II. Meal Preparation
A. Devices for Meal Preparation
1. Meal Preparation Devices for Cutting, Peeling and Chopping:
Various styles of knives are available for cutting food. Some are designed for use by the caregiver when preparing meals while others are designed for the care recipient’s use for self-feeding. Most knives have straight or curved blades, either smooth or serrated. Serrated blades are easier to use and are less likely to slip than smooth blades. Knives with enlarged grips that require the hand to be placed in a fisted position eliminate pressure on the index finger. It is best to select knives that are lightweight with large handles, such as Good Grips™.
A word of caution: Straight knives make you cut with the wrist in a bent position and with unequal pressure on the fingers. Over time, this position can cause increased pain, discomfort or deformity in the small joints of the fingers and wrist.
 Good Grips Knives/Pizza Cutter
 a. Rocker T Knife
For the care recipient, several “rocker-style” knives are available to assist people who may have the use of only one hand or limited hand strength. The person literally rocks the knife blade back and forth to cut food or uses the hand and arm in a sawing motion to cut the food item. For example, one such knife is called the rocker-T knife.
Pressure can be applied directly above the food, which requires less hand strength and dexterity than the standard style knife. Caregivers may use these knives as well for chopping vegetables. A word of caution: The T-shaped knives are extremely sharp so use carefully.
b. For the caregiver, there are ergonomic right angle knives that are set at a 90º angle that keeps the hands and wrists in a neutral position. This is particularly important if the user has arthritis in the hands and wrist. Some are lightweight and have a closed handle with finger contours that assists grasping for someone with weak hand strength. .
 Ergonomic Right Angle Knife
A word of caution: It is important to have adequate lighting directed on the work surface when using knives to promote safety. Increased lighting will improve the ability to see where to place the knife’s edge on the items to be cut.
c. Cutting boards can be helpful for the caregiver with the use of only one hand. Specifically those that have two aluminum nails set about ¾” apart to hold the food being cut. The nails pointing up can cold meat, fruits, vegetables and cheese for one-handed cutting. Other cutting boards have a raised edge that can hold a slice of bread for making sandwiches or spreading food over bread’s surface.
 Cutting Board with Rocker-T Knife
d. Good Grips™ also makes a peeler with a built-up handle for an easy and secure grasp. Built-up handled utensils are much easier to grasp when the user has decreased hand strength, arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome or related pain. Less energy and force is needed to use these types of devices. This is particularly important for those that have rheumatoid arthritis such as the hand model shown in the photo.
Built-up handle
 peeler
If buying new utensils is out of the question, the caregiver can build up the handle of their current peeler, knife, fork or spoon by using closed cell foam tubing, pipe insulation or a foam hair curler.
e. Electric food processors can help with a heavy amount of vegetable chopping. They vary in size and features with removable parts. These are especially helpful when preparing meals for several days.
 Mini-food processor
A word of caution: Before purchasing this type of device, make sure that the device’s controls are easy to read and operate and the attachments can do a variety of tasks that can ease the process of meal preparation: shredding, slicing, whisking, blending, fruit-to-juice presser, chopping/mincing, shaving ice, double beater/whipper, and a mill for grains or coffee beans.
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