How can I make meal planning easier if I have multiple sclerosis (MS)?

If you have multiple sclerosis (MS) here are some ways to make it easier to plan and prepare your meals: Gather items needed to prepare a meal, then sit while doing the actual food preparation. Select foods that require minimal preparation -- dehydrated, frozen, canned, packaged mixes, etc. Prepare a double batch of a recipe and freeze half for later use. Or cook ingredients for several meals at once.

Use a microwave oven or slow cooker to cut down on cooking and cleanup time. If you have trouble putting clear plastic wrap tightly around a container you want to put in the microwave, try putting the food in a cereal bowl and setting a saucer on top of the bowl. Slide heavy items along the countertop rather than lifting them.

Use a damp dishcloth or a sticky substance such as Dycem to keep a pot or bowl in place while stirring. Increase the power for opening jars by winding a thick rubber band twice around the lid or wearing a rubber glove. You might also try thin, rubberized, waffle-like sheets, which are inexpensive and readily available where kitchen gadgets are sold.

Line baking pans with foil to minimize cleanup. If cooked on food is still an issue, soak pots and pans in hot water and baking soda; the soda loosens the cooked on food, eliminating the need for scrubbing. Bake drop cookies as bar cookies.

Spread all the cookie dough on a jelly-roll pan, then bake and cut the baked cookies into squares. Prepare marinated meats, which are easier to cut and chew. If chewing is a problem, foods like carrots and other hard vegetables or tough meats may be chopped, steamed, stewed, ground, or grated to make them easier to chew without losing their nutritional value.

Enlist help in the kitchen. When you involve your children in cooking and other mealtime preparations, remember that things that are obvious to adults may not always be obvious to children. For example, there is a vast difference between sugar and salt, but they both look like tiny white crystals, so children might substitute one for the other.

Promote teamwork at mealtime; give everyone a job to do. At the very least, have everyone clear their own dishes. Some evidence suggests that a low-fat diet is beneficial to people with MS.

Try to limit your fat intake to 30 grams or less per day. Read labels and make simple changes in your diet.

If you have multiple sclerosis (MS), here are some ways to make it easier to eat your meals: If grasping and holding onto silverware is difficult, use modeling clay to build up the handles. You also might cement the handles in bicycle handle grips, which are shaped to accommodate the individual fingers, or purchase stainless steel flatware with big bamboo or plastic handles that are easier to grip. Use serrated steak knives for cutting all foods at mealtime.

Keep all knives sharpened; they are safer and easier to use than dull knives. When eating, you'll have better control if you hold the utensil as close as possible to the tines of the fork or bowl of the spoon. If you have hand tremors, limited coordination, or upper extremity weakness, a swivel-tremor spoon will make it easier to get food to your mouth without spilling.

Place two tight rubber bands an inch or so apart around a drinking glass; this will make it easier to grasp and hold onto. Thermal mugs and children's mugs with large handles often are easier to grasp than regular glasses or cups. Insulated mugs and glasses may be used to keep drinks hot or cold without affecting the outside temperature of the glass.

For people who have difficulty managing drinking cups, a number of unique and innovative products are available to make drinking easier. If you need longer straws than those commercially available, purchase some clear tubing at a hardware store and create the length that you need. Baby plates that hold hot water help keep food warm for people who are slow in feeding themselves.

If you have trouble keeping food from sliding off the plate, use a glass or metal pie pan instead of a regular plate. To help stabilize a plate, use rubber circles designed to hold soap on the shower wall. The suction cups on one side go on the bottom of the plate while the other side secures the plate to the table.

The Inner-Lip plate reduces spilling when eating. The 9-inch diameter, dishwasher- and microwave-safe plate has a nonskid pad on the underside rim that keeps the plate from moving around. To get a wheelchair close enough to the dinner table to comfortably eat a meal, place a jelly-roll pan (a cookie sheet with sides) or a cafeteria tray lengthwise across the armrests.

Then push the wheelchair close to the table and adjust the edge of your tray to rest flush with the edge of the table. You can make eating easier if you elevate your plate.

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