As the new school year gets underway, getting children back into a good routine can feel like a challenge in itself. Early mornings, packed lunches, after-school activities and homework all have to fit around family life – and finding the time to prepare healthy meals can sometimes end up at the bottom of the list.
For older children and young adults heading off to university, the challenge can be even greater. Suddenly, they are responsible for deciding what to eat, shopping for it and actually cooking it – often for the first time.
A new survey from Cosori found that 67% of students questioned said a lack of time was a barrier to preparing healthy meals, while 52% said they lacked inspiration about what to cook. As a mum, I can certainly understand why convenience becomes tempting when everyone is busy.
Making healthy eating easier
One of the suggestions from Cosori’s nutritionist, Leigh Ann Bauman, is to concentrate on balanced meals rather than trying to eat perfectly. That sounds like sensible advice to me. There can be a tendency to overcomplicate healthy eating, when a meal containing vegetables or fruit, a source of protein and some wholegrains can be a perfectly good starting point.
I also like the idea of cooking once and using the ingredients again. Preparing some vegetables, chicken, fish or other protein in advance means you can put together different meals during the week without starting from scratch every evening.
For students, particularly those cooking in a shared kitchen, keeping things simple is important. You don’t necessarily need lots of ingredients or complicated recipes to make a decent meal.
Where does the air fryer fit in?
Cosori’s campaign naturally puts the air fryer at the centre of its back-to-school advice, and I think it is worth looking at it as a helpful kitchen tool rather than a magic solution.
The big advantage is convenience. An air fryer can cook foods quickly with little or no added oil, and there is generally less washing up than with a full meal cooked using several pans. That can be particularly useful when you’re tired after a long day or trying to get dinner on the table quickly.
For families, it can also be handy for cooking smaller portions. And for a young person moving away from home, an appliance that is relatively straightforward to use can make the idea of cooking from scratch seem much less daunting.
Of course, an air fryer doesn’t automatically make everything you put in it healthy! Frozen chips, chicken nuggets and other convenience foods are still convenience foods. But it can be a useful way of cooking vegetables, fish, chicken and other ingredients without needing lots of oil.
A few easy habits that could make a difference
I particularly like the suggestion of making the healthier choice the easy choice. Keeping fruit, yoghurt, nuts, hummus and other simple snacks readily available means you’re less likely to reach for whatever happens to be closest when you’re hungry.
For older children heading off to university, I’d also suggest sending them away with a few genuinely easy recipes that they actually like. There is little point giving them a complicated list of healthy meals if they have never cooked them before!
A few reliable favourites – pasta with vegetables and a simple sauce, jacket potatoes with different fillings, omelettes, fish with vegetables or an easy traybake – can provide the foundations for much more confident cooking.
I think the most useful message from Cosori’s back-to-school campaign is that healthy eating doesn’t have to be perfect or complicated. When life is busy, anything that makes cooking quicker and easier can help.
For parents, it is also worth remembering that children don’t suddenly become confident cooks when they leave home. Giving them a few basic skills before they go – and showing them that healthy food can be quick, affordable and enjoyable – could be one of the most useful things we can do.
There are also options to suit different budgets and kitchens, with COSORI air fryers currently starting at £59.99 for the compact 2L Mini Air Fryer. For a student heading off to university, I think the mini would be particularly appealing: it is small enough for a limited kitchen space and COSORI says its 2L models are suited to one or two people. Larger models are available too, including the 6L TurboBlaze at £129.99 and dual-basket models from £159.99.
