Maria Emmerich - Keto Air Fryer: 100+ Delicious Low-Carb Recipes to Heal Your Body Help You Lose Weight

First published in 2019 by Victory Belt Publishing Inc.

Copyright 2019 Maria Emmerich

All rights reserved

No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission from the publisher.

ISBN-13: 978-1-628603-91-0

The author is not a licensed practitioner, physician, or medical professional and offers no medical diagnoses, treatments, suggestions, or counseling. The information presented herein has not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and it is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Full medical clearance from a licensed physician should be obtained before beginning or modifying any diet, exercise, or lifestyle program, and physicians should be informed of all nutritional changes.

The author claims no responsibility to any person or entity for any liability, loss, or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly as a result of the use, application, or interpretation of the information presented herein.

Cover design by Crizalie Olimpo
Front and back cover photos by Hayley Mason and Bill Staley
Recipe photos by Maria Emmerich and Jenny Ross
Interior design and illustrations by Yordan Terziev and Boryana Yordanova

Printed in Canada
TC 0119

Contents

Preface

When I finished my last book, Keto Instant Pot, my plan was to take a break and slow down to enjoy some time with my family. My boys are growing up too fast. If I could, I would freeze Micah and Kai at the ages they are at, eight and nine. They are funny, love to play board games every night, and help me in the kitchen.

But Ive been told this many times: If you want to hear God laugh, tell him what you have planned! And it couldnt be more true in many aspects of my life. Despite my plans for a break, when Erich, my publisher, called to discuss an air fryer book, I couldnt say no. I use my air fryer almost daily, so, to be honest, a keto air fryer book was destined to happen!

Fortunately, I was able to spend time with my boys while creating the recipes for this book. We had so much fun playing in the kitchen and crafting delicious air fryer recipes. Sure, we didnt play as many games of Boggle or Monopoly, but we adapted and had a great time!

It was an especially wonderful time because I had the great pleasure to write this book at the Keto Condo in Maui, which is the condo we own and rent out when we are not there. We call it the Keto Condo because I have all of my favorite keto books on the shelves, and we provide guests with a welcome basket filled with keto goodies. Many times I would write early in the morning before the sun came up, and for a break, I would head out on my paddleboard. Many times I went so far out that I came upon beautiful humpback whales!

My hope is that you get as much enjoyment from making these recipes as I did from creating them. Maybe theyll provide an opportunity for you to spend time with your own children or grandchildren. And whether youre cooking in Maui or Minnesota or Miami, I hope you find pleasure every day in living and eating healthy.

Note to Readers

Like many of you, I have had some really difficult times in my life. Life is like ocean waves, constantly rising and falling; everyone has high points as well as low points. It was during a low point that I had to stop spending money at restaurants and start cooking at home, and that ultimately helped me become the healthy ketogenic cook I am today. I have learned to accept the lows and have gratitude for the highs. The hardships Ive experienced taught me amazing lifelong lessons. I struggled out of the cocoon, and that struggle made me a butterfly with strong wings.

I want to dedicate this book to youyes, you. It is you and your support that have made my life possible. About four months after we adopted our baby boys, many years ago, my husband, Craig, lost his job. We kept this secret for a long time. It was such a scary time for us, and Craig didnt want to feel like he was failing his family. But thanks to all of you, my boys have the best stay-at-home dad ever! It is because of all of your support that we have our family.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, from all of usMaria, Craig, Micah, and Kai!

Keto Basics

You may have heard that a ketogenic diet is high in fat, moderate in protein, and low in carbs. But while there is more to a well-formulated ketogenic diet, there is really only one requirement to become ketogenic, and that is to cut your dietary carbs low enough.

Becoming ketogenic is about changing your bodys primary fuel from glucosewhich all carbohydrates break down intoto fat. It takes some time for the body to become efficient at using fat, but when it is, youre fat adapted or keto adapted.

When the body is keto adapted, it primarily uses fat (free fatty acids, or FFA) as its fuel. Some of this FFA goes to the liver and is turned into ketones to fuel parts of the body that can only run on glucose or ketones, like parts of the brain. It turns out that the brain loves running on ketones, and you get better moods, mental clarity, and more as a result. About 60 to 70 percent of the brain can run on ketones, and the brain thrives when it does as the brain prefers to run on ketones. Being ketogenic also has a wide range of health benefits, and its often accompanied by a drop in body fat.

But higher blood ketones is not associated with better results. Blood ketones are just the difference in fuel generated and fuel used. Also, the longer you are keto adapted the lower your blood ketones will be as your body is more efficient at using them. So dont worry about trying to get higher blood ketones. You could be 0.4 mmol/L and have great results.

There are many ways to become ketogenic, some healthy and some not so healthy. Here are just some of them:

Keep dietary carbs low (below 30 grams per day or so).

Get 90 percent of your calories from fat.

Eat no fat while keeping carbs very low.

Eat lots of trans fats and vegetable oils while keeping carbs low.

Dont eat anything for a period of time; exactly how long depends on your age (see the chart at right). Infants are always ketogenictheir blood ketone levels range from 0.5 mmol/L in a fed state to 2.0 mmol/L about two hours after eatingbut it generally takes adults longer.

Hours until you show elevated blood ketones, by age

Source: George F. Cahill Jr., Fuel Metabolism in Starvation, Annual Review of Nutrition 26 (2006): 122.

During fasting, the body uses fat for fuel, which raises ketone levels. The younger the individual, the faster ketone levels risebut everyone becomes ketogenic eventually.

As you can see, some methods for becoming ketogenic are obviously not very healthy (eating trans fats, for instancethey may help you become ketogenic, but theyre associated with heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes).

So what exactly does a genuinely healthy, well-formulated ketogenic diet look like? How do you know if youre eating the right proportion of macronutrients? Lets look at carb, protein, and fat in turn and talk about what to track for each, and then look at what a well-formulated ketogenic diet looks like overall.