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If you’ve recently undergone shoulder surgery, you’re likely tired of hearing about all the things you can’t do right now. No heavy lifting. Probably no driving. Watch your range of motion. Keep that arm in the sling and don’t wave it about. Alright, so these all make sense, of course. But you still have to live your life and learn a few new tricks to help care for yourself after shoulder surgery. There are few immediate needs that pose as many conundrums as that which can be found in the kitchen. From heavy cast iron pans to that jar of pickles with the too-tight lid, you might find yourself wondering what it is you can eat for dinner without ruining your surgeon’s hard work. After all, you can’t live well off of cereal and ramen for all that long!

Know When to Cheat

Unlike cheating on a healthy diet, this one will lead to better overall health. If you grab some pre-chopped veggies — fresh or frozen — and protein, you can have a healthy meal in no time flat. Ground beef, pork, turkey, or sausage can all be broken up single-handedly as long as you’re careful to not tip the pan as you go, but we’d suggest skipping the kind in the tube and opt for the sort your grocery store butcher lays out in trays wrapped in plastic. That vacuum sealing gets us even on our best two-handed days! For a vegetarian option, tofu is easy to break up in the pan as long as you choose a package that’s simple to open. Top it all off with a delicious (store-bought) sauce and you have a healthy and balanced meal with leftovers too.

The No-Cook Chef

Not all cooking has to involve the stove and 3 pots and pan sizes. In fact, you really don’t need to do much at all to throw together a good salad or mezze platter. Pre-chopped lettuce can be found in any grocery store, so it’s easy to start with a good base. Add in some baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, shredded or crumbled cheese of choice, nuts or seeds, croutons, and salad dressing and you’re good to go. Bacon bits are possibly the tastiest and easiest protein to throw on top of the whole thing.

Sandwiches are another simple no-cook solution here, but beware of the urge to over-stuff. Remember that you’ll be holding this thing one-handed, so a tidy and neat sandwich is key to avoid wearing half your lunch on the front of your clothes.

If you’ve recently gone through shoulder surgery or you’re planning to in the near future, a little bit of easy planning will ensure you get healthy meals through the healing process.

Peer Health can connect you with a personalized peer community to share provider recommendations, treatment options, and define your best life. Sign up for our beta and newsletter today.