Kitchen Help
Cut, stir, chop and bake to your heart’s – and your joints’ – content.
The Food Network’s Sandra Lee and other experts show you how to get cooking again.
By Kenna Simmons
Has arthritis driven you out of the kitchen? Maybe you’ve given up making your favorite dishes because the pain of chopping vegetables, stirring soups or lifting heavy baking pans from the oven is just too much.
Cooking at home has many benefits, both for your health and your quality of life. You’re more likely to eat healthy at home (where you can control the ingredients – cut back on that saturated fat! – and the portions). It’s certainly easier on your wallet than eating out. Or you may feel that putting dinner on the table for your family is a tradition you want to maintain.
Our experts have great news for you: You can get back in the kitchen. Led by celebrity chef Sandra Lee, host of the Food Network’s Semi-Homemade Cooking, a group of women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are sharing advice on arthritis-friendly cooking. (Although Lee doesn’t have arthritis, she’s passionate about helping people with RA find ways to cook.) And when we asked Arthritis Today readers to share their advice, too, many responded with tried-and-true tips on how to put a good meal on the table, without overtaxing your joints.
So if RA has kept you away from the kitchen but you’re eager to get back – because you want to better control your diet, because you have family to cook for or because you love to bake – read on.
Shopping and Organizing
If you’re feeling good, cook more. Make double portions or even enough for the whole week. “Then you have leftovers you can freeze and use when you’re not having a good day,” says Cathleen Incorvia of Wheatfield, N.Y. “Sometimes the last thing I want to worry about is what to have for dinner.”
Spread out the prep and cooking over a day or more, so you can rest in between. “I prep in stages,” says Cheryl Licastri of Liverpool, New York, who was diagnosed with RA 25 years ago. “Doing some of the prep work a day ahead makes a world of difference.”
Find simple recipes you like. Incorvia likes soups and roast beef made in the crock-pot. “Easy-to-use recipes don’t require a lot of ingredients or preparation,” she says. “That really helps in terms of motivation. If it’s complicated and takes too much time or energy, you’re not going to want to do it.”
Have a backup plan. “ I try to make enough for the week, because I hate having to cook everyday,” says Joanna Lee, TK. “But if I run out, I’ll pick up a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store, then microwave some sweet potatoes to go with it and make a salad using bagged lettuce.”
Plan ahead (again). Making sure you have leftovers means planning your meals and trips to the grocery store. Write down your meal plan and what ingredients you’ll need (it takes more time, but also helps you look for ways to “reuse” some dishes – making chicken into chicken salad, for example.) “Once you get that routine down, which really only takes a little while, you’ll feel more productive,” Sandra Lee says.
Buy foods in small containers or boxes, or if you buy in bulk to save money, put things in smaller containers when you get home. They are less taxing to lift, says Incorvia, and you can use easy-open containers.
Think about carry out. If carrying heavy groceries is a problem, remember that many stores will put your groceries into your car for you. That’s how Incorvia copes with weighty bags. Or you can ask a friend or family member to accompany you.
Stock your pantry. Keep the basics on hand (see “Stock Your Pantry for Easy Cooking.”)
Read more about Kitchen Help
Many people with moderate-to-severe RA report experiencing difficulty preparing meals. That’s why the Arthritis Foundation has teamed up with Bristol-Myers Squibb and Life and Style Expert Sandra Lee to launch the I can with RA in the Kitchen campaign.
