The Healthy Back Kitchen

About The Healthy Back Kitchen

As highlighted on NPR, we use kitchen ergonomics to reinvent every step of the cooking process so you can cook well with less physical strain while enjoying delicious meals.

Written in collaboration with neurosurgeon Griffin Baum, M.D., this cookbook and guidebook teaches a simpler way of moving in the kitchen, with 225+ recipes designed to avoid prolonged standing and minimize exertion.

A bowl of pasta becomes easier when you ditch the big pot of boiling water and simmer everything in a skillet or Instant Pot. Comfort classics get reimagined as low-lift affairs: lasagna in a loaf pan, Parmesan risotto in your slow cooker, or beef pot pie for two in a skillet.

Working with Dr. Baum, we explore every part of cooking to improve accessibility, boost quality of life, and help you enjoy cooking.

Downsize and optimize: In “The Ergonomic Kitchen,” we’ll help you set up a functional work space, whether you’re standing or seated. (Do you know how to position your cutting board to enhance posture and minimize back strain?) 

Everyone needs a good apron: The right apron brings the kitchen to you so you can keep certain tools close at hand and avoids unnecessary standing or reaching. 

Prep ahead! These recipes have been carefully chosen to minimize prep time, and we also share tips for spacing out prep work, so time spent actually cooking is faster and more pleasurable. Why not start dinner with a do-ahead simmering sauce for chicken or fish?

Take a break: Recipes highlight breaks in the cooking process so you can see at a glance when you can sit down if you need to. 

Shopping and entertaining tips: Cooking for friends and family should not be off limits even if you have back pain. These sections help you take the stress out of the process.

Simple excercises to keep you limber and safe: Dr. Baum provides exercises to do when you have a space 10 minutes as well as advice on the best ways to unpack groceries, bring serving dishes to the table, and bend down to put something in the oven.