Simple Cooking

I hurt all the time and standing is a 30 second ordeal which makes time in the kitchen an exercise in time versus pain.However, I love to cook and using the office chair (see my other post) I find that I can get things done.

I just learned a simple way to cook frozen meats. A large Turkey or roast - no problem. Using the old way I make a mess. What I dislike is making room in the fridge to let the frozen block of food thaw out. There is an ongoing risk of spillage from the fluids and the even bigger one, waste. Since the meat takes days to thaw I may not be feeling well enough to cook the meat, which means it sits int he refer until it ends up in the trash. What a waste.  Sure, I could put the block of meat in the sink and run water over it, but that can be messy, increases the chance that I hurt myself, and extends the time I must be in the kitchen. Not to mention the wasted water.

I have just discovered that you can cook meats from a frozen state! It is simple, takes zero advance planning, and the food is better than if you used the thawed out method!

You need 3 basic tools.

1. A meat thermometer
2. A shallow pan
3. A turkey cooking bag (or aluminum foil)

Cook Frozen Turkey
Here is a link from a Government site:  http://www.foodsafety.gov/blog/thanksgiving_cook.html

If that link is bad go to: foodsafety.gov and search for turkey.

Here are my thoughts. If you want to cook a frozen turkey or large bird there are plenty of web sites with instructions. Basically you place the frozen bird in a shallow pan, stick it in the oven and set the stove on 350. Wait hours and hours and the bird comes out juicy and nummy. What about the giblets? Well, a few hours after the bird is placed in the oven, the insides get thawed enough and you can pull the stuff out. DON"T add stuffing! I find that the bird cooks better if the insides are hollow, sticking stuffing in there risks under cooking the bird.

Cook Frozen Roast
I just did this tonight. I had a 5 pound rump roast. I don't have enough teeth to chew well so the meat must be tender and flakey. I placed the block of roast in a shallow pan, I think it was a glass cake pan (square). Set the oven on 350, put some spices on top of the meat, covered with foil, added 1 cup of water and put it on the center rack. About 3 hours later it was done.  I did chop up some onions and put them on top of the meat.  When I opened the oven, i used the meat thermometer, it read 200 degrees, plenty war,m. The meat was so tender I hardly had to cut it with a knife.

There were plenty of drippings in the pan, in fact I had enough to make tons of gravy.

One thought, don't use a too shallow of a pan unless you want to remove drippings, there will be plenty of that liquid coming from the frozen food.

I have done both of these meats in the last month. Even when I am having a rotten day I can pull some block of meat out of the freezer, throw a few spices on it, cover with foil, and set it in the oven. Makes for a real easy dinner. REALLY EASY.

Getting Things Done in the Kitchen

Before my accident I used to cook most of the family meals. After I got hurt I still wanted to continue. My pain had different ideas. within a few minutes in the kitchen my legs start to buckle, my back screams, my head pounds, my arms go weak and my fingers no longer have their coordination. Even before I became a walking behemoth it was hard. Now that I am extremely heavy the condition is obviously worse.

My family compensated. I used to have plenty of frozen meals, instant foods, and take out (when our budget allowed). Not the best diet for growing bodies. Unless you want them growing wide instead of tall.

Raise & Lower with ease

My 70 year old Father & his loving wife gave me a Christmas gift 5 years ago that has turned around my ability to do things in the kitchen. What did they do? They found a used office chair that had good casters and a trigger that allows me to raise and lower the seat. I can get high enough to cut veggies and low enough to reach some things from the lower shelves with minimal bending. It was like a new lease on life. I could actually fix a few simple things without completely collapsing.

I'm not up to French Souffle level yet but over time I have increased my endurance and modified some methods so I can make muffins, eggs, simple diners. etc. Who knows, in a few years I might be able to build a space shuttle out of celery.

Here is a link to a video showing you this delightful gift:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poKmSIJCYPw

This is too tall for me and has no wheels

One of the hardest things for me is asking someone else to cook for me or take care of my needs. Clearly, in my situation I end up making the requests. But when I get to cook some of the time, or load dishes into the Dishwasher I feel more self sufficient. Using the chair I am able to accomplish more before I am sweating up a storm and feeling like smashing everything in my sight.  My goal is to never let my pain do the talking, with this chair I get more done and the pain is reduced to whispers.

Pain, Illness, Medication, Addiction

A few months ago I had an e-mail conversation with a friend and business associate. It dealt with his wife who was recovering from very painful medical issues. Names and a few facts are changed to assure privacy.

From Bob:
She is holding her own, but is also on very strong med's yet.  Her adrenal gland has completely shut down, and if we go lightly on her med's, she actually collapses, and it takes a couple of days to get her back up to a real person again.  So I think I can better understand what you have been going through all these many years now.
Best,
Bob


From Me:
It is good to hear that Mary is "holding her own." I think the hardest thing for me was finding inner peace about my limited capabilities. Having been an athlete in my youth I lived by the motto "no pain no gain."  For a person with medical issues, that mantra can spell disaster. It is important to avoid pressing the body so far. I used to push myself too hard out of guilt, need, and drive for completion. It took me 20 years to finally start pacing myself and allowing "I've done enough" to enter my vocabulary.

I sure hope that Mary does not have to limit herself as much. It would be wonderful for her to make that steep climb to regained health. I do desire that she improves and discovers her never ending energy stream. When it comes to pain, it seems best to stay ahead of it with the medicine. In the long run it takes less medication and is more comfortable.

Have a great day and I''ll be in contact soon.
-Miles


From Bob:
Thank you for taking the the time this morning to help educate me and Mary on what You have had to do to cope with your life's pain.  It was very timely, as I have had to impose on Mary to take a higher medication level, because She has "large pains" in some areas, and the Doctors and Nurses have all said what You have laid out here, to get ahead of the Pain  Mary hates to take medications, so She suffers with the pain because of her wanting to take the minimum med's.  To hear from someone like you that She trust's and knows has suffered through a extremely long period of life as you, to say it is best to get ahead of the pain helps her today!
Thanks so much Miles, we appreciate You very much!  Your guidance here is really on point for Her.
Bob and Mary
.
From Me:
I am happy that my comments were of value. If it's OK I'll share something that I have learned about pain management vs pain killers.

People tend to fear pain meds because of the "addiction" risk. Think of addiction as a behavior similar to what an alcoholic experiences. There is an underlying need for the drug to avoid dealing with real life. For someone that has an injury or medical issue, their body has a dependence on the medicine to continue normal function. Think of a diabetic with insulin. Without the pain meds, the body has increased trauma, slowed healing, and the potential for continued or permanent problems. 

If a person takes pain meds and lets the serum level drop, then takes again, they end up needing higher doses to accomplish relief, over time the dose and tolerance grows and it becomes a difficult cycle.

On the other hand by staying ahead of the pain, the body calms down, healing speeds, and recovery has a higher probability.  If, when the illness is over, the person has developed a chemical dependence for the narcotic, there is a simple process of slowly reducing the  medication amount thus allowing the body time to overcome it's acquired need.

However, if people stay ahead of the pain the chance of chemical dependence is reduced and tolerance can be avoided or reduced substantially.

The last thing Mary needs right now is to worry about pushing herself to hard. She needs the healing magic of her body. 

Good luck. It must be difficult for Mary it would nice to have a fairy godmother sweep in the window and fix everything.  I imagine this illness is also a hardship for Bob who must feel powerless to help the love of his life.
-Miles 


From Bob:
This is amazingly helpful right now for Mary, as you would know!   As I read Her your email, it was like she could REALLY HEAR this for the first time.   The very way you layed this out was perfect for Her to understand.  She finally got the idea behind the message.  It finally sank in, to stay ahead of the pain for the reasons that you pointed out.  I could not have had anyone explain it better for Her to comprehend  it at this time especially when She knows you have dealt with this first had most of your adult life.  She is now not arguing with me about going "up" some on her Med's (to relieve her surgery pains), because She now understands the bigger picture that you helped Her see.
 
When I first read this alone without Mary, it almost made me cry, because You are so spot on.  The trouble with that is it tells me that You have learned this the hard way, but I sure appreciate that You have the wisdom to pass it along to someone else in need of your experience.
 
I plan on not deleting either of your emails', as I am going to keep them to reinforce these messages again over the short run to Mary if She tries to slip back to Her old comfort zone.  You don't know how exciting this is for me, to have someone that She can believe in, (You)  to reinforce what I have tried to get Her to understand.  After I repeated Your email to Her, that's all it took.   
 
Thanks again My friend,
Bob

Use a Grabber / Reacher

I wrote an e-mail to a friend who was caring for a man who had broken most of his ribs, messed up his shoulder, and smashed other stuff: 

Can I offer one suggestion that will substantially improve his comfort and ability to manage small tasks? Get him a reacher from the pharmacy. A medium length one that is very light is what he will want. 

There are a few types the best looks like a straight bar and a hook thinggy that moves. It looks stupid

but it grabs most things except glasses of water.  With a reacher he can move blankets for himself, pick up phones, grab remotes that fall, etc. Without having to change position or call someone who has just walked out of the room.

As for drinking what worked for me was the water bottles from 7-11 that have a pop top that can reseal without removing a cap. He can drink without spilling and save the rest for later.

I had broken ribs once and feel great empathy for his condition. It is nearly impossible to get comfortable, and if it is achieved, he will not want to move.

-Miles

I have been living with Chronic Pain for more than 20 years. Without my Grabbers I would accomplish far less in my life. Sometimes I just feel rotten, moving is the last thing I want to do, yet, I need to get paper out of the printer, grab a telephone, pick up a mouse that fell on the ground, even scratch my back. I have a Grabber next to the chair I use during the day. Another one sitting next to my printer (it is longer since the printer is a real reach for me), and a third one next to my bed. If I could afford it and find a way to store it conveniently, I'd have another in my vehicle so I could grab things while sitting in the drivers seat.

Bending, turning, reaching, grabbing, all tough when you are limited in your mobility. Get a grabber and life starts to flow. Get two and it's even better. Who knows you might end up putting one in each room of the house so everything is within reach. Most Pharmacies have them for about $15.If you look online you might save a few pennies or get a bigger selection.The first grabber shown in this article (blue handle example) is NOT the best choice. It is most useful for grabbing delecate items that are small or weigh very little. For more utility get a hook type (black handle example) or one that does not use round rubber suction cup type ends (yellow handle example). The more versitile the grabber the higher the price tag.