not as helpful with large batches of food.
Even if you can fill your Air Fryer with food, the physics of cooking are still the same.
If you're looking for crispy "fried" results, you've got to leave ample room for your food so moisture doesn't get trapped. Crispiness only happens with a lack of moisture.
Some of the Air Fryers have massive basins—mine is one of them—but if you fill every inch, your food takes way longer to cook and get crispy.
You also have to rotate/ flip/ shake things more often.
I don't feel this level of attention is very ADHD friendly, so I avoid large batches.
I've never had an issue with minimal overlap in my Air Fryer, but I've certainly gotten annoyed with how long things take if there are more than 2 layers of stacked food.
05. Annoying to clean
I can only speak to my own Air Fryer model, but I have a hard time gathering the will to clean the thing.
They are, by no means, awful to clean! I just really hate doing dishes, regardless of what I'm washing.
The Air Fryer basin *is* a little clunky in the sink, and the one I use is nonstick so it requires waiting until it cools before submerging in water.
What often happens is:
I wait for it to cool but
I forget about it until the next time heat up frozen Samosas or
someone else finds the oily debris of a crispy meal
And it's either a bummer for me or a bummer for someone else.
It's not the worst thing in the world, though it definitely works against my ADHD.
If you've got a big sink or don't mind washing dishes, this likely won't be as much of an issue as it is for me.
another note: I haven't tried to cook excessively, uh, wet foods in my Air Fryer. I typically stick to frozen foods. But I hear that if you're cooking something that's prone to splattering at high temps, you'll have to clean the coils more often.
06. This isn't gonna "fry" your foods
If flavor and texture are what you're after—if you're seeking a crispy or caramelized meal—you still need Oil. The device isn't magic.
Remember, think of it as a tiny convection oven.
A convection oven means that there is an increase of hot air circulating within the cooking area, thus reducing moisture hanging around the food you're trying to get crispy.
This allows food to cook up faster, more evenly, and with a crispier texture.
Air is not going to replace the full-bodied goodness of a pan/ shallow/ or deep-fried dish. But adding a bit of Oil to whatever you're cooking in the Air Fryer will help give your food a more "fried" taste and texture.
Alternatively, you don't need Oil to cook in it though. Your favorite Oil-free oven recipes have the potential to work in an Air Fryer, too.
Is this Cauliflower burnt? Is it the perfect amount of crisp? To each their own.
07. How you use it is up to you!
There are tons of folks creating exclusive Air Fryer recipes on their sites. I know that there's an art to making the perfect French Fry or Crispy Baked Potato. I really appreciate the people taking the time to master this appliance.
But I'm not an Air Fryer Blogger—I write about food and ADHD.
I use my Air Fryer primarily for easy pre-cooked meals or microwave items that I can throw in without much effort. Sometimes I'll throw in a Baked Potato, make some crispy fried Tofu, or reheat leftovers if I'm feeling real rowdy.
If you're one to rely on pre-made freezer foods to reduce strain on executive function, the Air Fryer is perfect.
If you're one who really enjoys experimenting in the kitchen and getting the most out of your tools, I genuinely think an Air Fryer is a cool addition.
It's really up to you, your cooking habits, and your storage.
so should you buy one?
I wrote this because I don't want ADHD folks interested in Air Fryers to get too overwhelmed by all the info and hype (and occasionally negativity) about them.
They're an expensive appliance that I've found to be an excellent tool in my ADHD kitchen.
They've got a very specific purpose, and I find my Air Fryer to work really well for that purpose, as well as my ADHD. Despite the drawback of cleaning, of course.
If you're still unsure about getting one
I know I've said it a million times, but it really isn't more complex than this: think of it as a tiny convection oven.
Do you think a tiny convection oven and shorter cooking times would be useful? If so, then yeah it could be a great fit.
I recommend asking around if people in your life have one, and if so, do they like the model they have. You can also search around on Google for comparisons and reviews.
Because ours was a gift, I never did that kind of research. But I'm ultimately very happy with mine.
FWIW: my Air Fryer is one of the larger Ninja models. Do with this information what you'd like.
P.S. I wrote this post and a week later, our Air Fryer short-circuited due to a lightning storm. Basically, it was toast. We wound up getting in touch with Ninja and because it was under the year warranty still, they sent a new one. Great customer service.
The setback from an out-of-service Air Fryer was actually pretty awful, and it became clear just how much I relied on it for daily meals. I'm so happy to have a working one again.
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