Like many of you (although we don’t like to admit it) I’m a huge fan of fried food. Unfortunately, my arteries and waistline are not. Though the idea of trying an air fryer intrigued me, I must say, I was quite skeptical. The timing was interesting since I had just vowed to go low-carb. In another life, I would have used it to fry packaged appetizers and tater tots.
The Avalon Bay Air Fryer (200ss) arrived packaged nicely and was super easy to set up. At first, I was intimidated by it and, since it didn’t come with an idea book or recipes, I was a women on an Air Frying island. Pinterest to the rescue! I looked up air frying and immediately had more ideas than I knew what to do with! 
In keeping with my low carb lifestyle, I tried chicken wings first. My skepticism kept me from taking and pictures or video on my first attempt. Boy was I wrong! With no effort, literally just salt and pepper, 20 minutes later we had beautifully crispy chicken wings. My teenage boys scarfed them down in no time flat. I figured I would spend the rest of my evening cleaning up the gooey mess that must have been in the bottom of the fryer. Wrong again. The non-stick frying basket and the container that catches the drippings cleaned up in a snap.
I have since made LOTS more chicken wings. I even got fancy and tossed them in buffalo and asian sauces after frying. I’ve also made zucchini bites (low carb with almond flour even) and they were scrumptious. Just to really test it out, I fried up some good old fashioned tater tots and the boys said they were great. The controls are super simple and, so far, mistake proof. Easy to check progress and turn food over if necessary. The BEST part is you’re never left with spattered grease all over the kitchen and stovetop.
The only drawback I see to this nifty machine is its size. It is a little oddly shaped so storage isn’t a total breeze. I don’t fry enough to justify leaving it out on the counter. That said, its convenience and impressive healthy frying abilities forced me to find an easy access spot for it in the pantry.
The Avalon Bay Air Fryer is great tool for the healthy kitchen. Finally, a way to eat healthy and not feel deprived. Give it a try!
Erin is a writer for Jen is on a Journey. She’s a 40 year old Student Data Specialist at a rural K-8th grade school, but her most important job in life is being a wife (married almost 21 years) and mom to two boys 18 and 15. Ever the multi-tasker, she loves to volunteer and be involved with her boys’ activities. Vice President of the High School all sport booster club and Player Agent of the local Babe Ruth baseball league, her greatest joy is watching her boys do what they love. In her spare time (what’s that?) she enjoys custom making & selling t-shirts, sweatshirts and other gift items. A HUGE fan of all things sparkly, she tries to leave a little trail of glitter wherever she goes. Find Erin online, http://facebook.com/
Product was sent for honest review, all opinions are 100% my own.
Hi, my name is Erin and I’m a technology geek. It’s true, my husband has called me “gadget girl” pretty much since we met in 1992. The gadgets are WAY cooler now. So, when I was asked to try out the brand new, unlocked 
The ALCATEL ONETOUCH smartphone is unlocked, meaning you simply pop your sim card into the back of the phone and you’re off. No contracts, no payment plans. I was skeptical but it really was SUPER simple to swap out the sim card from my Galaxy to the new ONETOUCH IDOL 3. Right away, my contacts were available. Good thing because I’ve decided I know entirely too many people. Having two teenage boys, most of their names start with “Coach”. The ALCATEL ONETOUCH 3 has a very nice 5.5” full HD display. The resolution is amazing. Geek alert! This is the first phone of it’s kind that has a fully reversible display. This means you can multi-task until your heart’s content. Pick up the phone right-side-up or upside down and you can just start talking. 
There’s a microphone on both sides. To go along with the great display, the dual FRONT FACING speakers deliver sound unlike any cell phone I’ve ever heard. Can’t believe it’s taken this long for a phone manufacturer to realize that when we are watching videos on our phone, we are IN FRONT OF IT! Duh, why are other dinky speakers on the back?
All moms will want to know that this little baby has a GREAT camera too. We took it on this summer’s staycation and it was the only camera I used. The display makes it easy to see the photo you’re taking EVEN IN FULL SUN!!!! I took several hundred photos and there’s room for all of them. Resolution of the photos is top notch as well.
This brings me to the perfect companion to the IDOL 3. The ONETOUCH WATCH. This thing is COOL!!! Does all the things you want your activity tracker to do like; steps, sleep, stopwatch, calories, etc. I have another activity tracker and either the ONETOUCH WATCH is more accurate or my previous tracker is stingy because it seems a little more difficult to rack up the steps.
OK, here’s the coolest part (keep in mind, I’m a geek). The wallpaper!!! Fully customizable! You can use one of the many backgrounds provided, or, better yet, use ANY PHOTO ON YOUR PHONE!!! I’m not going to lie, my watch face has matched my outfit every single day since it arrived. LOVE this feature. 
It will also chime your phone when you’ve misplaced it. I’ve used that feature more than a few times. By the way, the ONETOUCH WATCH will pair with just about any Android or iOS phone so you don’t have to own the IDOL 3 to use this neat smartwatch. At a bargain price of $149, it’s a smartwatch for everyone.
I know what you’re thinking, TableRunner? What’s that? I want one! I’ll tell you what it is. It’s gourmet food, ready to heat and eat, sitting on your front porch when you get home! I simply visited the website, chose my favorites and it showed up on my porch. 
I’ll be honest, when I was first approached to try a fresh food delivery service I thought there is no way this is going to be very tasty. Convenient, sure, but delicious, no way. Well, I was very wrong. Let me break this down for you.
I definitely see this as a fantastic gift for a new mom, someone who’s had surgery or a death in the family. I can see myself ordering during the crazy busy times in our household. It’s so nice to know you won’t have to rush out to fast food even when the family calendar is jam-packed.
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS PROMOTION
TableRunner has created a limited edition Warriors t-shirt that will be included with the meal’s of new and veteran meal subscribers! Go Warriors!
In an uncharacteristically rookie move, I plugged the shiny new speaker in in my 15 year old son’s room. Needless to say, my first exposure to the clarity of sound in this cool little unit was not as I planned. I pictured dusting away to a little classic Bon Jovi or mopping while doing a little Uptown Funk. Instead, I heard Eminem blaring from upstairs. Clearly, the speaker was super easy to pair with the bluetooth on my son’s iPod. Without the box, instructions (or my permission) he was up and running in minutes. Over the next several days he seemed to carry it with him constantly when he was home. Even brought it into my car a few times to share his “music” (I use the term lightly. We don’t share the same musical tastes all the time.).
In the last couple weeks, I’ve managed to get custody of the speaker several times and I’m impressed. It pairs effortlessly to any phone or mp3 player that’s bluetooth enabled. It’s battery lasts FOREVER (seriously, we’ve only charged the thing a couple times in 2 weeks). This is a good thing because I would have loved to have a wall charger included. It’s not always convenient to plug into a computer. The battery life makes up for the small inconvenience.
