Confession: I let my can opener do the work

15 ways I cook faster - with less pain and way less effort

Do you want to know what my clients with hand pain most often complain about to me??

Hand pain while cooking!

That’s why today, I want to offer you 15 ideas that I use regularly in my kitchen to ditch the hand pain and actually get your cooking done faster!

1. Palm peeler. Rather than tightly gripping a regular vegetable peeler, a palm peeler takes the grip entirely out of the hand that’s doing the peeling. You also don’t have to worry about dropping the peeler or accidental slips! 

2. Jiffy Twist jar opener. This is by far my FAVORITE jar opener because 1) it installs (peel & stick!) under my cabinet and doesn’t take up any precious drawer or counter space, and 2) it easily opens ANY SIZE LID from as small as a salad dressing lid to as large as a wide pickle jar. I will never try to open containers by hand again since having the Jiffy Twist.

3. Keep your knives sharp. SERIOUSLY, depending on how often you use them, you should be sharpening your knives every month or so. Sharp knives drastically decreases how much effort you have to exert for chopping your food 

4. Hold your knife with a pinch grip. This is the most efficient and ergonomic way to chop food! A chef once commented on an instagram reel of mine about how I should be holding my knife for less hand strain and once I tried it, I have never gone back because I feel such a difference in how much control I have as well as how little effort it takes to chop.

5. Kitchen mama automatic can opener. It takes ALL THE HAND WORK out of opening your cans! Simply set the handheld opener on top of your hand, push the button, and let her go! This little can opener easily fits into my kitchen drawer and is my favorite way to  open cans 

6. Use automatic kitchen tools when you can. For example, I love using my kitchen aid mixer for shredding chicken. You could also fine dice veggies in a blender or with a food chopper. How can you use an electric tool so your hands don’t have to work at all??

7. Ring pull can opener. Save your pointer finger and use much less effort and the leverage of this simple yet powerful tool!

8. Right-angled chef’s knife. Rather than having a typical handle on your knife, the handle set at a right-angle to the blade. This gives those with hand pain, hypermobiltity, arthritis, or weakness  a better grip and eases strain on the wrist.

9. Pan buddy. The pan buddy is a vertical attachment for your kitchen pan’s handle, which adds leverage and support by keeping your wrist in a natural position. This reduces strain on your wrist joint and transfers the weight to your forearm 

10. Rotary cheese grater. Let me tell you something you *probably* already know…manually grating cheese is a huge source of hand pain! Turning a hand crank already uses the larger muscles of your arm rather than overusing your tiny finger and hand joints, and makes for a much more efficient grating experience 

11. Push metagrip for thumb discomfort. This brace puts your CMC joint, the joint where your thumb meets your wrist, in better alignment so you’re not constantly straining your thumbs. It’s also an incredibly durable brace - waterproof, and if it gets dirty you can literally throw it in your washing machine 

12. Ring splints for better finger alignment and less overall hand strain. Seriously, finding the right ring splints can be a GAME CHANGER when doing repetitive tasks in the kitchen such as chopping or grating. I love wearing my 2 ½ buddy ring splint as well as some swan neck ring splints to block hyperextension and make my hands feel way more stable 

13. Stir with your entire arm. When spending any time in the kitchen, think about how you can use the larger muscles of your shoulder and elbow rather than just making your fingers and wrist do all the work 

14. Take breaks and give yourself plenty of time. Maybe even do a few hand stretches or exercises during a cooking break 

15. Consider an electric dish scrubber. This cuts back on how much your hands have to work to scrub dishes. ALSO, make sure you’re pre-soaking your heavily soiled dishes first to make scrubbing less hand-intensive 

I want to know - which of these tips will you be trying first?? Comment below and let me know which number tip it is! 

And if you found this helpful…

…you’d love Hypermobile Hands Blueprint, my signature online program for those with bendy and sore hands.

Inside there are 100+ ideas just like these to cut your hand pain for all types of your daily activities - from styling your hair, to weeding your garden beds, to doing planks in the gym and everything in between! 

You can get $100 off the Blueprint & learn more about it by watching my free masterclass.

>> Learn more & get $100 off the Blueprint 

And here's to easier and less painful cooking!