(relaxing piano music begins)
- [Announcer] A stroke is a life-changing event,
physically and emotionally.
Simple everyday tasks may become more challenging,
or need to be relearned.
And you may need more frequent rest breaks.
Every stroke is unique
and your recovery will be too.
As a trusted resource in your post-stroke journey,
we've created step-by-step guides
to make some common activities a little easier.
Today's activity, meal preparation.
- First, a few helpful tips.
Consider creating a weekly meal plan.
This will help you save time
and have more varied and healthy meals.
Look for pre-cut or pre-chopped meats
and vegetables at the grocery store,
or do your prep work ahead of time
when you feel more up to it and have more energy.
Store pre-cut foods in a Ziploc bag
or airtight storage container for up to a week.
Use rubber grip mats under your bowls and cutting boards
to keep items securely in place.
Stock your kitchen with knives with a good rubber grip,
rocker knives, and manual or electric processors.
These are all good tools for cutting,
chopping and shredding.
Other helpful items include utensils with suction
or non-skid, non-slip features.
And one handed jar, can, and bottle openers.
Get a standing chair which will allow you to lean
and have support while you're preparing your meals.
A microwave oven can also be a great time saver.
For easier access, install it at counter height.
A slow cooker is another alternative to stove top cooking.
It lets you select the cutoff time
so you can't over cook your meal.
So now, let's make something together.
Here's a curry tuna salad recipe.
You can buy the ingredients,
pre-chop them, and store them until you're ready to serve.
First, gather all your ingredients.
(bright music continues)
In a small, microwaveable bowl,
stir together 3/4 cup peeled and chopped carrots,
3/4 cup finely chopped radishes.
- [Woman] Good job.
- All right.
- [Tracie] One tablespoon water.
(upbeat music continues)
- [Woman] And, easy.
There you go.
- [Man] All right, here we go.
- [Woman] All right, dump it in there.
Okay, very good.
So what we can do is we'll position your hand right here.
- Okay.
- All right, and that stabilizes a little bit.
- Okay, all right.
- Cover with plastic wrap.
- [Woman] Okay, tighten it down.
That's excellent.
- [Tracie] And poke a small hole in the top to vent.
(glass bowl clinking)
(microwave door shutting)
Microwave on high power for four minutes,
or until the vegetables are tender.
Remove from the microwave and carefully uncover,
then let cool completely.
- All right, just set it right down here.
Very good.
(can opener cutting)
- [Tracie] Drain two 4.5-ounce cans
of low-sodium, chunk light tuna packed in water.
- All right, now into the bowl.
- I got it.
(upbeat music continues)
- [Woman] Very good.
- [Tracie] Add three tablespoons of fat-free,
plain Greek yogurt.
(upbeat music continues)
- [Woman] Good.
One more.
But that is like the mayonnaise portion.
Very good.
That's our plain yogurt.
- [Tracie] Two teaspoons curry powder.
- [Woman] It's all right, you're okay.
It's messy.
- [Man] I know.
(man chuckles)
- [Woman] That's all right.
One.
- [Man] That's one.
- [Woman] Uh huh.
- [Man] Alright. We was doing so good.
- [Woman] I know right.
- [Man] All right.
- [Woman] Well this is going to be worth it.
- [Man] All right.
- [Woman] All right, Good. That's perfect.
- [Man] All right.
- [Woman] All right.
- [Tracie] And one and a half teaspoons lime juice.
- [Woman] You know this is concentrated right?
- [Man] I love it.
- [Woman] Okay.
- All right.
- [Woman] All right, there you go.
- [Tracie] Refrigerate, cover for 20 minutes
allowing the flavors to blend.
(refrigerator door closing)
Drain and chop one 15 ounce can of pear slices.
- All right, okay.
Now we're going to pick up our big spoon or spatula.
- [Tracie] And gently stir into the tuna mixture
until well blended.
(upbeat music continues)
Place 3/4 cup of the tuna salad
in the center of a whole wheat tortilla
and top with avocado slices.
Enjoy.
(upbeat music continues)
- [Announcer] As you adjust to life, post-stroke,
remember to take it slow and be patient with yourself.
Make time for rest breaks,
and stop immediately if you experience
shortness of breath, excessive sweating, or dizziness.
(upbeat music fades)