Christmas is the most joyful time of the year, but for many of us living with chronic illnesses and chronic pain this festive season could turn into a real ordeal. I feel devastated whenever I cancel plans with friends or arrive late to an event because the day didn't go as planned. Nonetheless, I relish the time spent in the kitchen, tweaking recipes, testing new flavours, and savouring my creations with my loved ones. As my RA continue to attack my fingers, the deformities has forced me to look for alternative gadgets in the kitchen to continue making the cooking experience enjoyable.
In the book "Chronic Christmas: Surviving the Holidays with a Chronic Illness", Lene Andersen invites friends and family members to help their loved one(s) living with chronic illness to ease the stress of the season by extending a helping hand. A gift to yourself or to a loved one with chronic illness will always brighten up a cloudy day. Here are a few ideas:
1. Stand Mixer
Repetitive movements like stirring add pressure on the joints of hands and wrists leading to extra pain. If you enjoy baking, a stand mixer is a must item in your kitchen. I confess, I always dreamed of purchasing a KitchenAid Stand Mixer, but I find it quite heavy to handle with my sore fingers. It all comes down to personal choice.
The lightweight Sunbeam 2594 350-Watt MixMaster Stand Mixer with Dough Hooks and Beaters is a great alternative to the KitchenAid mixer for heavy duty baking.
A small stand mixer for light mixing puts less pressure on your wrists than a hand blender. The thinkkitchen Promix Stand Mixer is an option.
2. Food Processor
Ninja Master Prep Professional system has been a life and time saver for me. I love this appliance for its ergonomic and soft power head. It's quick and easy to handle, especially if you need to chop veggies or fruit without using a knife.
3. Hand Blender
A hand blender always comes in handy for making smoothies, sauces, and creaming soups.
4. Apple and Egg Slicers
Apple Slicer is helpful for cutting small fruits and veggies such as apples, pears, tomatoes, potatoes, beets, etc.
Egg Slicer makes easier to cut even smaller fruit and veggies like strawberries, kiwis, avocado and mushrooms.
You can find these gadgets at any grocery store, including dollarama-type of store.
5. OXO Good Grip Products
Oxo Good Grip products are designed with people living with arthritis and pain in mind. My Occupational Therapist recommends the products, but I do find them a bit pricey. I suggest to look for those utensils that are going to ease your pain in the long run. I favour the gadgets with large handles and the POP Containers.
Bonus Gif: Instant Pot
My in-laws gave me an Instant Pot Duo for Christmas, a much needed appliance for my Arthritis Kitchen.
This particular model claims to replace 7 kitchen appliances: pressure cooker, sauté pan, steamer, slow cooker, rice cooker, food warmer, and yogurt maker.
One-pot meals are a convenient way to speed up the meal prep and clean up process.
Now, time to try out this kitchen gadget wonder!
Don't forget to give yourself the gift of a recess during the meal prep process. It's perfectly okay to sit down while chopping, slicing, mixing, portioning your meals. Take 15-minute breaks and continue at your own pace. Be kind to yourself.
Disclaimer: the Arthritis Dietitian has no connection with the aforementioned companies.
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