How (and why) I cook when I'm in pain
The one exception to this is if my parents offer to cook tea or, like this afternoon, my amazing mam turns up with days worth of meals pre-prepared. For some reason, it feels ok to relinquish the responsibility to my mam - I guess nobody is too old to be looked after by their parents when they are ill 😁.
I love spending Sunday evenings planning out our meals, making sure we get a good balance of tasty and healthy meals across the week. Over the past few years I've learned a few techniques to help keep me in the kitchen, so I thought I'd share them in the hope it might help others.
Have a chair or stool handy
There may be times where you need to watch over something cooking on the hob, wait for the kettle to boil or keep an eye on something under the grill. Take the opportunity to have a little sit down if that will help you.
I love spending Sunday evenings planning out our meals, making sure we get a good balance of tasty and healthy meals across the week. Over the past few years I've learned a few techniques to help keep me in the kitchen, so I thought I'd share them in the hope it might help others.
Have a chair or stool handy
There may be times where you need to watch over something cooking on the hob, wait for the kettle to boil or keep an eye on something under the grill. Take the opportunity to have a little sit down if that will help you.
Make yourself comfortable
I can often be found cooking in my pyjamas and slippers, with my wearable hot water bottle strapped to me.
Make one-pot meals
When I'm not well I make a lot of casseroles, curries, easy pasta meals etc. The less elements there are to your meals, the less running around you will do.
Use some handy gadgets
I LOVE a good kitchen gadget and have cupboards full of them. My three favourites are the electric pressure cooker, the slow cooker and the air fryer. My favourite things about these is not having to stand over and keep an eye on them - handy both when I'm ill and when the kids want my attention.
I also have a food processor, hand blender, burger press, potato chipper (seriously), apple cutter, bread maker, steamer... the list could go on, and on. If you have a particular job that you find arduous in the kitchen, there is likely a gadget to make it easier.
Use frozen pre-prepared veg
For casseroles and soups I often use frozen casserole veg. I do find that fresh is that bit better, mostly because I can control the veg ratios better, but the frozen stuff is perfectly fine. I also sometimes use frozen mashed potato as a side dish - it might sound petty but the faff on of peeling, chopping and boiling potatoes is one of my most-hated kitchen tasks. If you are having it with gravy or as a pie-topping it is barely noticeable that it's not made fresh.
Buy diced meat (if you're a meat eater)
This isn't always the most economical option, so I tend to buy some when it's on offer and freeze it. I can then chuck it straight in the pressure cooker from frozen.
Don't sweat the small stuff
I often use gravy granules, frozen yorkshires and pre-mixed dumpling mix. Yes, I would love to make everything from scratch, but that's just not feasible sometimes.
Thanks for reading, I hope that was helpful to some of you. For an easy meal idea read my Quick & Easy Weeknight Roast post.
For more on my cooking, living, working and parenting with chronic illness please like my Facebook page and follow me on Instagram.
Make one-pot meals
When I'm not well I make a lot of casseroles, curries, easy pasta meals etc. The less elements there are to your meals, the less running around you will do.
Use some handy gadgets
I LOVE a good kitchen gadget and have cupboards full of them. My three favourites are the electric pressure cooker, the slow cooker and the air fryer. My favourite things about these is not having to stand over and keep an eye on them - handy both when I'm ill and when the kids want my attention.
I also have a food processor, hand blender, burger press, potato chipper (seriously), apple cutter, bread maker, steamer... the list could go on, and on. If you have a particular job that you find arduous in the kitchen, there is likely a gadget to make it easier.
Use frozen pre-prepared veg
For casseroles and soups I often use frozen casserole veg. I do find that fresh is that bit better, mostly because I can control the veg ratios better, but the frozen stuff is perfectly fine. I also sometimes use frozen mashed potato as a side dish - it might sound petty but the faff on of peeling, chopping and boiling potatoes is one of my most-hated kitchen tasks. If you are having it with gravy or as a pie-topping it is barely noticeable that it's not made fresh.
Buy diced meat (if you're a meat eater)
This isn't always the most economical option, so I tend to buy some when it's on offer and freeze it. I can then chuck it straight in the pressure cooker from frozen.
Don't sweat the small stuff
I often use gravy granules, frozen yorkshires and pre-mixed dumpling mix. Yes, I would love to make everything from scratch, but that's just not feasible sometimes.
Thanks for reading, I hope that was helpful to some of you. For an easy meal idea read my Quick & Easy Weeknight Roast post.
For more on my cooking, living, working and parenting with chronic illness please like my Facebook page and follow me on Instagram.
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