Weight management for VI
It is often suggested that when you start following a new, healthy diet you should try to cook homemade meals. Making your own meals and snacks means you know exactly what you are eating, with no hidden surprises and you can easily adjust the composition of your daily diet to suit your needs.
As an individual with a VI you may find some preparation or cooking techniques difficult so follow some of the tips below to make cooking safer, simpler, healthier and more enjoyable:
- Consider buying talking devices such as timers and scales.
- Braille labels placed on equipment and canned/boxed foods may be useful.
- Being familiar with the kitchen layout and keeping it tidy will help prevent accidents.
- If you have some degree of vision, ensure your kitchen is well lit and organised.
- Reduce knife use by using a food processor to chop, mix or blend ingredients.
- Dishes/chopping boards with suction cups that help prevent slipping can make the kitchen environment safer.
- Look out for quick and easy recipes e.g. stir-fry’s, salads, soups and pasta dishes.
- Cook meals in batches and freeze them in portions to reheat when you need a quick meal or if you don’t have time to cook.
- A microwave can be useful for reheating meals and ready-made sauces, and for cooking vegetables or microwavable rice.
- Use pre-prepared foods e.g. chopped or frozen fruit/ vegetables and ready-made sauces/meals. Be sure to consult the label (ask if necessary) as some ready-made meals can be high in fat, sugar and/or salt.
We understand that making changes to your diet can be challenging if you can’t read food labels, recipes or menus easily. If you use a screen reader many of these can now be found online so, make use of this facility where possible. Shopping for your groceries online can also be useful because you can compare ingredients and products at the click of a button rather than in store.
Please follow the link below to our general nutrition page for getting 'Fit for Life'.