Living with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can make daily tasks, like cooking, feel overwhelming. The fatigue, pain, and limited mobility that often accompany RA can make preparing a healthy meal seem like a Herculean effort. But with the right shortcuts and strategies, it’s possible to eat nutritious meals without spending hours in the kitchen. Lene Andersen, who has navigated these challenges herself, shares her favorite cooking hacks to help those with RA stay nourished with minimal effort.
1. Low-Impact Meal Prep
When dealing with RA, it’s important to make cooking as easy and efficient as possible. Lene emphasizes using low-impact meal prep strategies. Rather than spending hours preparing meals in advance, she opts for quick and simple preparations that can be stretched throughout the week.
For example, Lene preps a batch of overnight oats that lasts for several weeks. Each night, she assembles her breakfast with minimal effort. Similarly, she cooks a two-pound bag of lentils with garlic and bay leaves, then freezes them in individual portions. These lentils can be used for salads or in dishes like lentil Bolognese. For an easy protein option, hard-boiled eggs are a great addition to meals. They pair well with quick fixes like instant ramen or add nutrition to salads.
2. Utilize Prepped Ingredients for Scratch Cooking
Instead of preparing everything from scratch, Lene makes use of pre-prepared ingredients to cut down on cooking time and effort. For instance, in her lentil Bolognese, she uses jarred pasta sauce and canned diced tomatoes, which are quicker and require less effort than starting from raw ingredients. She also uses frozen vegetables and pre-chopped items like squash, which can be a real lifesaver for those struggling with hand pain.
Frozen vegetables like sliced onions and stir-fry mixes can be found in most supermarkets, and while they may cost a bit more, they save time and energy. By focusing on convenience items without compromising nutritional value, it becomes easier to create healthy meals with minimal effort.
3. Curate a Collection of Easy Recipes
Having a go-to collection of easy recipes can make meal planning much less stressful. Lene maintains a folder of simple, healthy recipes that she can rely on when cooking feels like a challenge. Whether it’s from favorite food bloggers or specialized resources like the Arthritis Dietitian, having a curated library allows you to find quick, satisfying meals in a pinch.
Lene also recommends sheet pan meals, which are an efficient way to prepare a balanced dinner with minimal cleanup. These meals often require just a few ingredients, and the baking sheet does most of the work. A quick Google search for “sheet pan dinners” can yield many tasty, RA-friendly options.
4. Make Friends with Your Freezer
The freezer can be your best friend when it comes to RA-friendly cooking. By doubling or tripling recipes when you do have the energy to cook, you can freeze several portions for future use. This ensures you always have a healthy meal on hand, even when you’re too fatigued to cook.
Lene keeps her freezer stocked with easy-to-prepare meals and ingredients. Ready meals like ravioli or tortellini, which require minimal cooking, can be paired with jarred sauce and pre-grated cheese for a quick, nutritious meal. She also keeps frozen vegetables like peas, corn, and cauliflower rice blends, which are easy to heat up in the microwave and add to any dish.
5. Mess With the Rules of Food
Sometimes, the conventional rules of eating can get in the way of your health and convenience. Lene encourages breaking food-related conventions to suit your body’s needs. For example, she has learned to eat her main meal at lunchtime when she feels most energized, leaving lighter meals like sandwiches or soup for dinner.
In the past, when nausea made cooking and eating challenging, Lene often relied on cold, raw vegetables paired with lean meats, such as chicken or burgers, because her stomach could handle these foods more easily than cooked, heavy meals.
Breaking away from the traditional “hot dinner” norm allowed her to adapt her meals to her body’s needs, making eating less stressful and more manageable.
Conclusion
Cooking with RA doesn’t have to be a daunting task. By employing these shortcuts—like low-impact meal prep, using prepped ingredients, and making use of your freezer—you can simplify your cooking routine while still eating healthy, nutritious meals. These strategies can help you conserve energy, reduce cooking time, and minimize the impact of RA on your daily life. With these tips, you can nourish your body without the stress of a long cooking session.
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