This section covers physical and mental limitations
Tiredness/pain
Inability to stand for long/lose track of time/forgetfulness
Stroke/difficulty chopping
Visual impairment

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Great mentors start by considering the limitations of the person they’re working with.

These might not be only physical, but also mental; if they are elderly, they could be forgetful; they may struggle with English or even reading.  They may be in pain, which has its own consequences.  Some of the common physical disabilities our participants have are Fibromyalgia, ME, the effects of strokes, arthritis and osteoarthritis.  Diabetes can lead to amputations and even eyesight can be affected.

Support for Participants Affected by Cancer

Some participants may be living with cancer themselves or supporting someone who is, which can affect energy levels, appetite, and day‑to‑day capacity. You might think it’s relevant to share this link with them: the World Cancer Research Fund has a free, easy‑to‑read guide on eating well during cancer, including tips for managing symptoms and some simple recipes.
You can download it or request a printed copy here: https://www.wcrf.org/living-well/health-guides-cookbooks/eat-well-during-cancer/

Bearing these limitations in mind will help you to give the participant the support they need to complete the course successfully

Many mental health conditions like anxiety and depression run on adrenaline, leading the suffer to feel extremely tired a lot of the time.

For this and many other intermittent conditions, having food prepared ahead of time is vital to maintaining consistent good nutrition.

How to start

Like a good scout, it pays to be prepared.  Read the recipe through at least once and understand what is required of you.  Is it achievable? Is there anything that poses an insurmountable obstacle?  Do you have all the equipment and ingredients required?

Tiredness/pain

One of the consequences of chronic pain is the unpredictability of the symptoms.  People often have  “good” days and “bad” days – several bad days may happen in a row, so how long and when a person will be “shut down” for is difficult to predict and can lead to food wastage and a fear to start cooking if you might never finish.  It may be difficult to hold knives or to chop.  Manual pull‑string choppers can be a really helpful option here, as they need very little strength and make chopping onions, garlic, herbs and vegetables much easier. Here are some images you can share with participants so they know what to look for:

 It can be hard to fathom how seriously this affects people – “I put something in the oven and then couldn’t get up to take it out and it got burned, so I don’t bake any more“.

Suggested strategies

  • When you’ve read the recipe, divide it up into achievable blocks of tasks. For example, can you wash and chop the veg the day before?  Most chopped veg will keep a few days and many can be frozen – for example chopped onions, which you can use straight from frozen.
  • Food will usually keep for 5 days in a cold fridge, from the day it’s cooked. Doing things in stages is fine, for example, you can chop onions, and keep them in the fridge for a few days before using them – or the freezer .  When you fry them, they can be kept about 5 days, and later used in a cooking a dish like pasta sauce, that will also last another 5 days.  Most people do not realise that the cooking part of recipes can be done in stages – you can do one part, and the recipe continued on with the next day or even several days later.
  • Try to plan to do some of the prep work ahead –try to get stuff done on the “good” days.
  • Gather things together you’ll need for your recipe in advance – having everything together when you start will make things so much easier if you don’t have to keep getting up all the time. Try keeping a drawer of the fridge for recipe ingredients and as you come across them or prepare them during the day, put everything into that drawer so when it comes to cooking later, all you have to do is just take the whole drawer out.
  • Chop sitting down at your kitchen table. – see separate section for further advice if there are difficulties chopping
  • If you are chopping on your kitchen table, save 4 or 5 identical light mid sized containers that nest (e.g. the plastic trays that mushrooms come in, or some cheap bowls) and will not take up too much storage space. Put them on your kitchen table so that you can do all your chopping at once without having to get up or work on a cluttered board.  Use one of them for waste, so you don’t have to keep getting up to go to the bin, and the others for chopped items.
  • Get everything weighed out and measured in advance, so the cooking process is smooth and easy
  • Think about planning some batch cooking – can you make stuff in advance and freeze to heat up easily in the microwave on the “bad” days. Save old takeaway containers (ask your neighbours for their old ones!), or buy suitable plastic containers for freezing meals.
  • See below for strategies on inability to stand for long

Inability to stand for long
Losing track of time
Forgetfulness

If your recipe takes a while, you may find it hard to stop food burning, if you have to simmer or fry things on low heat for a while. Chronic pain can cause you to “zone out” and lose track of time. Older people can become forgetful and overcook or burn things.

Suggested strategies

  • Use the microwave more. Microwaves turn off after a set time so if you’re unable to proceed with the next stage of the recipe, nothing gets burned.  You can cook the pasta sauce completely in the microwave and it’s excellent and easier than on the hob – frying onions in the microwave in a ceramic or glass container (not plastic) works incredibly well.
  • Can you get a tall stool in the kitchen? Ikea do a good folding one with a footrest and it’s really stable https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/franklin-bar-stool-with-backrest-foldable-black-black-60406785/
  • Move the pan to the smallest hob and put it on low. Unless you’re told to leave the recipe uncovered, cover the pan so it will continue simmering and won’t dry out.  This will make it less likely to burn on the bottom.
  • Use a timer – there’s one on your phone. This is incredibly useful even for professional chefs. Set it for 5 or 10 minutes.  That way you can leave the room (take it with you, or make sure you can hear it!) to sit somewhere else if needed.  Don’t forget to reset it again after the next time you stir. You can buy a kitchen timer or use your phone.
  • Use your smart speaker device if you have one, they can run multiple timers/alarms at once and you can tell it what they are for, for example you can tell Alexa to remind you to take your pills every day at 10am, or turn off the hob in 15 minutes.
  • Induction and electric hobs may have built in timers that turn them off after a certain amount of time