I’ll admit it, I’m a bit of a bar bite-aholic. Give me a great plate of cheesy nachos and a cold beer and I am one happy girl. Lately I have been trying my hardest to stay away from these types of foods (gotta’ work on that summer body), but when the craving strikes you best believe I’m going to go for the fried food…there’s really just nothing like it. Unfortunately, there’s also nothing like the calorie count that goes along with it. That’s why when T-Fal reached out to me to try out their ActiFry I was so excited. A machine so versatile that it can make my favourite types of foods like chips, risotto and stir-fry with only 1 tablespoon of oil? Sign me up!
One of my guilty bar bites pleasures are spicy hot pepper chips and dip. Embarrassingly enough I’ll eat them by the pound…no sharing, thanks! So naturally my first thought upon receiving the T-Fal ActiFry was to attempt to make the jalapeno infused chips that I am so obsessed with, paired with a cool and creamy Caesar dip. I’ll admit, I was a bit hesitant at first to try the ActiFry. Could a machine that uses only a small amount of oil actually live up to my expectations of fried bar bits? To my surprise and delight it totally did! Albeit the chips were a bit smaller than I would have liked, they were perfectly and evenly cooked, crispy and the flavour was totally there. The machine was also a breeze to use. I literally sliced and seasoned my potatoes, popped them into the ActiFry, shut the lid and set the timer. No mess, no bubbling frying oil (which in my opinion is an accident waiting to happen) and they were a whole lot healthier. With the ActiFry my fried food craving was completely satisfied, no excess grease, just spicy, crispy chips and a whole lotta’ satisfaction.
Ps: Interested in winning a T-Fal ActiFry of your own? Be sure to enter by clicking the link here for your chance!
Jalapeno infused chips:
6-8 frying potatoes (like russet or Yukon gold)
Jalapeno juice (I used juice from 1 jar of pickled jalapenos)
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
salt + pepper to taste
½ spoon of vegetable oil
optional toppings:
o diced jalapenos
o diced green onion
o sprinkle of cayenne pepper
For the jalapeno infused chips:
wash and scrub potatoes thoroughly
Carefully cut potatoes 1/3” thick using a mandolin
Submerge potatoes in water, and rinse them a few times to remove any excess starch
Strain the water and pour jalapeno juice over the potatoes to coat. Let the potatoes
soak for at least 20 minutes-1 hour
Strain the potatoes and lay them flat on paper towel to dry
Sprinkle potatoes with salt, pepper and cayenne and place them in the Actifry
Pour oil over the potatoes and set the Actifry for 25 minutes.
Watch the potatoes carefully, carefully open the Actifry after 12 minutes to give the
potatoes a little stir.
Remove the chips from the Actifry and top with jalapeno pieces, green onion and
cayenne pepper.
Creamy Caesar Dip:
½ cup creamy Caesar dressing
¼ sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
handful of chopped green onions
½ tsp red pepper flakes
For the creamy Caesar dip:
Add all ingredients into a bowl, mix, cover and place in the fridge until ready to serve.
Nutrition per serving (1/6th batch chips without dip):
305 calories
2 g total fat
64 g carbs
8 g protein
Nutrition per serving traditional method* (1/6th batch chips without dip):
552 calories
30 g total fat
64 g carbs
8 g protein
*deep-fried in vegetable oil, estimated values based on weight of potatoes at 10% fat absorbed
ACTIFRY ADVANTAGE:
Preparing these chips in the ActiFry saves 28 grams of fat and almost 250 calories per serving.
Thank you to T-Fal for sponsoring this post, all opinions are my own.
