17 Mar Is Your Kitchen User Friendly?

Your kitchen should be a place of comfort and nourishment for you and your family, not a source of backaches, wrist pain and sore feet! Whether or not you are currently wrestling with an existing injury or ailment (like tendonitis,  carpal tunnel, arthritis, back pain, etc.) or just want to be more comfortable and efficient in the kitchen, h ere are some ideas of how to work in comfort and get the most out of your kitchen.

Got a lot of prepping and chopping ahead of you?  Let your gismos and gadgets do the work for you!

For Chopping and Grating, Try These!

– Cuisinart or Food Processor

– Mandolin

– Veggie Chopper

– Garlic Press & Micro planers

Tired of Wrestling with Your Jars and Bottles?

– Electric Can Openers

– Electric Bottle Openers

– Jar Grippers (Rubber pad)

Back and Feet Savers

• Sneakers (and other supportive shoes) do wonders to support your feet and protect your lower back.
• Stand on a kitchen mat (or anti fatigue mat) as this will ease the pressure on your feet, knees and lower back.
• If you have to bend over when washing dishes, widen your stance.
• Make sure to bend from your hips and bend your knees (while keeping your head and back aligned) to load and unload the dish washer.
• Install slide out drawers in your cabinets for easy access to your stored goods.

More Helpful Tips!

Feeling Fatigue in Your Wrists, Arms or Shoulders?

•  Always prepare your food as close to your body as possible.
• Work with utensils that have fat handles to avoid over-gripping.
• Work with pots and pans with double handles to evenly distribute the work load.
• Make sure your counter heights are at or slightly below elbow height.
• Organize your work area in an easy reach circle.

And Want to Feel Really Great?

• Comb through your pantry and ditch the junk foods and replace with whole foods
• Replace your soda and sugary drinks with water, seltzer and herbal teas.
• Try stocking up on delicious fruits instead of candy bars, cakes and other sugary desserts.

 What do you do in your kitchen to be comfortable and healthy?  Please share your approach in the comments!

Until the Next Time!

Vivienne & Andrew