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How To Prepare Meals When You’re Disabled

I should have gotten a degree in cooking meals for the chronically disabled. As most of you know, I broke my ankle 12 years ago. And it’s still a problem every day.

Three surgeries have not vastly improved my physical limitations.

That’s okay: It is what it is.

So I will tell you how I’m conquering this disability in terms of finding ways to feed myself.

From trial and error over the past year since the last surgery, I think I’ve got many cooking techniques down. My time standing time in my kitchen is limited.

After the COVID disaster, you could suddenly get pretty much anything delivered. Thank goodness. Because I can’t shop for groceries myself.

So let’s cut to the chase here. The following are meals that I often cook for myself.

Meal #1. Trader Joe’s Orange Chicken With Veggie Rice:

Trader Joe’s Orange Chicken plus their frozen veggie rice. It takes me literally 15 minutes to make my meal.

In how to make meals when you're disabled, I make most of my meals in this Kitchenaid convection/toaster oven

I cook most of my meals in a countertop convection oven.

Meal #2: Shrimp + Baked Potato + A Salad:

Sometimes I put shrimp or some other frozen fish in the convection oven along with a baked potato.

I add a salad and that’s my meal. And it’s a great meal. Quite tasty in fact.

Leftovers Are My Best Friends:

Leftovers are the most wonderful thing ever created. I like to create individual meals that resemble TV dinners with leftovers. Then all I have to do is reheat it.

Tip: Cook once and freeze the leftovers for another day

I usually sit on a stool at my counter while I put the necessary ingredients together. Then I cook it in my countertop convection oven.

Tip: Buy a countertop convection oven. It cooks faster and doesn’t heat up your home like a regular oven.

There are times when I order pizza from the Hideaway just down the road.

I typically order a meat and veggie pizza and then eat a couple of meals of pizza and salad.

Then I take each leftover pizza slice and individually wrap them in aluminum foil. All the aluminum foil-wrapped pieces of pizza go into my freezer.

Tip: When you order pizza and have leftovers, wrap them individually in aluminum foil and freeze them for another quick meal.

Meal #3: Frozen Pizza + Salad:

When I’m hungry and need something fast, I will take out 1 or 2 slices of frozen pizza. I cook it on the rectangular pan that I bought for my convection oven.

My meal is ready to eat in about 15 minutes. It goes from frozen to crispy quickly.

I always have sacks of pre-made salad in the fridge and this completes my meal. I like to order already shredded carrots and toss those in as well.

Meal #4: Breakfast For Lunch:

If I’m not terribly hungry, I will often cook oatmeal. It’s very filling and it cooks quickly.

I like to add a little container of apple sauce to my oatmeal and mix it all up.

So that’s a rather odd-sounding mix, but I like it. If I make it a meal, I usually make a piece of toast to go with it.

Tip: Freeze bread and then take out a slice or two and toast it

All you health nuts out there, please don’t comment that this isn’t a great way to eat. Because just getting myself fed is the goal. And if I have to take shortcuts, so be it.

Meal #5: Breakfast For Dinner:

Scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, and slices of raisin toast.

I cook the turkey bacon in the microwave.

Then cook scrambled eggs at the stove. I sit on the other side of my walker to stir the eggs in the skillet.

Lastly, I toast bread in the convection oven for a few minutes and I’m ready to eat what I call breakfast for supper.

If you’re feeling adventurous, add sliced mushrooms, onions, peppers, or whatever veggie you desire with the scrambled eggs. Or you could make an omelet.

Meal #6: Tuna Casserole + Salad

In How To Make Meals When You're Disabled, this is my favorite tuna casserole recipe
Recipe by Healthy Recipes Blog

I love this recipe I found for tuna casserole. It doesn’t have a lot of ingredients. And the leftovers are delicious.

Add a salad and you’ve got a great meal. And if you’re alone, a few extra meals can go into the refrigerator for later. Win-win.

Meal #7: Taco Soup:

About once a month I cook up a big skillet of taco soup. Sometimes I cook it in my crock pot.

You can find my recipe here.

I eat a bowl of taco soup for a meal or two, and then the rest goes into individual baggies for the freezer.

Defrost when you’re hungry for taco soup and warm up in the microwave.

Meal #8: Bean Burritos:

In How To Make Meals When You're Disabled, these are the bean burritos I make

I prefer soft tortillas to make burritos.

Add your choice of beans, cheese, and maybe a little minced onion, or whatever you prefer.

Wrap the ingredients in your tortilla and then microwave it for a minute or so. It’s a fast and easy meal.

You can find Brenda’s Basic Bean Burritos here.

Meal #9: Tuna Salad Sandwiches + Salad:

This is my favorite recipe for tuna salad. I found it online and I’ve made it many times.

Make a tuna salad and put it in the refrigerator. It’s a fast meal as well.

Meal #10: Rotisserie Chicken Tacos:

Rotisserie chicken tacos

Sometimes I’ll buy a rotisserie chicken. I like to make tacos with the chicken.

Warm your soft tortilla and add your favorite taco ingredients. Maybe add a bean burrito while you’re at it.

It’s another fast and easy meal. You can find my recipe here.

Turkey Meatloaf:

Turkey meatloaf

Sometimes I will cook a turkey meatloaf. I like the leftovers for sandwiches.

I’ve learned that you gotta do what you gotta do. You have to eat, there’s no getting around that. And if you’re in my position, you don’t have a lot of time to prepare it.

So try to eat as healthily as you can, with whatever limitations you have.

Sometimes for lunch, I might make a quick smoothie.

There are days when I eat a TV dinner with a salad.

It’s not the most nutritious meal, I know. But you have to do what you have to do.

When you’re disabled and live alone, you have to come up with ways to make meals quickly and easily.

You can find recipes for some of my favorite meals below. Most of the recipes listed are great for leftover and/or freezer meals.

These recipes are quick and easy. Best of all, they don’t require a lot of time in the kitchen.

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I'm Brenda, creator of Cozy Little House. I live with my cat, Ivy, who keeps me laughing. I graduated from journalism school with a degree in professional writing and won awards for feature writing. I practice gratitude and enjoy my solitude. The glass is always half-full.

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23 Comments

  1. I was just thinking this week “I wonder what Brenda is eating these days……wish she would put some of her recipes on her blog.” Thank you so much for taking the time to do this! I’ll have to try that tuna recipe. I’m glad to see that I’m not the only one that puts applesauce in her oatmeal! Or I often add Greek yogurt. They both add such a nice flavor.

    1. Yeah, I don’t know why one day I put applesauce in there. I usually slice fruit into oatmeal, but that day I didn’t have any.

  2. I don’t think applesauce in oatmeal sounds odd at all because I add peanut butter to my oatmeal. Can you please share a link for your countertop oven? I’ve been thinking about buying one, and I know you really like yours.

  3. I had typed out my comment, including a recipe for Crack Chicken, realized I needed to plug in my tablet, and it erased my whole message! LOL! So google Crack Chicken sometime. It’s good plain, over rice, or in soft tortillas. I haven’t tried freezing it. It would probably freeze well in a wrapped tortilla?

    The base of my comment was that this WWer think you’re eating healthfully. And eating similarly to us. You and my husband can keep the tuna casserole though! 😂

    1. This probably wouldn’t worked with the comment you wrote this time. But did you know that if your writing is deleted, if you immediately press Control and Z it brings the writing back? Can’t do anything in between or it won’t work.

  4. I am going to make that Taco Soup this week. It sounds delicious.
    I am a big fan of your Tuna Casserole recipe. I make it with a bag of riced cauliflower mixed in.

  5. Brenda, I think all of your meals sound delicious!
    Maybe you could find more meals to cook in your crockpot if you are looking for a little variety.
    I take chicken breast, put them in the crock pot add a jar of salsa verde or regular salsa and cook until the chicken is soft. Then I shred it and use it for tacos, rice bowls, etc.
    Another think I make is regular ground beef taco meat, serve it over air fried sweet potato chunks with toco fixings, its delicious.
    You might also like this recipe, we have made it several times and love it. https://www.jocooks.com/recipes/creamy-chicken-and-rice/
    Take care of yourself Brenda! Stay cool.
    Elizabeth

  6. I failed to mention that you should smash the pinto beans with a potato masher as you’re refrying them.

  7. So many fabulous ideas – thank you so much for sharing. I’m looking forward to trying most of them. Here’s a favorite of mine – put some cooking oil in a frying pan, add a spoonful of pinto beans (no liquid) and refry them to spread on a warm tortilla with shredded cheese on top. Make a burrito or taco. I have a friend who mixes in an egg, as well.

  8. Thanks. This is so helpful right now.
    I make an English pea salad when I make a tuna salad. They have most of the same ingredients.I will add those recipes tomorrow.

    1. I figured there must be other people out there trying to feed themselves when they can’t get around well.

  9. My daughter works late four days a week, it is just her and I so I’m always looking for meals to fix like these. Thank you Brenda.

    1. Sometimes it’s hard to find recipes for one or two people. There are bloggers out there who do write about that though. Just can’t think of them off the top of my head.

  10. Thanks Brenda, since my heart attack in May we’re making an effort to eat healthier. I just run out of ideas. These recipes sound great and we can convert to a healthier version.

    1. I love leftovers! Partly because I don’t have to cook again and partly because they taste good. Casseroles usually have leftovers. It’s good that you sit and prepare your meals. It seems like that would be the most helpful, if standing hurts your ankle. I’ve seen lots of recipes that can be made and enjoyed quickly. That’d be an advantage for you too. Those salads in a bag are great. And of course the crock pot idea is good too. Just throw all the ingredients in and walk away. They have those bags you can cook in with your crock pot, making clean up a breeze. Another time saver for your hurt ankle. That’s, of course, assuming it’s safe to cook with the plastic.

  11. I have a similar problem so I completely understand! FYI do you save the carcass of the rotisserie chicken? It make the most wonderful broth!

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