Meals and cooking
If your patient/client is able to cook for themselves these tips may help.
- Keep the kitchen items used most often together and within easy reach. For example keep cups, tea, coffee and sugar next to kettle where they will be used.
- Organise kitchen cupboards to avoid bending down or reaching up for the items they use regularly.
- Leave dishes to drain on a rack instead of towel drying.
- Sit down to cook, or take regular rests while preparing meals. A perching stool can help. Pace the task to save energy for eating and other things.
- Slide heavy items such as pans of food along worktops rather than lifting them.
- If preparing food while standing, keep close to the worktop for support.
- Kitchen trolleys are useful to carry items around the kitchen or to other rooms in the house.
- Use recipes which can be made in one pan. Stews and casseroles.
- Try using a metal basket inside a saucepan. Putting food in the basket means they do not need to lift a heavy hot saucepan; easier and safer when draining cooked vegetables, potatoes or pasta.
- Have some pre made meals as options. This could be small portions of foods to re heat in a microwave straight from the fridge or freezer or quick cook foods like scrambled eggs on toast, tins of soup, fruit or milkshakes.
- Some companies specialise in ready meal deliveries to the freezer.
- Most local council social work departments will have arrangements for delivery of meals for housebound people.
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