What to eat with one hand?
Hi all,
I started to Google this, but I thought my fellow serious eaters would give me much better advice.
My husband sustained a Thanksgiving leftovers-related knife injury to his hand, which sent him info for surgery yesterday. Consequently, his right hand is out of commission for at least a month. We eat well, and enjoy cooking great meals, but it is going to be rough for him! Luckily he is left handed, but I am looking for some good meal suggestions to get us through the next few weeks. He is far too stubborn to let me cut his meat for him into the new year.
I'm thinking braised meat, non-sloppy sandwiches...what other ideas do you have?
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18 Comments:
Soups, stews, pasta, meatloaf, stir fries...
Cathy at 4:38PM on 12/03/08
Anything that can be eaten with chopsticks.
Kerosena at 4:43PM on 12/03/08
Burritos, sushi, almost anything if you're resourceful enough.
beth1 at 4:43PM on 12/03/08
Short pastas or tortelini (things you can stab), pizza, quiche, fritatas, chili stews, stir fry and non messy sandwiches(probably not reubens). Anything that comes with bite size pieces that he can stab or scoop up. Or things such as eggs etc. that can easily be cut with a fork. And hey nothing wrong with having a variety of fingerfoods for dinner (we call it snacky food night). I hope he has a swift recovery!
dhorst at 4:45PM on 12/03/08
There's pizza, if you eat 'em with your fingers instead of a fork and knife -- or is that opening up a can of worms?
Most Asian foods like Japanese, Indian, etc. require one hand using a utensil. Sushi, many Southeast Asian and African dishes require no utensils, properly eaten.
Cassaendra at 7:31PM on 12/03/08
Get a sectioned plate (like the kind you store leftovers in) with a deep enough edge that he can use the edge to get food on the spoon or fork. Also, get a roll of non-slip shelf-lining material and cut a section to use as a placemat, so the plate stays put. And look here for a rocking knife that can be used with one hand.
buffy at 8:04PM on 12/03/08
casseroles would be fine too. You're probably ok making whatever you normally would as long as there isn't a main, one piece of meat or veg per person that requires both fork and knife.
joyyy at 8:57PM on 12/03/08
At first, I was thinking this was going to be about eating with one hand while typing or driving with the other, but this is actually a little easier, since it involves a plate and utensils.
Non-messy sandwiches and all sorts of finger foods come to mind. And cut everything small for both of you. If you want steak, serve it sliced into bite-size portions instead of as a whole honkin' steak.
Think about Asian type presentations, where it's all small enough to be eaten in one bite and manipulated with chopsticks.
Soup is good.
I can understand how he's not going to want you to cut his meat for him at the table, but if the meat comes to the table already sliced, or in bite-size pieces, for both of you, then you're not treating him differently.
Meatloaf and mashed potatoes sounds good.
We had pork tenderloin tonight, and that could have been done without a knife. Maybe not in my ladylike mouth, but if I was trying hard enough, I could have sliced it so no one needed a knife.
Even somewhat messy sandwiches wouldn't be too bad, if you cut them in quarters instead of serving full-sized sandwiches.
I suppose part of this depends on how messy he's okay with getting, and how non-functional the other hand is. If the hand is tied to his chest and can't move, that's one thing. If he can use it to leverage things but can't use his fingers, that's another. In one case, fried chicken on the bone would be a bad idea, but it would be doable in the other.
dbcurrie at 10:09PM on 12/03/08
Darn it, that link I posted didn't come through. Let's see if this works.
buffy at 11:45PM on 12/03/08
Empanadas. Make a batch of the dough, and you can fill them with virtually anything (savoury or sweet), so they don't get boring. They reheat well, too, so making a large batch and refrigerating/freezing it is not a problem.
mongoose at 2:43AM on 12/04/08
Actually, since his dominant hand is okay, anything that doesn't require a knife should be fine, including things like cuts of steak and duck breast, which are usually served sliced.
mongoose at 7:20AM on 12/04/08
Thanks all, this has been really good! It seems like it would be easy to come up with ideas, but keep in mind he is eating most meals on the couch instead of sitting at a kitchen table (we live in NYC and are frequent couch eaters). I thought soup was a slam dunk, until we realized he needed one hand to hold the bowl, and one hand for the spoon. :)
kll205 at 9:58AM on 12/04/08
Soup on the couch with one hand--it's possilble if it's a cream soup with a straw--not the prettiest, but doable.
dhorst at 10:24AM on 12/04/08
Middle Eastern and Northern African food rely on the use of one hand. Culturally, there's a hand for eating, and a hand for. . . .other stuff.
Keight at 10:28AM on 12/04/08
@kll205 - get him a little stand/tray (we got a few from walmart for our vacation place for ~$10/each) so that he can sit on a couch and have a little table to put his food on. They fold up flat so you could stash it easily when he's not using it. One of those lap tables might work well too.
joyyy at 11:00AM on 12/04/08
Hum Bows, egg rolls,
pjracz10 at 4:21PM on 12/04/08
soup in a mug
coolname at 4:56PM on 12/04/08
Anything, if you feed him. There is nothing more sensual than one human being caring for another. Just dont do it momma bird style because that would be gross!!
twoojoe at 5:32PM on 12/04/08