Hey Reader!

In the 86th issue of The MF Kitchen, you'll slice into the details of:

• Recipes for my Spring Roll Salad w/ Low Cal Thai Peanut Dressing and Cosmic Brownie Protein Mini Cheesecakes!
• One of my favorite <500 calorie fat loss meals!
• Crispy food in your air fryer every time (just follow these steps)...
• This viral nostalgic snack (and how to make it macro friendly)...

Preheat your ovens…

---

Weekly Recipe Roundup 🍽️

Spring Roll Salad w/ Low Cal Thai Peanut Dressing If you are looking for a BIG salad recipe for the week, this Spring Roll Salad with the Low Cal Thai Peanut Dressing is a must try! Only 373 calories with 52g protein for a BIG bowl! Click below to download the recipe and make it easy yourself: ​​​Spring Roll Salad w_Low Cal Thai Peanut Dressing.pdf​

Cosmic Brownie Protein Mini Cheesecakes These Cosmic Brownie Protein Mini Cheesecakes are a super quick and easy mini cheesecake recipe 🤌 And ONLY 46 calories with 8g protein per! Just 368 calories for all 8! ​​Click below to download the recipe and make it easy yourself: ​​​Cosmic Brownie Protein Mini Cheesecakes.pdf​

---

Recipe Recreations Of The Week 🤌

🍟 Homemade Fries

Macros for the WHOLE Batch of Fries (½ on the plate):
​360 Cals, 72g Carbs, 4g Fat, 9g Protein

Here's the recipe for the fries:
👉 ​​https://www.instagram.com/p/C7RyqGwsavZ/​

---

Zach's Beats 🎧

​You Don't Know About Me R3hab Remix - Ella Vos​

---

This Week’s Flavor 🎥

One of my favorite <500 calorie fat loss meals! It’s super easy and convenient to make and has the best macros for a satisfying and filling meal. ​Click here to watch the video.​

---

One FAQ ❓

Answer: Let’s fix this ASAP!

Because what’s the use of an Air Fryer if we can’t get that CRISPY perfection!?

No more limp, soggy, flaccid disappointment lol.

So let’s do some troubleshooting to figure out what’s going on.

I am going to give you a CRISPY checklist to run through:

1.) How big is your Air Fryer?

This is often overlooked.

Bigger is not better here (unfortunately).

This is one of the very few downfalls of this appliance because (by definition) it’s basically a small convection oven (the standard oven you have in your house), but with a more powerful fan and a smaller cooking space.

The fan in an air fryer is typically located at the top and operates at a higher speed, creating a more intense and concentrated heat circulation.

Aka helping to create that delicious crispiness while not overcooking the inside of the food. A perfect balance!

In a convection oven, the fan is usually at the back, and the air circulation is less forceful.

In summary, the air fryer can create an intense cooking environment that the convection oven just cannot.

2.) So what is the perfect size Air Fryer?

I’ve tried them ALL.

And what I have found is that a 6 quart is the max size that still gives you the benefits of the air fryer while also allowing you more room for food.

So which air fryer do I recommend you get?

I highly recommend the Instant Pot Vortex 6 Quart.

Why this exact 6 quart? Two reasons.

1. Many 6 quarts have different sizes. Aka some are taller with less tray surface area. While others are less tall with more tray surface area (which is what we want!)
2. Large range of temperature options. Most air fryers don’t go down to 250 degrees. This one does. And it goes all the way up to 400 degrees F as well.

So putting those two points together, the Instant Pot Vortex 6 Quart is the one I have found to be the best I have ever used.

It’s the one I have used for the past 3+ years.

And I have tried soooo many different ones.

Because of its versatility, you can cook a solid amount at one time.

Also, I make a lot of sweet recipes so the ability to fit certain pans in there is amazing as well.

But also the 6-quart size allows my sweet recipes to achieve a perfectly moist inside texture with a golden outside.

3.) Check the Max Wattage of your Air Fryer.

The max wattage of the air fryer matters as well!

For a 6-quart, you definitely want the wattage to be at least 1700 or higher.

Because if not, it’ll take forever for the air fryer to heat up thus leading to sub par crispy results.

4.) Don’t overcrowd the basket.

This is probably the #1 culprit.

It’s tempting to load it up with as much food as possible (because we’re HUNGRY, right?!).

But here’s the thing, the air fryer works by circulating hot air around the food.

If the basket’s too crowded, the air can’t do its thing.

You want the food to have enough space to breathe so it crisps up properly.

5.) Pat your food dry.

If you’re cooking anything that’s naturally moist (like chicken or veggies), make sure you give it a good pat down with paper towels first.

Extra moisture is the enemy of crispiness!

Dry food = better crisping.

Trust me, it’s worth the extra minute.

Then you can add your seasonings and also what I mention is tip #6.

6.) A light oil spritz goes a LONG way.

This is where most people mess up.

You don’t need to drown your food in oil, but a little mist of oil spray can make all the difference in the world.

I use avocado oil spray because it’s high heat-friendly and has a neutral taste.

Too little oil, and your food can come out dry and rubbery.

Too much, and you have a ton of extra calories with very little extra benefit.

Balance is key!

7.) Shake (or Flip) things up!

Halfway through cooking, give the basket a shake (or flip your food) to make sure it’s getting evenly cooked on all sides.

It helps to keep the airflow moving and ensures that everything gets crispy, not just the tops.

That about covers it!

Hope your food comes out crispier than ever 😁

---

Serving Surprise 😮

R.I.P to one of the goated desserts of all time 🙏🏻

You will always be missed.

BUT nostalgia sells like crazy so Cold Stone is taking advantage of that.

They recently launched their own version of the Choco Taco but OREO and sprinkles.

And it’s going stupid viral.

I wanted to go try one before I remade it myself but the closest Cold Stone was over 30 miles away 😅

So we're just going to assume it’s a solid 6.5/10 lol.

But the macros are terrible (of course) because that’s how life is in these not so macro friendly streets 🤣

680 Cals, 86g Carbs, 36g Fat, 5g Protein.

And to be fair, there is zero chance these macros are right. 680 calories for how big those tacos are seems terribly under shooting the calories.

But anyways, I went down a rabbit hole of R&D to figure how you can make this at home for a fraction of the calories.

I didn’t want to get a damn waffle cone maker.

So how could I make these?

I heard of a method ice cream shop owners use when prepping their waffle cones.

Sometimes they reheat the cone to reshape them.

The reheating makes them pliable again and then they harden right back up.

So then it dawned on me to try using Pizzelles to do this.

They are super macro friendly too (only 35 calories per) so was hoping they would work.

And they DID!

Just microwave for 20-25 second covered in a paper towel and then immediately form into a taco!

Would’ve loved to put a ninja creami ice cream in these but I wanted them for sweet treat meal prep.

And putting a ninja creami spun ice cream back in the freezer would just turn back into a block of ice.

I could’ve used a low calorie ice cream from the store as well but wanted to just make my own.

Here’s the full recipe:

Macros for each Ice Cream Taco w/toppings:​
137 Cals, 19g Carbs, 5g Fat, 4g Protein

Ingredients (makes 15 Ice Cream Tacos):

• 60g Birthday Cake Whey/Casein Blend Protein Powder
• 8g Sugar Free/Fat Free Cheesecake Pudding Mix
• 5g Zero Cal Sweetener
• 1 Container Fat Free Cool Whip (about 215g)
• 6 OREO Thins (no filling, just outside cookies)
• 15 Pizzelles (I used REKO brand)
• 120g Melted Chocolate
• Sprinkles

Directions:

1. Time to make waffle taco shells. Take 1 pizzelle at a time and cover each side in a paper towel. Microwave for 25 seconds. Then IMMEDIATELY form into a taco. These harden within seconds. Repeat for all 15 tacos.
2. Now for the ice cream filling. Add your protein powder and sweetener to a bowl and mix. Then slowly add cold water and mix till you get a runny icing consistency. Then fold in your frozen fat free cool whip. Try not to overmix. Then add your crushed outside oreo thin cookies and mix those in.
3. Evenly add to 15 waffle tacos. Add to the freezer till frozen (at least 3-4 hours).
4. Then dip each in melted chocolate and add sprinkles on top.
5. Add back to the freezer for 30-60 minutes and then enjoy!

Here's the link to watch the video:​
👉 https://www.instagram.com/p/DMvTTWysG6n/​

---

Here’s a little look behind my data analytics for my social media accounts.

It’s August 10th.

And historically, from August to the end of November, my content doesn’t do “as well.”

Aka this is the time of the year when people turn off the fat loss parts of their brains lol.

I know that isn’t you and me just because this is a lifestyle for us.

We cook, we eat, we live.

I was going to ask you a question but there really isn’t anything I want to know right now.

So just want to take this opportunity to say thank you for being here. Means the world.

This has become a really damn cool community.

And what’s most exciting for me right now is putting together more in person stuff for us as a community.

I will most definitely keep you posted!

Have a great Sunday!

Much love and happy cooking,
​Zach

​
​

​

​

​