Gadgets for the Kitchen

Are you finding it difficult to prepare and cook meals? Do you have some existing challenges with endurance, dexterity, and strength? Do repetitive actions flare up your arthritis? In this blog you will find several kitchen aids that your OT can provide to help you get back in the kitchen.

Does your OT ask you how you are managing in the kitchen with cutting, peeling, opening cans or jars? When we ask this, we are determining if there are ways we can assist you to continue cooking or baking if this is something you enjoy. We may be able to suggest a different way of performing the same task or we may suggest using an aid to assist you in completing the task.

There are lots of different openers out there. Some help with breaking the seal, others assist with gripping the lip and others are automatic. These are particularly useful if someone experiences hand or limb weakness or arthritis that affects the hands or wrists.

For different needs, there are different shapes, sizes, materials, and weights for cutlery. These are most commonly used to increase independence in feeding if someone experiences difficulty with hand control or movement, if you have a pinned wrist that cannot bend, or involuntary movements such as tremors. They again can be useful for people experiencing arthritis that have reduced movement, strength, and dexterity. By having different shaped, often larger handles it decreases the amount of strength and control needed to hold the cutlery. Here are a few examples, as well as one of our favourite hacks – foam tubing! Foam tubing can also be used on lots of household and personal care items such as toothbrushes, pens, and utensils, to increase the objects grip size.

These products are designed to stop other items from moving during food preparation, for example, when mixing in a bowl, it can be beneficial to place it on a non-slip mat to stop it from moving on the bench if you don’t have the grip strength to hold it in place while mixing. Similarly, the food prep boards are designed to hold food items like vegetables and bread in place while cutting or spreading. These products are commonly used when only using one hand for cooking or when experiencing reducing strength, endurance, and dexterity and/or numbness or reduced sensation. The boards and non-slip mats can increase safety when using knifes and peelers and promotes independence in the kitchen.

Pouring boiling water can be dangerous if your upper limbs are compromised. It can be a challenging task to lift a litre of water and rotate the wrist and/or shoulder while maintaining a controlled and smooth movement to avoid spilling. You can try using your existing kettle on a tipper or a tipping kettle to avoid lifting once the water is boiled. Filling the kettle with a cup or smaller water jug can be helpful too if carrying the water filled jug is too heavy or if it will affect your balance.

Using a peeler typically requires two hands, high grip strength and dexterity. Here are two alternatives; one that is electric with a wide handle and makes peeling less effortful, and one that attaches to a bench or table to allow for one handed peeling.

Cooking and baking are a daily task for most people that typically becomes more challenging as we age. If staying independent in the kitchen is an important occupation to you, chat to your OT about some of these gadgets and many more available. We can also assist with task modification, environmental changes and other strategies that may assist you to keep cooking!

Country Care group 2022, Products, viewed 12^th of May 2022, < https://www.countrycaregroup.com.au/>.