We still eat many of the same foods we did before my husband was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, but I have learned to think differently about how to present them. Taking a few extra minutes in the kitchen before the meal saves so much time and frustration once we are at the table. And yes, I have become the primary cook, but that doesn’t mean we don’t still share responsibilities for planning meals and clean up after. It just means that we choose the safest options for us and what works at this stage of our lives. Here are a couple of the tips that I have learned in my role as CarePartner/Cook, I hope you find them useful.

As his disease progressed, my husband’s ability to use silverware regressed. Handling a knife and cutting meats at the table became difficult. Now whenever I make something like a beef roast or grilled chicken, I slice it thinly before putting it on the plates or break it up into bite sized pieces. I do this for both of us, I don’t want his plate to look different from mine. Any leftovers go alongside bite sized veggies into a quick and easy (and healthy) stirfry.

My husband loves spaghetti. Unfortunately, his diagnosis of PD means that it has become an almost impossible task to get the pasta from his plate to his mouth. I tried breaking the noodles into smaller pieces before cooking them or cutting it up once they were on his plate, all to no avail. Then, last week we were perusing an old cookbook and came across a recipe for Spaghetti Pie. By precooking the ingredients, adding a couple of eggs to the pasta and layering it all in a casserole, we suddenly have spaghetti that he can manage with a fork. It was genius!

There are tons of recipes for Spaghetti Pie on the internet, here’s a link to one to get you started Spaghetti Pie I Recipe | Allrecipes.