Interesting …. I had a similar thought process for an air fryer. When I first got it, it was true: I rationalized that I got chicken strips rather than nuggets so they were less processed. However over time I started to use it better. While I still cook frozen fries occasionally, most of the time I use it for actual chicken

Air fryer is convenient for roasted or hasselback potatoes

I also got tired of manufactured marinara, so making pasta is usually in a lemon butter garlic or pesto sauce, and I’ll cut chicken into strips, marinate, and throw in the air fryer

Looping back to the microwave, same deal. There were times when it just facilitated over-processed food but now I probably use it most for defrosting. This morning i used it to soften some apples in cinnamon and brown sugar to put in pancakes.

I’ve definitely had major changes in my approach to cooking, so hopefully I can stay on my current path