Tag Archives: cooking with arthritis

adapting your house for arthritis

Adapting Your House When You Have Arthritis

Does your hip throb when you get in and out of the bathtub?

Are stiff fingers making it tough to prep meals in the kitchen? Whether you have osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis or psoriatic arthritis, some daily tasks – cooking, bathing, doing laundry and moving around the house– can become a real challenge.

You don’t need to spend thousands of dollars on remodeling improvements. There are steps you can take to make your home safe and protect your joints.

“The goal is to use adaptations to preserve your ability to perform and participate in activities of daily living,” says Scott Trudeau, PhD, OTR/L, productive aging program manager at the American Occupational Therapy Association.

Here are six tips to help you prep your abode for life with arthritis.

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Kitchen Tips Arthritis

Arthritis-Friendly Kitchen Tips

Preparing healthy, nutritious meals is important for fighting inflammation and keeping healthy, but cooking can be daunting when your knees are aching or your fingers are stiff. No one would blame you if you’re tempted to pick up fast food or if you call in an order for pizza, but if you do that too often, health goes down and weight goes up. Instead, try these shortcuts that help make cooking with arthritis easier.

Batch cook. Prepare double portions or even enough for the whole week. For example, cook two or more chicken breasts at a time and refrigerate the leftovers to use in salads or sandwiches the next day. You can also freeze the extras, and use them when you’re not having a good day.

Consider convenience. Try fresh or frozen pre-cut vegetables and fruits.

Stock the crock. Place meat or poultry, pre-sliced vegetables, spices and liquid in a crock pot; turn it on and hours later enjoy a hot cooked meal – and only one pot to wash.
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Arthritis Friendly Kitchen Tools

Arthritis-Friendly Kitchen Tools

Cooking poses countless challenges for people with arthritis hands. We found a few arthritis-friendly kitchen tools and gadgets that are easy-to-use to solve common kitchen problems.

Problem: Safely and accurately slicing bagels and English muffins.

Solution: Use a bagel or English muffin slicer. The Larian Bagel Guillotine is a safe way to cut the perfect bagel or English muffin without having to grip a knife or fear nicking your fingers.

Problem: Finely chopping garlic.

Solution: There’s no need to wield a knife or squeeze garlic cloves in a press when you can use a handy kitchen gadget. With the Garlic Zoom, you simply roll it across the counter to chop garlic.

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