"How not to burn down the building and hurt yourself"
In partnership with the Axis project, Spinal Mobility has launched a 4-week cooking program for people with disabilities. The primary objective of the class is to address and compensate for the lack of attention paid to adaptive cooking techniques in most inpatient rehab settings. Although “Cooking for Quads” is chiefly geared to the tetraplegic population, people with various neurological disabilities are welcomed.
In week one of Cooking for Quads, we focused on the qualities of “Quad Friendly Foods”. These attributes consisted of food being: sizable, solid/dense, manipulative, nutritious, and accessible. Along with these concepts, we introduced “quad-friendly” appliances (George Foreman grill and Nutri-bullet/Magic Bullet) and adaptive cookware.
George Foreman Grill, Adaptive "Scooter", Adaptive Spatula, Standard Kitchen Knives Adaptive Cooking Knives, and Adaptive Cutting Board w/ Grater Attachment
Standard Kitchen Knives, Adaptive Knives, and Adaptive Spatula
Magic Bullet Blender
Following a discussion about qualities of “quad friendly” foods, we divided the class into several cooking stations. This format allowed for the attendees to participate in the cooking process, regardless of their ability to “direct”, “assist” or “do”.
In this first class, we prepared a dinner themed menu, which went in accordance with the qualities of “Quad Friendly Foods”. This menu consisted of Grilled beef with two different marinades, garlic bread strips, microwaved potatoes, and tossed salad.
Grilled Beef prepared on a George Foreman Grill/
Also pictured: Adaptive Cooking Spatula & Knife
Mincing of Garlic Cloves for Garlic Strips via Magic Bullet/ Nutribullet
Toasting of Garlic Strips via Sandwich Press
Washing of Vegetables for Tossed Salad
Mincing of Chives with a Standard Kitchen Knife
Attendees pictured with the fully prepared menu
Please stay tuned for week 2 of Cooking for Quads.