How to Cook When Wounded

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Cooking isn’t always as easy an endeavor as it looks here. Photo credit: Lori L. Salteri, Flickr

There must be something… dangerous… in the air at the Yahoo offices, because over the past few months several editors have showed up to work nursing bandaged hands and feet, walking on crutches, and generally cursing their own (and others’) clumsiness.

Regardless of whether the universe has placed a hex on us, the path forward is clear: Persevere! And that means cooking up some rejuvenating fare to help us get back on our feet (so to speak). Has this happened to you?

Here are pro tips from (battered, bruised) editors who love to cook:

"I had use of my hands, but couldn’t stand much," said Yahoo Beauty Senior Editor Joanna Douglas, who took a nasty spill on an icy street in February and broke her ankle. “I definitely suggest using a rolling chair for quick back and forth, to and from the fridge to stovetop. And serve everything from soup to cereal in tall cups instead of bowls so you’re less likely to spill when you’re carrying them.”

Yahoo Food Features Editor Alex Van Buren, who fell on a wet floor and tore a ligament in her dominant hand in March, quickly learned that chopping and slicing were out of the question. ”I went for easy one-handed lifts, like eggs. I poached a lot of eggs and always had a baguette handy so I could just sort of tear at it with my left hand and plop a poached egg on top, which I drizzled with Sriracha,” she said. “Easier than scrambling, even, if you only have one hand.”

"I can still make my favorite meal: frozen banana, vanilla almond milk, and some kale in a blender,” offered Yahoo Beauty Managing Editor Britt Aboutaleb, who was, *gasp,* run over by a car (don’t worry, she’s OK!) and limped away with a crushed ankle and broken foot. “I pour it in a bowl and sprinkle granola on top, and if I have peaches or raspberries, I add that, too. It’s basically dessert for breakfast.”

As for me, I managed to sprain my foot while attempting to dance the Charleston at a wedding and have adopted a Parisian diet of bread and cheese while I heal. Crutches make the stovetop tricky (don’t want to set a fire I can’t put out), but I’ve been getting into no-cook sandwiches made with thick slices of Parmesan, strawberry preserves, and crusty French bread. Weird, but true. And they’re so good, I’ll probably keep making them after I’m totally healed.

Yahoo Shine Senior Writer Beth Greenfield perhaps took the cake, so to speak, of injuries. A biking accident in May resulted in two broken elbows, torn wrist ligaments, and a chipped tooth (fortunately, she was wearing a helmet!). She’s proof that sometimes, much as we hate to admit it, cooking is out of the question. “Not to be cheeky, but my biggest tip is to get someone else to cook for you!

That is totally fair. And if that’s not possible, delivery to the rescue. Be careful out there, folks!