I have a restricted diet that requires me to cook all of my own food, and I also have an illness that causes fatigue and fainting spells. Here are some tips I have found helpful for when I need to spend time cooking but I don't feel well:

If you buy your meat from the butcher in a grocery store, ask them to cut the meat up for you! Almost all (American) grocery stores I've been to have been happy to do it. This includes cutting chicken off the bone, slicing up steak, etc. Just ask them nicely at the beginning of your grocery trip and come back a half hour later to pick it up.

Similarly, try buying pre-sliced fruits, vegetables, or baked goods when they're available.

Small, easily openable containers make life so much easier. Squeezable applesauce or yogurt, little jars of peanut butter, and other small foods are a staple in my house when I'm feeling sick.

Pre-made meals, if you're able to eat them, are also a great way to lighten your load. I know it can be a stressful to hear people say "oh, but the plastic!" Ignore them. Packaged foods are immensely helpful and only use a tiny amount of plastic in the grand scheme of things. Your health is more important!

Ask an able-bodied friend or family member to cook with you! Cooking together can be so much fun, and you can divvy up the tasks so that they are appropriate for your ability levels.

Put on some music.!This doesn't affect the food, but it makes a boring task a little more fun.

Do everything you can sitting down. I put my toaster, cutting board, blender, etc. all on my kitchen table. We almost never see it in media, but there is actually nothing wrong with doing these tasks while sitting down, as long as you can be safe.

You do not need to make an entire meal at one time. If a recipe involves chopping vegetables and cooking the vegetables, you can chop vegetables in the morning and cook them in the afternoon. A little bit of cooking is still cooking!

Food is food is food. You don't need to be eating avocado toast and a buddha bowl for breakfast every day! Focus on giving your body the energy it needs, in whatever form that may take. Cereal for dinner is a valid decision.

Cookbooks written for children often have very simple recipes that are great for disabled folk. For anyone with sensory issues (hello, neurodivergent friends!) kids recipes are mild and sensory-friendly. I own three or four kids' cookbooks and I use them all the time.

The dishes aren't going anywhere. Eat your food, and worry about clean-up after you have a hearty meal in your stomach.

-Experiment with supportive shoes/ orthotics and special mats when you do have to stand-up cooking.

-One easy do-ahead part of cooking is to gather your ingredients all at once and then take a break. It'll also be more efficient this way.

-If you're heat intolerant, do as much of your prep/cooking in the cooler hours as you can. Fans are a lifesaver, and cooking is a great time to drink a cup or more of water since you're also exercising and heating up. A good chunk of meal prep can be done in another room, if your kitchen is warmer than the rest of the house. I do some of my meal prep in my recliner!

-Speaking of heat intolerance, stand to the side when opening a hot oven and wait a few seconds before reaching down into it. You'll avoid the blast of hot air in your face.

-If touching cold things causes pain, wear winter gloves when rummaging through the freezer. Speaking of freezers, if you meal prep ahead or buy in bulk to save money, there are mid-size chest freezers now that are VERY energy efficient, especially if you keep them full (fill empty milk jugs/containers with water and pack it full!)

-Keep your knives sharp: less stress on the joints in your hands.

-If like me you don't want to stop kneading bread despite your hand troubles, look for recipes that have you mix boiling water to make the dough. Kneading hot dough feels so. good.

-Use slotted spoons to get pasta, veggies etc. out of their pot. Someone else (or future you when feeling better) can empty that heavy pot of water later, and it won't blast you in the face with steam later.

-Find cooking/tools utensils with fat handles if you have hand troubles.

-Invest in a slow cooker or InstaPot.

-Learn which meals/snacks work well as leftovers. Grandparents/parents are a good source here!

and that constantly putting the onus on the people who have to live with these illnesses to simply "get better" is an incredibly shitty thing to do

and that it's not "toxic" for chronically ill and disabled people to feel down, and occasionally talk about how down they feel, in a world which continually disregards their suffering and makes their lives much more difficult than they need to be, sometimes deliberately

and that telling these people that they continue to be ill only because they haven't tried a certain exercise, supplement, therapy or diet will only further damage their health by causing them stress

and that doctors are not only not infallible magic-workers, but are very often actively prejudiced against their patients; especially female patients and patients who belong to marginalised and minority groups

please just understand this and accept that the chronically-ill and disabled people you speak to know more about their health and their limitations and what works or doesn't work for them than you ever could

it's so exhausting. it's lonely. it's scary. it's depressing. it feels like the suffering is just endless without a person physically there to remind you that you exist outside your body and help you where they can.

and i just want anyone else stuck in this boat to know that you are cared about still. people remember you. people fight for your rights. it's not the same as having someone you love with you, and im sorry that we can't replace that.

but we can commiserate together about the horrors of it all and maybe make a few long distance friends who understand us and care.

Black card: "This is the prime of my life. I'm young, hot, and full of _".

It's ok to not be productive today. You're allowed to exist without productivity.

It's ok to be just a little bit productive.

It's ok to use energy on a hobby or something that brings you joy instead of something you "should" be doing.

You don't need to earn rest; you already deserve it.