easy to prepare and eat --- with broken elbow

alice's_mum

anyone got any ideas for things i can cook and manage to eat without help - i've broken my right elbow (am right handed!) and am finding food the most difficult, oh is doing his bit, but am at home for 3 weeks - no work coz can't drive, and i have to make lunch for me and then evening meal for kids as oh not home until too late for them.

am stuck for ideas that don't require toomuch preparation , can't even put butter on bread!!!! and kids are 7 and 3 so a bit too young to help with cutting things.

any help gratefully received

needmoney

Oooooh alice's Mum I feel so sorry for you, that's really hard. I don't have much help for you but after 12 views thought you deserved some sympathy and a reply.

What about shopping for a few ready meals that you can just put in the oven with your good hand, some ready soups the ones you just cut the tops of I'm sure your little seven year old could help there.

Bananas and bread and butter 7yr can butter. cheese can be cut with a blunt knife, boiled eggs, sorry not beeen much help but I'm sure lots more will be along for you soon..Hope your well soon.

culpepper

pasta or rice and frozen mixed veg with mince and tinned chopped tomatoes.
oven chips ,grilled sausages ,peas
sliced bread and spreads they can spread themselves(peanut butter,jam,choc spread)
small fruit like seedless grapes
easy peel fruit like bananas
biscuits

dianasnan

i did the same about 10 years ago and you have my sympathy. getting dressed is no fun with one hand especially your undies and you can do yourself a nasty with a toothbrush in the wrong hand.

On a practical note I asked my neighbours for help in the first week including slicing meat and tomatos. i also bought an electric Kenwood can opener as i found that I could rest my cast on it to operate the motor and use my good hand to steady the can, well the cat still had to eat even if the food was then thrown onto her plate

I managed to throw pork chops, sausages, bacon and steak on the grill and used a pair of tongs to pick things up and left the marg out of the fridge so that it was soft enough to spread. put some ready diced meat or chicken into the slow cooker with a frozen stew pack.

some rubbery nonslip matting helped to keep food in place whilst i hacked it into chunks and if you put your cast arm into a plastic bag then you can use it to steady food fairly hygienically even to cut a sandwich.

good luck and just think ahead carefully when trying to do anything to minimilise any danger.

recovering_spendaholic

I think you are a total hero to be even thinking of cooking in your condition!!! As others have said pasta should be okay, but I think that in a situation like this a few ready meals wouldn't go amiss!!

Kazonline

recovering_spendaholic wrote:

I think you are a total hero to be even thinking of cooking in your condition!!! As others have said pasta should be okay, but I think that in a situation like this a few ready meals wouldn't go amiss!!

Hear hear! :T I'd probably have used it to get a few extra takeaways
I can't think of anything that hasn't allready been suggested, but if anything does spring to mind later I'll pop back.
Hope it's quick to mend,
Kaz x

alice's_mum

I think that in a situation like this a few ready meals wouldn't go amiss!!

thanks for the sympathy and ideas guys, would go for some ready meals, but will probably blow my budget and have to be careful what rubbish they have in them, msg, aspartame and other such things are banned from dd's diet (she's got trichtilomania - she pulls her own hair out!) and these have been id'd as being triggers

---

so i try to cook from scratch, will check out the ready meals and maybe get mum round to do some cooking i can freeze, likewise mil, pasta i can manage, though getting from boiling water to pan is fun.

any other ideas?

Wickedkitten

I did the same about 7 years ago and got by alright with one hand with pasta.

Wonder_Girl

I have a recipe for a lovely tomato risotto that you microwave, only chopping required is 1 onion but i'm sure you could make it without.

it’s dead easy and goes with pretty much anything.

Let me know if you want the recipe and I will PM

Bogof_Babe

Echoing Dianasnan, a one-handed tin opener will be your best bet, opening up (excuse the pun) all sorts of possibilities, even if you don't normally use tinned food. No need to chop an onion if you use cans of pre-chopped. Likewise potatoes - tinned aren't the same as fresh but are quite edible. Obviously tins of mince, chicken in sauce, corned beef etc. are store cupboard basics.

If you only have a standard tin opener, can you do a meal plan for the following day, and get your partner to open the cans and decant the contents into bowls (then refrigerate) the night before or the same morning?

Quackers

My daughter only has the use of one hand permanently and the kitchen is a nightmare area.:rolleyes:

We are slowly buying lots of gadgets so she can prepare and cook her own food as she needs to learn to be independant.

In the short term I think Bogof_babes idea of getting someone to 'prepare' the food that you will need the night before is an excellent idea. You know like they do on the cookery programs? They have little bowls of everything ready and as the chef you can just chuck it into a pan. Although I know its the fiddly bits like holding a pan and stirring it that are also difficult!!

Just off to google Bogof_babes one handed tin opener to see if it will help my daughter

Good luck - you'll need it