Might have to stop cooking

[alishape]

I am so afaid this might turn into a rant, but I am so tired of losing things. Today makes the third time I forgot I was cooking and left something unattended on the stove. The first couple of times I wrote it off because it Does happen to people sometimes, but now I am afraid I will inadvertently burn the house down boiling water for Mac and cheese. I mean I was getting ready to take a nap! People who do things like that either need to be in a home or have some kind of supervision, right?

I am sure I can figure out a work around until my stepson or wife comes home...but even if I do, does that mean I need to be watched and checked on all the time? God. I am so tired of losing things I love. If my autonomy is going to go in increments I don't know if I can handle it , you know while I am still lucid most of the time. It feels like watching myself die.

[marti]

I used to love to cook, but not anymore. It takes up too much energy. And I'm always forgetting something, bumping into stuff, dropping everything and hurting myself. It truly sucks.

[Seasha]

I have done the same thing, alishape. Both pre MS and now. Man, I'd hate to have to give up cooking. It's one thing that I can still do, although slowly and in increments as I can't stand up that long.

I always turn on the oven timer now - even while boiling water. I have another small one that I carry around sometimes when I leave the kitchen to rest my legs. You could always try these approaches - even set an alert on your cell phone if you carry that around.

Please be safe now!

[palmtree]

Whenever I cook the smoke alarm goes off. That's a good safeguard. Unless I fell fast asleep.

I've given up cooking things that have to simmer a long time. I can't stay awake that long. Lately, I've been frying a steak and staying in the kitchen the entire time. I can do the dishes, chop up a salad, read the mail, anything to keep me in the kitchen. I have a wooden bar stool in the kitchen so I don't have to sit up every minute.

As long as I don't go in another room. As soon as I enter another room, I see a million things to do and get lost in it and completely forget there is something on the stove. A nurse tried to tell me, if i left something on the stove I would have to go to a nursing home. But,I say NO WAY!

Hang on to your indepence. It means so much. You can do what you want to do when you want and how you want it.

[gomer]

I developed a problem forgetting to turn the burner off.

SO I developed habit of MOING the pan OFF off the burner, so its obious it is off. We just have to get creative / adaptive to compensate.

Gomer

[jreagan70]

alishape, you might have to stop cooking on the stove, but cooking doesn't have to be done on the stove, so you don't have to give up cooking.

Microwave ovens have timers, so they turn themselves off. You can boil water in the microwave, which means you can cook/boil pasta in the microwave. Cheese melts nicely in the microwave. That means you can cook mac and cheese in the microwave. The timer will turn it off, so you can't forget food and overcook it or set fire to anything. Microwaves work only with a timer -- you can't turn it on until you've told it when to turn off. So as long as you set a realistic time, it's practically fail safe.

Potatoes and other veggies cook very well in the microwave. Most people can't tell the difference between a baked potato and a microwaved potato. And there's no reason to boil potatoes when they can be microwaved safely in a fraction of the time.

Any meat or fish you can cook on the stove can be baked/roasted in the oven. If your oven has a cook timer, it will also turn itself off at the end of cooking time, so that's another way you can cook without overcooking or setting something on fire. I never pan fry fish anymore. I bake it int he oven, and there's no fishy smell filling the house and no greasy pan to wash -- only a piece of aluminum foil to recycle. Even egg dishes can be oven baked.

Meat and fish can be cooked in the microwave, too, even though the taste isn't as good as with oven baking/roasting. But you'll be able to cook up some protein up if you need to.

Rice can be cooked in the oven. In fact, some rice aficionados insist that rice should be cooked in the even heat of the oven instead of on the stove. Beans can be cooked in the oven.

So many things you think can only be cooked on the stove can be cooked in the microwave or conventional oven.

As long as you're competent to use an appliance at all, you should be able to use a microwave and set a timer for a conventional oven. If your conventional oven doesn't have a built-in turn-off feature, or you can't remember to set a timer or you're clueless and unable to learn how long to cook things in the microwave, THEN maybe you should give up cooking altogether. But otherwise, if you're willing to give up some old ideas about how some foods should be cooked and adopt some new techniques, you should be good to go.

[KatieAgain]

I agree with Gomer.

You have to compensate, not give up cooking.

This is very common. I do this if I am in a flare. I do two things: 1) I grab a bar stool, sit on it next to the stove while everything is cooking and do not leave the area. I keep myself busy reading a book of fixing other parts of the meal. 2) I bought a microwave cookbook....amazing what can be done in a Microwave (to include Mac and Cheese).

I also mass cook and freeze portions.

Get creative. Put a little TV in the kitchen to watch while your cooking. Make it a habit...if you must leave the kitchen everything must be turned off.

[alishape]

Thanks guys

Adaptation is the key. I don't know why I keep forgetting that! I know with my memory and executive functioning issues I have to change the way I do things, but I never thought to apply it to cooking until now. Now that I'm over my initial pity party, I see the possibilties. You guys are a godsend, thanks so much.

I think I'll take it slow I can begin to make these changes. I'll start with the microwaving. Then with people in the house for the stove stuff until I feel comfortable that I'll remember not to leave the kitchen ever while cooking.

[rdmc]

I always turn on the oven timer now - even while boiling water. I have another small one that I carry around sometimes when I leave the kitchen to rest my legs. You could always try these approaches - even set an alert on your cell phone if you carry that around.

Please be safe now!

That's what I do now since I've forgotten I was cooking something on too many occasions. I always set the kitchen timer to alert me, it's loud and continuous until you shut it off. And if I'm cooking anything on top of the stove that will need to simmer for awhile, I set the timer for 15 minutes of time. That makes sure I go out and check to see if the liquid hasn't evaporated, and the food isn't scorched and sticking to the pan. (been there done that)

I make meals in "spurts of time" anyway. I do just a little, then come back and do a little more, till all the tasks associated with supper are done. That way I don't get overheated in the kitchen, nor do I get fatigued. I also try to make more than one day's worth of food...then I get to skip cooking the next day. Also trimmed my menu to include more one pot meals like a pot roast with veggies....everything's in one pot, and simpler meals, i.e. not as many side dishes.

My husband is also a great help because he's the one who grills meat since it's too hot for me to venture out to the grill, and he also insists on cooking fish (he catches them, and so he's a bit of a "fish snob" when it comes to how they are prepared/cooked.) I have no problem that he doesn't like the way I cook fish because now I never have to do it (and we eat a lot of fish.)

[Mamabug]

You don't say whether giving up cooking bothers you:

• because you enjoy cooking
• or because you're tired of losses.

I choose not to cook anymore. Mostly because I don't like to and because we enjoy going out to eat. With, usually just the two of us, although we spend a little bit more going out to eat, we use coupons for local diners and discount cards that we purchase from fund-raisers, etc. We rarely eat fast food, and we still don't spend exorbitant amounts of money on eating out. We bring home restaurant leftovers and make most meals last for more than one meal.

Our adult son lives at home. He used to deliver pizza for a job, so then he got most of his meals at work. Now, he often cooks for himself at home. Sometimes he joins us for a meal out. He usually pays for his own; other times we treat him, as he contributes to grocery expenses and uses more of them than we do. We use groceries, for ourselves, mostly for breakfasts and snacking.

If you truly love to cook, I encourage you to work at adapting and finding ways to continue to do it.

If you don't enjoy cooking, and if you can afford to spend a little extra (groceries cost a lot, too, and so do utilities used to cook your food) give yourself permission to quit cooking, find a few favorite and inexpensive places to eat, and enjoy having one less task that needs to be performed.

[KateA2]

Here's my MS-friendly cooking tips (I love to cook):

- I use a knitting stitch counter for when I am measuring cups of flour etc. for baking...
Else I forget how many cups or T's mid-measure!

- I have a really loud timer that I use for everything.

- my husband helps me as my "prep cook" with peeling, washing, etc. to save me energy - plus we can gab about our day and he gets to eat sooner.

- I make lots of soups, stews, and all-roasted dinners.

- I use a set of cold-gel wristlets and a neck cooler so I don't overheat while next to the stove.

- I set up crock pot insert full of ingredients before bed, put the crock in the fridge, then set the crock into the cooker before heading out the door for work in the morning. When we get home from work, it's done. Just add a salad.

- I have a chair and footrest in the kitchen, I take frequent off-my-feet breaks.

[Hawkeye]

Sometime when you are placing an online order, get one of these little jewels: Polder 898-90 Clock, Timer & Stopwatch. Amazon has them for about $10.

I use mine all the time for cooking, but have been amazed at how many times a day I use it for other reminders. I am often surprised when I hear it go off, but am quickly spurred in action to do something I would have forgotten!

It even comes with a little neck lanyard so you don't have to keep track of the timer when you're using it. That's a nice fool-proofer for folks like us...

[DonnaD]

They sell timers that cut off the gas to the stove. There's no gas flowing to your stove unless you turn on the timer. So if you're going to want to boil soup for one hour, you turn on the timer for one hour and then light your stove as you always do. You can turn the burner off as always but after an hour the timer will shut the gas flow and extinguish the flame.

[betterme]

That is why I love the microwave

I think that you should follow your gut feeling and quit cooking on the stove until you feel comfortable using it again. Better safe than sorry. I cook all of my meals in the microwave so I won't have to worry about starting a fire.

It is hard to give up our independence but we have to sometimes. I gave up driving at the beginning of the year after I passed the street I had lived on for 7 years. I drove around the subdivision until I finally found my house. We have to protect ourselves and others.

Good luck and take care.

[marti]

I"m back on this thread. I just took the time and energy to make some meatballs and they totally suck. It's not enough that I have MS, I also have osteoarthritis in my hands. My hands and wrists hurt so much and making something like meatballs takes a lot of hand work.

It's not just today's fiasco, but everything I cook comes out terrible now. I used to be a good cook and everything on the table came from our garden and was homemade. I know how my poor old Mom felt when she had to quit cooking. I'm sure it killed her to have to hang up her apron. She was a cook in a restaurant for years. Everyone wanted her food.

So, now I'm depressed, tired, in pain and hungry.

This thread kind of sounded a little silly to me in the beginning, but now I really get it and am grateful it was started.

I'm all for take-out. I don't care if it's not healthy. And I can still open a can of soup. My husband is just going to have to take care of himself or do the fast food thing with me. I give up!