TL;DR
Before you cook, go and get the measuring cups and ingredients. Assess whether you need a break after doing this and continue once you are ready. Your job this week is to try this.
This week, try this strategy out with a simple recipe. Take a picture of your ingredients and measuring spoons taken out and share it with me on Facebook or twitter at @ill_chef
Tip Expanded
You can apply Newton’s first law to chronic illness: If a chronically ill person is not in motion/doing something, they will not be able to start without a push.
Tweet
I’m going to try and keep this short because I’m not feeling very well today. Sometimes, cooking when you have a chronic illness is difficult. In Friday’s MiniTips, I discussed breaking cooking up and taking breaks. Here is one way to start. I discussed it briefly in that one, so I’m going to discuss it in more depth here using an example.
When I am cooking, I find that I have a hard time initiating if I approach it as I’m going to do it in one go. So, I rev up the engine, or at least start it up, by making sure I have the ingredients. Then, if I need to, I take a break and read the instructions for the recipe. Once I’m recovered and ready, I take out the ingredients. I assess my levels, take a break if needed, and then get
This helps ease me into the cooking, doing one task helps give me the inertia to keep going. You can apply Newton’s first law to chronic illness: If a chronically ill person is not in motion/doing something, they will not be able to start without a push. For me, starting with gathering ingredients is that push.
Call to Action
This week, find a recipe that you think you can do. Take out the ingredients and measuring spoons before you cook. Take a picture and share it with me on Facebook or twitter at @ill_chef
The Chronically Ill Chef 