Hi, my name is MaxineAshley! - Page 2 — Scope | Disability forum
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Hi, my name is MaxineAshley!

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  • steve51
    steve51 Community member Posts: 7,153 Disability Gamechanger
  • thespiceman
    thespiceman Community member Posts: 6,388 Disability Gamechanger

    Hello @MaxineAshley  Pleased to meet you.

    I am one of the team of community champions of the forum.

    Please can I thank you for sharing with forum lots of the aspects of your life and hobbies.

    Sorry to hear you stopped cooking. Understand this as in pain.

    I hope I can help with anything.  I enjoy cooking but as I have a disability and mental health issues.

    Try to guide, advise those would may be like to cook. Often have suggestions and ideas my recipes.

    Which I put on here.  Lots of tricks, tips, shortcuts be happy to help.

    I know it is difficult standing for my self.  Can not stand too long .

    Have fingers missing so use a lot of time savers.

    Have a range of equipment, gadgets, utensils to help me do chopping, food preparation.

    Use things like blenders. You can put everything in ingredients.  Blitz away just add a tin or a jar of sauce or tin tomatoes.

    Got food processors with slicer attachments.  For Onions and making lots of vegetables preparations.  Add that you make sauces.

    I know myself it is making planning a priority.

    Days like this. Saturday or Sunday food preparation days. Then ready for the week ahead.

    Got a sauce on now. Cooker hob simmering away ready to be blitzed up blender for the week ahead.

    Use your freezer to store anything like batches of sauces just some examples.  Use zip bags.

    Please if I can be a listening ear any ideas or suggestions be happy to do so.

    Have done recipes, ideas suggestions for many of the community.

    Pleasure to meet you.

    @thespiceman

    Community Champion
    SCOPE Volunteer Award Engaging Communities 2019
    Mental Health advice, guidance and information to all members
    Nutrition, Diet, Wellbeing, Addiction.
    Recipes
  • MaxineAshley
    MaxineAshley Community member Posts: 38 Courageous
    @thespiceman

    Nice to meet you too.

    You are very organised and I need to be more like that, apart from there is no space in the freezer... and I purposely bought a professional ice cream maker (that one so I don’t have to put the bowl in the freezer first) then realised... duh ? no space! 

    I find listening to music helps when I do cook, as I sing along while I prep and cook, distracting me from the pain. 

    So so hopefully I can get back to cooking and singing.

    I hope your pot on the stove now turns out yummy. 

    Have a wonderful weekend. ??‍♀️
    Writing my first novel, excited to get it finished.
  • thespiceman
    thespiceman Community member Posts: 6,388 Disability Gamechanger

    Hello @MaxineAshley Thank you for kind words.

    Thank you for sharing. Sounds like you get lost in your freezer or fridge. Is a expression comes to mind.

    Had this myself.  Have with my mental health . Memory issues. Sometime a long time ago had to be organised.

    Reason was my addiction now clean but have memory issues.

    Have my fridge, freezer , stores used to have multiple tins and packets all the same.  Kept buying the same stuff not using the old stuff.

    One other suggestion I have is to make a stocklist of every thing . On A4 paper.  Use a folder then when shopping on line know what I need to buy.

    Like the supermarkets do.  Stock check every shop.

    When buying new items use the oldest first the it gets used up.

    Just know this method saves money but also gives you space in your freezer or fridge or stores.

    Do shopping on line .

    Also any frozen vegetables or products you can take them out of the bags. They come in to transfer this to zip bags and label. Makes more room as long you label them.

    You can use clip bags. Another solution.

    Meat portion use tin foil.  You can buy tin foil ideal for the freezer prevents freezer burn and label everything. Out of freezer no mess. Into fridge to defrost.

    Just some ideas for you.  Does help.

    Wish you well .

    Hope your weekend goes great.

    Take care.

    @thespiceman



    Community Champion
    SCOPE Volunteer Award Engaging Communities 2019
    Mental Health advice, guidance and information to all members
    Nutrition, Diet, Wellbeing, Addiction.
    Recipes
  • MaxineAshley
    MaxineAshley Community member Posts: 38 Courageous
    @thespiceman

    Thank you for those ideas.

    I always keep the tubs the takeaways come in for freezing left overs.

    Never thought about tin foil, that’s a great idea, plus recently purchased envelope labels which can be cut in half and used, so thank you for that idea. 

    I shop online too with everything. Which makes life easier, especially when you can’t get out but still would like the odd treat. 
    Writing my first novel, excited to get it finished.
  • thespiceman
    thespiceman Community member Posts: 6,388 Disability Gamechanger

    Hello @MaxineAshley  Thank you for reply. One point I wanted to add the reason you use zip bags or clip bags. 

    Is that sometimes we need a quick meal. Portioning left overs in zip bags or clip bags. Storage easier also can take them out if forgetting.

    On the actual day you want a meal into a bowl of hot water defrosts instantly ready for use that day. Use careful here.

    A large bowl. Add water from your kettle pour over and leave.  As contents are sealed not leaking you be fine. Had to do this sometimes because I forget some days.

    OK with things like home made soups or sauces.  Hope that might help.

    With tin foil use labelled 20 metres Kitchen Foil  by a company called CMI Ltd on the box.

    One other tip look on line for freezer storage.  Amazon worth a look here.

    If you sign up to there Prime account about £7 a month I pay.

    Bought lots of storage stuff like labels a 1000 plus certain things like zip bags or clip bags buy in bulk often cheap and worth the money.

    Bought 60 one time and a range of sizes.  Remember you use these for all sorts of food and kitchen uses.

    Also lots of other things like tin foil and cases.

    Some of these companies want your business do offer a bargain or two .

    Like the other month bought a pack of zip bags and gave me another set as well. Worked out a lot cheaper.  Than the supermarket.

    Add Chicken to a bag add seasonings, salt, lemon juice, olive oil marinades. Keep in fridge then pour into a pan to use or baking tray to cook . Then to add to Chicken or any cut of meat.  Your veggies.

    Had done this because then it is easier to handle not touching meat. Use Tongs or utensils to put into a bag. Always wash hands after wards but just a useful tip.

    You can use them for grated cheese or anything like that. Another one I use for.

    Wish you well In anything you do.

    Glad to help. Please if I can just add. Many members do contact me for wanting just a simple line or two how to do a certain recipe of any advice . Be happy to do so.

    Keep in touch enjoy your Sunday.

    Take care.

    @thespiceman



    Community Champion
    SCOPE Volunteer Award Engaging Communities 2019
    Mental Health advice, guidance and information to all members
    Nutrition, Diet, Wellbeing, Addiction.
    Recipes
  • MaxineAshley
    MaxineAshley Community member Posts: 38 Courageous
    @thespiceman

    Good morning on this slightly grey sky here in Surrey.

    Another thing about putting meat into zip bags, I do that all the time (but never thought about the warm water or kitchen foil, so thank you for those amazing tips, and that very yummy sound recipe which I will definitely try out, and use my 3 layer steamer for steaming vegetables while boiling potatoes... using just one ring on the stove, saves money too). 

    When I buy sausages I freeze them in batches of 2 & 3, laying them flat in a row, so that if I would need them they defrost easily.
    Any type of mince, I put into zip bags, in portion sizes of 300gs, making it as flat as possible to the very top zip, so that defrosts really quickly too.
    Pork loins in larger packs, I do the same with the zip bag, plus chicken breasts, I write with a permanent maker so I can wash the bag out and reuse it once again before throwing it away, saving money and keeping green, helping the planet ? 

    I love eBay too for those kind of things, only just signed up about one month ago for Amazon Prime for shopping, tv and downloading for free books on my hubby’s and my Kindles.

    One recipe I can share if you are interested is my hubby’s favourite.

    Sausage Tray Bake

    Serves 2

    Ingredients are:

    Sausages x 4
    Carrots 1 lrg/ 2 small
    Parsnips 1 lrg/ 2 small
    Potatoes 2/3 
    Brussel sprouts (handful)
    Onion 1, half it, cut  into chunky size slices.
    Olive oil 
    Seasoning, salt & pepper
    Dried sage

    Method

    1) Preheat oven to 180c

    2)  Peel the skins of the carrots and parsnips, cut them into chip size pieces, likewise with the potatoes (scrub and leave skin on), place on baking tray along with sprouts and onion slices.

    3) Drizzle over olive oil, season and sprinkle dried sage, mixed it all around to cover the ingredients.

    4) Place sausages on top, place in oven for about 35-40 minutes, then serve. 

    I’m going to try a smaller one person size in my Airfryer (figure out the timing as I know it’s 18 minutes for potato wedges, so might be the same or 20 minutes to cook the sausages fully)

    I’m so pleased to find someone to chat to and exchange ideas and recipes. 
    As I know it will help get me back into the kitchen and cook more on my good days. 

    Enjoy your Sunday. 
    Writing my first novel, excited to get it finished.

Brightness