Cooking

Things to talk through with your family/ carers/ support team:

• What are your favourite things to eat?
• Do you eat three meals a day?
• Do you enjoy snacks throughout the day?
• Do you use the cooker/ microwave/ hob?
• Do you enjoy cooking?
• Do you have a varied diet? What foods are healthy/ unhealthy?

If you struggle with the steps of cooking try using easy-read recipes which take you through step-by-step how to make a meal. Use the templates below as a guide for how to lay out an easy-read recipe. Try adding pictures or text depending on how you prefer the information to be shown.

If you require further support for creating an easy-read recipe for your favourite meal please contact the Occupational Therapy department on 01383 565223.

Easy Read Recipes

“Someone that we recently worked with had not had the opportunity to prepare meals independently. Therefore they were eating out most days or ordering in takeaways. With the support of Occupational Therapy, the use of words and a selection of easy-read recipes the individual was able to develop a routine for making their own meals in the kitchen. The individual began with making their own breakfast and began to develop other recipes so that they were able to prepare meals for themselves and family members when they visited once a week.”

Learning Disability Occupational Therapist

Memo Board

“An individual was struggling with reading the ‘use by’ dates of food in their fridge which meant that they were often going out of date and having to be binned. Occupational Therapy worked with the individual to support them to identify ways to stop this from happening. Occupational Therapy implemented a memo board that the individual was able to attach to their fridge.”

Learning Disability Occupational Therapist