Today’s “What I Eat in a Day” post is air fryer themed!

My parents got us an air fryer for Christmas and we’ve been playing around with different ways to use it. So far we’ve made chicken nuggets, sweet potato fries, coconut shrimp, and breakfast sausage. And most everything has turned out so well. The sweet potato fries were not quite as crispy as I wanted them to be, but we’ll keep working on that.

We have a very utilitarian kitchen. It’s relatively small with limited counter and cabinet space. So everything in here has to work really hard. We resisted the air fryer trend for a while because we’ve tried other machines in the past – the bread maker, the crock pot, a juicer. And I just felt like, these weren’t serving us well, so they had to go. So unless a machine is pulling its weight, it’s not going to last here. Storage space is precious and you have to earn it.

But so far the air fryer is earning its keep and I made some really great food in it today. And I’ll share that with you now.

Coffee

While filming my last video, I decided we needed a revamp to our coffee bar area. While I’m happy with the organizational strategy and functionality of this area, I feel like we could improve upon that and also make it a bit more tranquil because this is always my first stop in the mornings.

So we’ve discussed our needs and wants for this area and I’ve ordered a few things and I’ll be showing the changes we make soon. 

My coffee routine right now consists of collagen for my joints, almond milk for creaminess and maple syrup for sweetness. But today I’m also adding coconut milk and a chai spice mix. 

This is full fat coconut milk from a can. After we open the can, we save the milk in a mason jar in the fridge. If you try this, make sure you get the full fat version for full yumminess and also make sure you shake it up before you put it in your coffee. Coconut milk is a great source of Medium-Chain Triglycerides (or you may have heard some refer to them as MCT’s). These are healthy fats which can help protect your heart, and they can help you manage diabetes. And adding it to coffee gives another layer of creaminess.

The Chai Spice Recipe adapted from Ingrid Neilson’s Almond Chai Hot Chocolate recipe.

Here’s what I used:

  • 4 tsp ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp grated nutmeg
  • ½ tsp ground cloves
  • 2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp ground cardamom

Mix all together in a mason jar and shake. Add a teaspoon to coffee or hot cocoa as desired.

Cardamom, cloves and cinnamon and ginger all have so many health benefits. In fact, chai spice was originally brewed for medicinal purposes in the Ayurvedic tradition. 

All of these spices have antioxidant properties and anti-inflammatory properties. Ginger and cardamom are good for digestion. Ginger can also help with osteoarthritis, which I was just diagnosed with on Thursday. My suspicions that I tore my meniscus were echoed by the orthopedist I saw, but while I was there and he was looking at my xray, he also pointed out I was showing the beginning signs of arthritis in my knee. So I’m currently in the process of mourning the loss of my youth. And the calming chai spice is good for that too. 

This morning I”m going to drink my coffee in my office. I have pillows to prop up my old lady leg. I have my laptop I’ll be writing on, and a notebook I take notes in on the novel I’m currently writing and I have my journal, which I bought at the train station in Florence. Back when traveling wasn’t such a health risk. Which seems like so long ago. I’m sitting in my office today instead of the living room because it’s a cold rainy day and I have an electric heater that my husband bought me a few Christmases ago, and then he built a bookcase around it, which I love. It still makes me happy. Continuously. So I’m going to sit here and enjoy my coffee and do some writing.

Brunch

For brunch I’m making a frittata with eggs, cheddar cheese, ham, and spinach. We store our spinach in a ziplock bag with a paper towel, the Rachel Ray way, and it really does keep well. This spinach has lasted us a week and we are going to use the rest of it today.

I tried to be fancy here and crack two eggs at once and it totally backfired. And once again, I had to dig out some shards of eggshell. #Eggshellshappen

I’m also adding a bit of shredded mozzarella leftover from last night, when my husband made pizza. That’s what’s great about a frittata, you can really throw anything in. I love mushrooms in this as well, or peppers. Or tomatoes. You can get creative and use up whatever’s about to go bad in the fridge. 

I heat a cast iron skillet on the stovetop and melt some butter in it, then I pour in the rest of the ingredients in and spread it out. Then I cook it in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. This is a very reliable dish. It comes out fluffy and perfect every time. And it’s great for meal prep. This frittata will make six servings. My kids are not fans (yet) so this will feed my husband and myself for three days.

To go with the frittata, I’m making some homestyle fries in the air fryer. These are one of my favorite brunch foods when I’m out with the girls, but they are a mess and a lot of work to make at home, so I typically avoid that. But now. I can make them no fuss no muss with the air fryer. And I am so excited about it.

Potatoes sometimes get a bad rep. But these lovely french-fry-making root vegetables are full of flavonoids, which have strong antioxidant properties and can reduce oxidative stress (or cell damage) in the cardiovascular system. What that means is that potatoes can stabilize free radicals in your body, making them less reactive.

I just sprayed some avocado oil over the top, shook them around in the air fryer pan to get the oil distributed, and popped them in. When they came out I salted them a bit and they turned out so well. I cannot recommend them enough. 

Normally I’d add some avocado to this breakfast, just to bump up the nutrient content, and also to keep me full for longer because avocados have those healthy fats that filly me up, but they didn’t have them this week at our local grocery store, so I’m going to make a smoothie instead. I’m using a frozen banana and some cocoa powder. Normally I also have frozen avocado that I would put in this too. But we are out of that too. By the way I do not recommend freezing your banana like this. They are hard to peel while frozen and I’m fully aware of that, but sometimes I am just lazy and throw them in the freezer, peel and all. For your future self, however, it would be nice to peel them before freezing. Just saying. I’m going to add some trusty almond milk here and mix it up.

The rule in our house is that if you are not awake by 10 am, I have full authorization to use the Ninja blender. Yes it’s going to be loud and it might wake up the teenager, but at least I waited until 10 am. 

I don’t use any sweetener in my smoothies because I find the banana – if it’s ripe enough when you put it in the freezer – is already sweet enough. Bananas are also great for regulating high blood pressure. They have Fiber, Potassium and Folate, which your body uses to make red and white blood cells in the bone marrow.

Workout

I also love a long weekend workout. There’s no need to rush anything. I can turn the music on and really relax into it. Today I focused on some more strengthening exercises for my meniscus tear, then did some core yoga.

And yes I kept my cozy socks on for this. Because there were minimal standing poses because of my knee.

Another self care routine I enjoy sometimes on the weekends is a long bubble bath. I use a magnesium bubble bath oil from Life-Flow . I get this from Thrive Market and I love it. Studies have shown that the combination of adding magnesium and potassium coupled with a reduction in sodium intake is very effective in reducing high blood pressure.

Dinner

For dinner I’m making a bunch of veggies in the air fryer and some dips to dip them in and we’re gonna have a sort of air fryer feast.

Sweet potato fries, carrot chips and Brussels sprouts. Yogurt dip with garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, some lemon juice and some parsley.

Brussels sprouts are in the same family as cabbage, which we talked about in the last video. So it’s not hard to imagine they are big on nutrient content. These are one of my favorite vegetables. I roast these a lot and they are a great side dish to any meal. But they are also fun to dip, which is why I included them here.

Sweet potatoes have fiber for healthy digestion, magnesium to reduce stress and anxiety, they are anti-inflammatory, and they have potassium in them. 

Carrots get their bright orange color from beta carotene, which is an antioxidant that your body converts into vitamin A. They are also a great source of fiber and – for the ladies – these are great to eat right before or after your menstrual cycle because they help your liver process estrogen, which can help alleviate cramps.