Cooking with sight loss
Our Rehabilitation Officers for People with Vision Impairment (ROVIs) work directly with blind veterans, helping them rebuild their lives with practical, technical and emotional support.
Here are some of their top tips for the kitchen when living with a vision impairment.
Making hot drinks
- A small kettle, rather than a large one, is easier to lift when pouring hot liquids.
- Put a ping-pong ball into your teapot to help with pouring. You will know that the teapot is full when the ball rises to the top.
- You can use a liquid-level indicator to help you safely pour hot drinks. Attach the device to the side of your mug or cup and it’ll beep when it’s full so you know when to stop pouring.
Pouring
When pouring liquid into something with a narrow opening, such as a hot water bottle, use a large funnel with a narrow spout to help avoid spills.
Finding plates and glasses on tables
- Use a place mat in a contrasting colour to your plate to make your plate easier to locate.
- Plain plates with a single colour can help you more easily identify your food, as patterns can often be confused for food.
- Placing a coloured ping-pong ball into clear glasses offers colour contrast and will allow you to see the glass more easily.
- Use coloured mugs and glasses as they stand out more than clear ones and are easier to locate.
Telling bottles apart
If you struggle to differentiate between similar-shaped bottles, for example tomato sauce and brown sauce (or shampoo and conditioner in the bathroom), wrap an elastic band around one of them. This will make it easy to tell them apart.
Using a microwave
A microwave with dials rather than push buttons can be easier to use. There is usually one dial for the power settings and another for the timer. The dials can also be marked with bumpons (self-adhesive raised rubber dots) to make them even easier to use.
Identifying buttons and switches with bumpons
Bumpons are small, self-adhesive raised rubber dots that you can stick to surfaces to make them easier to identify. They come in a variety of colours, and you can use them on light switches, microwave dials, washing machine buttons, remote controls, telephones and so on to make them easier to identify and distinguish.
Highlighting items and hazards
If you often misplace your remote control, try putting a strip of bright orange or yellow tape on it so it stands out better. You can also use bright tape to make the edges of cupboards and doors more visible so you can avoid bumping into them.
Always ask if you’re unsure of something
There’s no such thing as a silly question. If you are a Blind Veterans UK beneficiary and need more information, call our helpline on 0300 111 22 33.
If you are not yet a Blind Veterans UK beneficiary, you can find more information in our urgent help section.
You can also get advice about sight loss from the RNIB. Contact the RNIB helpline on 0303 123 9999, email them or say ‘Alexa, call RNIB helpline’ to an Alexa-enabled device.
Read more
Using your phone as a magnifier
11 Feb 2024
Traditional handheld magnifiers can be very effective, but did you know that you can use your smartphone too?
Hobbies with low vision: gardening
30 Jan 2024
Gardening is one of the best hobbies for someone with sight loss as it can be as simple or as complex as you like.
Welfare benefits for people with sight loss
23 Jan 2024
You may be entitled to financial and other support to help you address issues caused by your disability.
Sign up for email updates
We would love to send you updates about our work and how you can support us.
You can change your contact preferences at any time by calling us on 0300 111 2233 or emailing us. See our privacy policy for more details.