Friday Food: NINJA AIR FRYER – Liver and Onions – and Watermelon Rose Water

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Happy Friday readers.

Part 1: Ninja Air Fryer 

Have you heard of the (not so new) Ninja Air Fryer?  

We brought one home this summer and it is convenient – makes food crispy and can be used for veggies and meats.  We will keep using ours – but I still prefer the cast-iron skillet. 

Mark’s Daily Apple (here) has 22 Keto Recipes for the air fryer.

The hubs likes to use the air fryer at times. For example, a frozen steak can be cooked quickly without defrosting it – six minutes on one side – flip it – and cook for another four minutes–  it is tender, pink inside bit of a crusty outer layer – and just really good.
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The air fryer also seems to be great for making crispy chicken.  

We have the larger Ninja air fryer, but it still only holds a few pieces of meat – (and this is great for veggies) and so we either make two batches or just use the oven. The part that bothers me here – is the teflon coated base – and all this “machine” that surrounds food while cooking it

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Last night I made liver and onions. Yes, you heard that right.

Now to some of you –  liver and onions seems like a dish the grandparents used to order (or make) and it might remind you of the foie gras from your travels.

Did you know that liver is a serious health food and some say it is the ultimate multi-vitamin food?

Anyhow, I have made two different versions of liver and onions in the Ninja Air Fryer and they both came out excellent:

 

My only complaint with the air fryer is the teflon (?) and whatever else the machine is made out of.

But it is sure better than radiation from a microwave oven.  

Part 2: Natural Flavors 

Tried some watermelon rose water this week – gave it a 2 out of 5 – and the sad part is the so-called “OTHER natural flavors”

it was okay – but not the best.

Did you know that “OTHER NATURAL FLAVORS” could mean chemicals?

The Primalist (here) wrote:

Don’t Be Fooled by “Natural” Flavors

  • “Natural flavors and artificial flavors sometimes contain exactly the same chemicals, produced through different methods… A natural flavor is not necessarily more healthful or purer than an artificial one.”
  • All these flavors are proprietary. Meaning the manufacturers have NO legal obligation to disclose what’s in them, as long as the chemicals are GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe – sounds reassuring, doesn’t it?).

FOODBABE (here) shared this: 

  • Natural flavors aren’t toxic. What they do is cause people to eat foods they wouldn’t normally eat. We all think we have the mental ability to control what we eat, but flavor technology makes us crave foods we wouldn’t normally go near. These foods (like unhealthy soda) can make you sick and even eventually kill you.
  • When looking at your food, ask yourself: “Did someone engineer this to be delicious or did nature engineer this to be delicious?”

While on the food topic – joining in with Pull Up A Seat week 38

Trent’s Weekly Smile (here)

And a Friday Funny for Profrifollies 4.12 HERE 

 

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Have you tried an air fryer?

Did you think “natural flavors” meant awesome – like I thought? 

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38 thoughts on “Friday Food: NINJA AIR FRYER – Liver and Onions – and Watermelon Rose Water”

  2. I love the cup, but the link didn’t work. I came here naturally, unlike a natural ingredient…. I try as hard as I can to eat as little processed food as possible. Not always possible, but… The fryer looks interesting. Not sure about the drink.

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    2. Thanks T – for naturally dropping by! Ha.
      And what is scary about the drink is that we see labels with “organic” and probiotics and gloss right over “other natural flavors”
      And the little things can add up
      —

      Liked by 1 person

  3. Scary thinking about foods that are engineered to make you crave them. We (my wife cooks, but we both eat) tend to stick with the traditional cooking methods. Mostly, we don’t have room for more small appliances.

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    1. Well here is one plug for the air fryer – food that is re-heated in one tastes oven fresh and means no microwave needed (and trying to not use microwaves anymore – but it is hard)

      Liked by 1 person

  6. The air fryer sounds like a great appliance. I don’t know of any negatives of Teflon. I must do some research. I think not cooking with oils would be good. Mostly when we cook, our food is surrounded by metal of some sort.
    I did think natural flavours meant natural so thanks for the heads up. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  8. My goodness! So “natural” may not be so natural after all. Go figure. Although I’m not quite sure why I’m surprised. I have an air fryer. Although I don’t use it all the time, I really like the way it crisps up foods — and no more frying in oil. I love to do bacon (I know but I’ll never be a vegetarian) — doesn’t sit in its own grease! I’ve lost between 25-30 pounds since March and I believe I’ve reached goal. I still want to lose a few more so I’ve tried to be so much more mindful of what I have to eat. And now hubby is jumping on the band wagon! Yay! I haven’t been able to officially weigh for a number of weeks as I’ve been recovering from pneumonia. Who would have thought? I didn’t have a clue till I was so sick I finally decided it wasn’t just a bad cold. On the upswing now! Sorry for all the extraneous info! LOL!

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    1. Oh Linda – thanks for chiming in and the extra info was a pleasant update today. And wow to the pneumonia – glad you are on the mend and also – congrats on the weight loss goals – – woo hoo! My hubs has been doing some health coaching for a year and half now and one of his former clients is almost off of all diabetes medicine from changing diet –
      Re: bacon
      I have made bacon in the air fryer twice and once time I made two strips! That is what I like about it – easy for a small something or other
      – and have you ever seen the pbs show Victoria?
      I loved it in season 1 when Victoria’s mother reluctantly let Victoria eat “bacon and beets” like the peasants ate! Well it made for some healthy babies!!
      Good food = good health
      And we just make sure our bacon is chemical free (no nitrates or nitrates and Uncured)

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  10. I have heard before liver is good but I also have heard that it could be bad too. I used to like it (not all kinds of them though) but now I am not sure I do like them anymore.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Well i did once hear that if an animal had chemicals it might show up in their liver – which is a filter, however – most would argue that the “fat” of an animal is what stores the chemicals and Dave from bulletproof suggests that if you are not sure of the animal and the way it was raised – trim the fat and eat the muscle meat- but if grass fed and humanely raised without chemicals – enjoy the fat too (something like that) and what I made were chicken livers – organic – cage free and no hormones –
      – and I can see why you are not sure if you like it or not –
      It is easy to forget and then can be cooked in so many different ways.
      Also – to me – beef liver Tastes different than bird liver
      – but do like it with onion…

      Liked by 1 person

  11. I have not heard of the air fryer before. Interesting concept. I cook a lot, from scratchy very day. I like using ingredients that are local, and in season, as much as I can. That was a lot easier in California, than here. I do try to get organic meat and vegetables, if I cannot grow them myself. Food is such a jungle nowadays. It seems easier to choose food with fewer ingredients, ingredients you know for sure what they are. If I don’t know exactly what an ingredients actually is, I don’t buy the item.

    Dinner last night was pretty awesome. My boyfriend BBQ some steaks, and served them with an avocado salad, and red wine. It was very good! I’m spoiled.

    Have a wonderful weekend!

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  12. Mmmmm – that dinner sounds so good and packed with nutrition!
    I love the advice to “know” what ingredients are…
    Thanks for adding that in as well
    😊☀️

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  15. I haven’t tried the air fryer, but I might give it a chance in the future. Having a small kitchen, I try to limit the number of “toys” 😀 But I did know about liver being a healthy resource; and you’re right, my grandmother used to cook it quite often. I actually like it, if it’s prepared well.

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    1. Hi Ana – you touched upon something key – liver has to be made correct –
      And I think there is a difference between chicken liver and beef — I like both but they cook different
      – and it could go very well in a small kitchen – but again – might not be needed

      Liked by 1 person

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