What would you eat if you were me, one handed

[RiverF]

I've had a mishap and don't currently have the use of my right hand. I'm very right handed!

I live alone and this is making life very difficult, though hopefully quite short term.

I'm desperately trying not to live off junk, but can't really cook and as I can't drive, popping to the shops isn't easy either.

I have a reasonably well stocked freezer and store cupboard, full of things I usually use to cook from scratch.

What might I be able to rustle up with my left hand without causing another accident ?

Tesco helped mum my put her food delivery away when she broke her arm. I just noted it on the order.

I would try jacket potatoes/ mash, pasta ready meals. Hopefully you’re not low carb.

I have no skill at all with my left hand. I really struggled when I had to use it after surgery. I completely understand how tough it is (couldn’t really even use a spoon that well)

@incessantpunditry are you joking? Get her neighbour to cook?! Why would they want the extra task?!

Readymade meals until you get better.

Don't be a martyr, get a supermarket or Ocado delivery of easy things to eat.
Sausage rolls, ready cooked chicken pieces, ready made frittata, sliced ham & cheese etc etc.

Choose things for packed lunches, like scotch eggs, ready made lunches like salmon with salad, chicken Caesar salad etc. Eat them with prepared salads in cartons, to cut down on your washing up.
Open with sharp scissors or knife.

Picnic style food will be just right in this warm weather.

Things you can stab with a fork one handed ie cocktail sausages, scampi, chicken goujons, macaroni cheese.

Also things you can eat with your fingers ie pizza slices, garlic bread, ready made sandwiches.

Just don't try spaghetti or noodles unless you want to end up wearing a lot of it.

Online order for decent quality ready meals, cooked chicken and prawns, salads.

Amazon for scissors for the hand you can use and nonslip mat to help steady things.

A relative had this happen this year (was strapped up for 8 weeks). She ordered a tesco online delivery and included pre diced meat, pre chopped peppers/onions etc. Then batch cooked curries, chilli's, pasta sauces etc it took longer for her to do but it meant she had a home cooked meal every day. Popped it in a bowl and used a spoon. Also had lots of toast/fruit for breakfast and soups (in a mug) for lunch.

How long is the injury likely to affect you? It's great that you're already managing to type so well left-handed – I'm sure you'll adapt over time.

Slow cooker with pre sliced veg and cut up meat - diced beef or chicken. Stick in with a stock cube and water. You can then spoon it out when done. Or just have ready meals. Simple stuff like rice and chicken or veggie stir fry. Also lots of berries, yogurt etc. Nuts, seeds can all be eaten with one hand. Place the packet on a counter and use scissors slowly, stabilising the packet with your other elbow.

Oh that’s good! I went through allll the options for my parents in the pandemic and Ocado were the only helpful ones, but I can believe it varies a lot by area.

If a neighbour asked I would happily do their food shop with mine or cook some pasta or batch cook for them
But I've known mine a long time

@spikeandbuffy I've lived next to my neighbours for nine years, wouldn't dream of asking ! Ask your actual friends or family or get take away /Uber eats/ Tesco whoosh .

We keep an eye on their house when they are away , chat etc. buried a pet for them , throw balls back over etc
But I still wouldn't ask

Remember you're probably more adept with your left hand than you give yourself credit for. Presumably you use either a fork or a knife in your left hand when you eat!

I would buy pre chopped everything though, or invest in one of those multichoppers from Amazon for veg (I have one and they're amazing - whole finely sliced onion in about 10 seconds!).

(On the neighbours front, with my old neighbour we'd have helped each other out like that - in Covid I used to buy her shopping as she was stuck at home with 3 small kids and when I was incapacitated after an accident she offered to help out with food, etc, too, though my DH was able to help enough that I didn't need her.

New neighbours - not a chance! They've lived there 2 years and have only just started nodding when they see us!)

Boiled eggs
Porridge
Weetabix
Rotisserie chicken
Bread
Salad

I had similar lately. It does get easier to use your other hand more quickly than you’d think. I don’t mean to lift anything heavy or hot just to open stuff etc.

Microwave rice packets were a godsend to me. Snip open rather than tear, cook and tip onto a plate, add some cold meat/cooked fish (like hot roast salmon flakes). For veggies I did a lot of stuff like deli olives, artichokes, chargrilled courgettes/peppers, either on the side or stirred through the rice.

Then for fruit, a lot of blueberries as they just need a rinse, no cutting.

Scissors.

I had only use of my left arm a few years ago and found a glide keyboard very very useful on phone. It takes some getting used to but was very helpful.

Food wise I will have lived on toast. That's my default when it comes to feeding myself.

Scissors

I'm permanently one handed. I'd start off with beige food as a baking sheet (don't put too much on it though, better to do two trays than overload one) is easy to manage one handed. If you do baked potatoes, remember they will still need to go on a tray as its really hard to get your hand round them in a glove.
You could do salmon or a chicken breast in the oven too, add a freezer to microwave veg packet plus some carb (microwave rice or Idahoan instant mash).
Rice noodles make a good alternative to pasta with less lifting as they just need to go in a jug with boiling water then microwave for 3 minutes or so.
If this is going to be longer than a week, check out the Active Hands website as they have everything you could possibly need to make things easier.
Crisp packets, def use your teeth, use scissors (also using scissors in the kitchen to cut up meat, pizza is much easier), or put on the floor and hold with your feet then stab with a knife

Also would recommend using a backpack to transport things. I've a lot of experience of this 😂. I put food in tupperware so I can dip in and out and put a lid on when I've had enough.

A bit of planning goes a long way. Think about stuff you can do one handed in the kitchen in advance, go in and make up some boxes of food you can bring. Grapes on one. Toast. Cheese. Yoghurt. Nuts. Cereal in a tub with a recycled bottle with some milk in etc. Fill your backpack. Take your picnic to your destination and enjoy.

Ready meals that have wet stuff like beef stew and mash, slow cooked chicken and dumplings, pasta with sauce ready meals etc.
I broke my shoulder and had to eat one handed for weeks. I was in hospital for first few wks so it was ready meals. Jacket pot in microwave, with beans, ready grated cheese? That might be a bit tricky to cook I guess.
Do you have a wheeled chair, you could use it as a sort of table/trolley in kitchen. And use a rubber glove to grip stuff with good hand.
Otherwise give yourself a break and order in pizza or McDonald's a few times!
I hope you recover soon.

Get prepacked salads, precooked chicken, tub of feta, jar of olives, packet of cherry tomatoes, bottle of salad dressing. Look pitiful and ask the nice delivery person or a neighbour to help you by opening the feta, olives and bottle for you.

This then gives you a bunch of salads for your obligatory vegetable consumption for the week - open salad, put bits of chicken in, break some feta up with your working hand, lift some olives out of the jar (get a wide necked one), hold bottle in your right elbow, open with the left, add to bowl of leaves and stuff.

Add in spilling cereal & milk over the counter for your morning practice with your left hand and a takeaway/delivery for evenings and you're sorted for the week.

You could also get somebody to open a bottle of wine and gently replace the cork. Sounds like you've earned it.

When I had a screw put in my right hand (also had broken a couple of fingers so hand was basically out of use for about 6 weeks) I also discovered the Sticky Keys accessibility feature on my computer. Made CTRL > ALT > DEL and all the other keyboard shortcuts possible one handed.

Some neighbours would be kind enough to help if asked. I'm assuming you wouldn't be one of them though.

I cooked Christmas dinner for my neighbours one year after they had a domestic crisis. It was the least I could do.