Eating well is important when you have rheumatoid arthritis, but joint pain can make cooking taxing. Make kitchen tasks easier with these tips and strategies.

Cooking when you have rheumatoid arthritis can be a tricky business. You need to eat healthy foods, but chopping vegetables can be tedious and painful to your hands. Pots are sometimes too heavy to lift, and standing at the sink for a long time can hurt.

There's no need to get takeout every night. Some pre-meal prep can allow you to cook without the pain.

Samantha Heller, a New York-based dietitian, and Kelly Rouba, advisory board member of the Arthritis National Research Foundation and author of Juvenile Arthritis: The Ultimate Teen Guide, say that people with rheumatoid arthritis can cook wisely and safely — they just need to know a few tips.

Rheumatoid Arthritis: Before the Cooking Begins

Before you begin cooking, you should make sure you have all the ingredients you need for a healthy and nutritious meal:

• Go for vitamins and minerals. “At the grocery store, choose healthy food with antioxidants, like fruits and vegetables,” Heller says.
• Choose healthy fats. “Shop for low- or nonfat dairy products and buy healthy fats, which are actually good for rheumatoid arthritis,” says Heller. Healthy fats are foods that contain omega-3 fats, like fish, soy, walnuts, or ground flaxseeds.
• Plan easy meals. Rouba thinks about what will be easy to make when she gets home. “I make salads or mini-pizzas. You can find pizza kits that have all the ingredients you need and are easy to put together and into the oven.”
• Avoid suspect foods. Each person is different, and not everyone reacts to foods the same way. “Learn to listen to your body,” Heller says. “Some people find that certain foods can trigger flare-ups of symptoms.”
• Convenience is okay. Pre-cut vegetables and fruits may cost a little more, but considering the pain you’ll be saving your hands, that extra outlay may be worth the expense.

Rheumatoid Arthritis: Start With the Right Tools

You can cut down preparation time and make tasks easier:

• Use good knives. Knives are every chef’s most essential tool, but rheumatoid arthritis often affects the hands, making knives difficult to use. Rouba recommends high-quality serrated knives. “They’re a bit more expensive, but it’s worth it not to have to ask someone to cut my meat for me at dinner," she says Heller also recommends investing in the ergonomically friendly rocker-style knives for food preparation.
• Try before you buy. Although you can get great prices online, don’t buy cookware unless you’ve actually picked it up to get a feel for how heavy it is,” Heller says. “Choose things with big handles or, even better, two handles."
• Invent new uses for other tools. “My friend Rich, who had muscular dystrophy, once gave me a set of lobster claw crackers — but we used them to open soda bottles,” Rouba says. Finding new ways to use the tools you already have can make tasks easier and save you money.
• Fight fatigue. Heller recommends having a stool nearby if you need a break. "Fatigue is a big part of rheumatoid arthritis,” she says. Rouba keeps a kitchen cart stocked with her ingredients and utensils to conserve energy. “You don’t have to keep going back and forth; everything is right there,” she explains.
• Cut cooking time with your microwave. This appliance really helps the person with rheumatoid arthritis. Microwaves heat things quickly and you won’t have to lean over to take food out of the oven.

Rheumatoid Arthritis: Make Cleanup Easy

Conserve your strength for the meal prep and find ways to dodge the dirty dishes:

• Minimize the mess as you go. “Try to do all of your cooking in just one or two pots, so you won’t have much to clean up afterward,” Heller suggests. Another good idea: invest in a slow-cooker.
• Use disposable dishes. Using plastic or paper utensils can help minimize cleanup. “This option is not quite as green as we would like," says Heller, "but even if you have a dishwasher, cleanup can be tough.”
• Save those leftovers. Your healthy dinner can become an easy lunch or dinner the next day. Because tightly fitting lids can be a problem for people with rheumatoid arthritis, Heller suggests, “Test out [food storage containers] in the store to make sure you can actually open them.”

A little planning can help you eat nutritious meals that won’t tax your strength, or cause you undue pain.