JANUARY 4 — I spent the last week of 2022 planning my meals and workouts for the first month of January 2023.
Though I am well acquainted with ableism, last year when I needed to deal with illness and deconditioning I was made more aware of how too many things, routines included, are ableist even without meaning to be.
One example is the Apple Watch. While Apple lauded an App Store app Gentler Streak that gave users a more personalised experience without the relentless “Close your rings!” admonitions, there is still no ability to just declare a sick day.
One thing I learned during my aborted attempt to run a half-marathon was how necessary rest was for fitness.
When I ran more than three times a week, my wrist ECG readings were erratic and within three weeks I had injured my ankles.
Never missing a day of work, accumulating leave, working out every day without fail ― we are far more likely to be accommodating of machines breaking down but not of people needing downtime.
Last year I found myself seeking out blogs and social media accounts of people living with disabilities and chronic illnesses for life tips.
The best advice I got was to do food prep and cooking in advance, in large batches to both shorten cooking time and be able to avoid cooking for days or even weeks.
Many tools we see as nice conveniences are life changing for the disabled.
Having Covid and being forced to rely on takeout made me seek out options that would allow me to have meals when I needed, and not just when I could get a Grab rider.
This morning I used my fancy cooking blender's grain porridge mode to make myself congee. I added water, stock sauce, pre-marinated sliced beef and pressed a button.
While waiting 50 minutes for my congee to be done, I used a cheap second blender to grind coffee beans in seconds.
I also use it as a vegetable chopper, chopping batches of onions and garlic at a time.
If I want soup, I can just chuck a few vegetables with water and stock into my fancy blender again and have the option to choose between creamed soup or chunky.
There's also miso paste in the fridge pre-mixed with anchovy stock so all I need is a spoonful in one-and-a-half cups of water and ten minutes on the stovetop.
If all else fails and even standing is hard, there is that genius Malaysian invention of a soft boiled egg maker that requires only patience and hot water.
The book The Ice Kitchen was also a great help in recipes and guides on cooking meals that could be cooked in large portions for freezing.
While all of this does save me time and money in the long run (expensive blender aside) those are bonuses to my real objectives ― to keep myself fed and accommodate any fluctuation in wellness or energy levels.
There are people who insist kitchen gadgets and the like are just lazy, that it's cheaper and tastier cooking from scratch. I find that silly.
After all, I'm cooking for myself and not for the Michelin food guide.
In a different world, perhaps I would have the time to cut up a chicken for stock but in this one with all its demands on my time and energy, I'll stick to Maggi's stock concentrate and a press of a button.
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
