By Natalie Rajch
The holiday season is a time when so many of us gather around food — sharing traditions, savoring familiar flavors, and creating memories. But while cooking is often framed as joyful, warm, and communal, it isn’t equally accessible to everyone. Disabled individuals, neurodivergent cooks, those living with chronic illness, and low-income households often face significant barriers to preparing meals safely, affordably, and independently.
As a future professional working at the intersection of disability, health equity, and family support, I believe holiday cooking is the perfect opportunity to reimagine nourishment as an accessible, inclusive practice. With rising food insecurity, ongoing SNAP benefit reductions, and the complexities of cooking in a world not designed for everyone, this conversation is more important than ever.
This post highlights several innovative approaches — from accessible recipe design to disability-focused cooking creators — that support autonomy, dignity, and joy in the kitchen.
Why Inclusive Cooking Matters:
Cooking is a health equity issue
Meal preparation is tied to nutrition, physical health, emotional wellbeing, independence, and cultural identity. When someone is unable to cook due to lack of access, inaccessible instructions, or financial constraints, the consequences extend far beyond the dinner plate.
For disabled or neurodivergent individuals, barriers often include:
Difficulty with traditional recipe layouts (dense text, multi-step instructions, unclear sequencing)
Physical demands such as chopping, lifting, bending, or prolonged standing
Cognitive load, executive functioning challenges, and overwhelm
Sensory issues triggered by heat, noise, textures, or smells
Lack of adaptive kitchen tools or safe layout
Financial barriers to buying “fresh,” specialty, or premium-priced ingredients
SNAP changes heighten food insecurity
Fluctuations and reductions in SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits have made grocery budgets even tighter for families already navigating poverty, disability, or chronic illness. Rising food prices mean that many households cannot afford nutrient-dense foods, adaptive cooking tools, or ingredients needed for traditional holiday recipes.
For many families, the holiday table looks different not by choice but by circumstance.
Innovative Accessible Design: IKEA’s “Cook by Picture” Recipes
Several years ago, IKEA introduced its experimental “Cook This Page” / “Cook by Picture” recipe series: instructions printed directly onto parchment sheets with simple, intuitive ingredient outlines. Cooks just placed ingredients onto drawn shapes, rolled the parchment, and baked.
The concept was simple — but revolutionary from a disability perspective.
Why this matters:
Visual recipes reduce cognitive load, which benefits people with intellectual disabilities, ADHD, autism, brain injury, or low literacy.
Minimized steps decrease fatigue and physical strain, making cooking more accessible for individuals with chronic pain or limited stamina.
No complex measuring means less reliance on fine motor skills.
Less equipment and cleanup supports people in small spaces, communal housing, or with limited access to adaptive tools.
Simple sequencing aids individuals who benefit from linear, predictable instructions.
Even though these sheets were a design experiment, they reflect an important emerging principle: recipes should be designed with accessibility in mind, not as an afterthought. IKEA’s current cooking and kitchen accessibility initiatives continue this philosophy, signaling a shift toward universal design in everyday living spaces.
Creators Leading the Way
While corporations contribute to accessible design, some creators have been leading the movement toward inclusive, energy-responsive cooking for years.
@kikirough
This Instagram creator is part of an online community advocating for disability-friendly recipes, pacing adaptations, and low-energy cooking techniques. Posts often highlight sensory-friendly ingredients, simplified preparation, and ways to work with the body rather than against it.
@epicuriousexpeditions
This instagram creator shares a series of disability-friendly recipes specifically designed to avoid:
chopping
standing for long periods
heat exposure
multiple pots/pans
complicated steps
Their content emphasizes dignity, autonomy, and joy — affirming that cooking is for everyone, not only for those with full physical capacity or traditional executive functioning.
Representation like this matters. Disabled cooks seeing disabled creators thriving in the kitchen can be its own form of empowerment.
Holiday Cooking on a Budget: Practical Inclusive Strategies
As we think about the holidays, accessible cooking must also acknowledge financial realities.
Here are some supportive suggestions for making holiday meals more inclusive without increasing cost:
1. Incorporate “no-chop,” low-effort dishes
Pre-cut frozen vegetables, canned goods, and slow-cooker or sheet-pan meals reduce physical strain and time demands.
2. Choose nutrient-dense ingredients that stretch
Beans, lentils, tofu, sweet potatoes, oats, rice, and frozen produce deliver high nutrition at a low cost.
3. Embrace adaptive tools
Electric choppers, kitchen scissors, slow cookers, air fryers, or rice cookers all minimize energy expenditure (and often cost less when purchased secondhand).
4. Cook in community
Shared cooking reduces individual effort, deepens connection, and allows people to contribute at a level that aligns with their abilities.
5. Validate rest as part of the cooking process
Pacing, sitting while cooking, and breaking recipes into steps makes the kitchen safer and more accessible.
Interesting Read - If you may be interested in a cookbook that supports inclusivity and accessibility in the kitchen, I recommend checking out the book below.
Crip Up the Kitchen: Tools, Tips, and Recipes for the Disabled Cook by Jules Sherred (2023)
A highly influential book detailing adaptive cooking methods for people with chronic illness, mobility limitations, or neurodivergence. It highlights low-energy tools and techniques — including air fryers, pressure cookers, and minimal-prep recipes — making it an excellent resource for professionals and families.
Together, these works emphasize that accessible cooking is not just about convenience; it's a matter of public health, quality of life, and disability rights.
Closing Thoughts
Inclusive cooking is a pathway to independence, dignity, and community connection. When we recognize the barriers disabled individuals face—physical, sensory, cognitive, and financial—we can better design tools, strategies, and environments that honor their needs.
When it comes to holidays, it’s worth remembering that the heart of cooking isn’t perfection — it’s nourishment, belonging, and shared joy. Accessible recipes, supportive creators, thoughtful kitchen design, and equitable food access can make the season more inclusive for everyone.
