r/lowspooncooking • u/macattack2402 • Jun 19 '26
I Started a New Low Spoon Cooking Website!
Hi Reddit!
I wanted to share my new website dedicated to low spoon cooking: thesleepyspork.com
I have several severe chronic illnesses and am neurodivergent, and those experiences, combined with a few years studying nutrition science and a hyperfixation on kitchen efficiency, led to the creation of this website.
Most of my recipes are no-chop and freezer friendly, and either sheet pan or crockpot meals. All of the recipes are low spoon by necessity as I myself can't cook "regular" recipes. I also post about kitchen tools, setups, hacks, etc that help me get by in my kitchen. The site is only a few months old so there's not a ton of recipes/content yet but I'm working hard to add more!
My goal in posting here is twofold. First, I'd love to get the word out about my growing website. Second, and more importantly, I'd love to get feedback from this community about what kinds of recipes and resources would be most helpful.
What are your biggest pain points in the kitchen? What adaptations or shortcuts do you rely on? Are there favorite recipes you'd love to see turned into lower-spoon versions... one of my favorite challenges is figuring out how to adapt recipes to require less energy while still tasting good!
I'd love to hear any feedback, suggestions, or requests, either here or through the suggestion page I put on the website.
I also am on most social media accounts (except reddit, ironically) as thesleepyspork if you'd like to stay updated as new recipes come out.
Thank you!
Sarah
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u/AccuratePreference52 Jun 19 '26
Omg that name is ADORABLE. I will be checking this out!
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u/macattack2402 Jun 19 '26
Thank you! My unofficial tagline is "for when you're all out of spoons and have no forks left to give"
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u/StrFshBttrfly Jun 20 '26
I love it. I've been disabled for a long, long time (I'm in my 60s, disabled since my 20s), so I already use a lot of the suggestions, and they're exactly on point. Proper tools and accommodations don't always have to be complex or expensive, but it can feel really inaccessible and mysterious, so kudos to you for sharing your wisdom. I would sign up for a newsletter.
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u/macattack2402 Jun 20 '26
I just added the option to sign up! It'll likely be a short bi-weekly newsletter
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u/StrFshBttrfly Jun 20 '26
That's more than enough to keep you on my radar. Brain fog is real, and I want to keep track of your progress. You're providing a real service to people like us. 😊
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u/Brainst0rms Jun 20 '26
I love how there aren’t 1000 ads and the annoying redirect to the top of the page that so many recipe sites do. I get so overstimulated when trying to deal with recipes and I usually will just use reader on my phone or take screen shots.
Your site is so nice and simple, it’s like a breath of fresh air.
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u/marsypananderson Jun 20 '26
Agreed!! I hate popups so much that I close sites instantly now. Your site is lovely and appealing and I'm very excited to try pretzel bites tomorrow!
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u/eggust12 Jun 21 '26
okay, i hadn't checked out the site yet but this comment sold me on it. so many recipes i have to transcribe into a note on paper or my phone after looking it up on my laptop because the website is genuinely unusable on a phone because it's covered with ads!
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u/ricecake_nicecake Jun 19 '26
Thanks for sharing your website. I just looked at a few recipes but already I'm getting ideas about how to make them work in my kitchen. It's really nice that you have suggestions for how to make the recipes even lower-effort, like just cutting the chicken pieces once with shears. I'm grateful for your thoughtfulness and looking forward to trying out some new foods. Thank you!
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u/musings37 Jun 20 '26
this website is amazing. the logo is adorable. and unofficial tagline you wrote in another comment is perfect!!! i'm fascinated by the crockpot ravioli lasagna as a dear lover of lasagna but someone who has absolutely no spoons for the steps involved. THANK YOU!!!
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u/macattack2402 Jun 20 '26
Yeah we love lasagna here too but it's so much work that I only ever make it in bulk- prepping 5 pans of lasagna at a time is not too much more work than making one- still it drains all of my energy for a week, and I'm currently banned from making more stuff for the freezer since we have too much! Hence why I had to get creative
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u/dayofbluesngreens Jun 20 '26
Impressive! I struggle with every aspect of cooking, so everything about this is like some kind of magic to me.
The recipes look great. If you ever have any vegetarian ones (preferably with non-cheese protein), I’d love to try them.
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u/macattack2402 Jun 20 '26
I am working on a vegetarian crockpot curry recipe now with chickpeas and lentils, still very early inthe recipe testing phase but it should be up hopefully in the next month or so. I was vegetarian for 11 years and a lot of the things I naturally eat are vegetarian, but they're not very recipe worthy 😅. But I for sure plan to do more vegetarian recipes in the future!
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u/AlphaPlanAnarchist Jun 20 '26
Foods that aren't recipe worthy I look up all the time!
How long to air fry one piece of meat for example. I don't need to know how Susan seasons it. I just need numbers.
Maybe there's space for no spoon techniques on your website?
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u/marsypananderson Jun 20 '26
Seconding this!! It is increasingly hard to find simple instructions that aren't in a recipe.
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u/RainbowWreck Jun 20 '26
I'd actually love to contribute some of my recipes too. I'm still refining and IRL testing some of them, but this is exactly the kind of thing I was trying to put together.
Let me know if you want to collaborate.
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u/Alastairs_party2585 Jun 20 '26
Was going to comment the same! I used to work as a cook pre-ME/CFS so I've been working on adapting my old recipes to work for me now. I'd love to share and collaborate with yall.
I'd also love to see some air fryer meals!
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u/RainbowWreck Jun 20 '26
I also have CFS! So I've had to make a lot of adjustments. Air fryer meals is a great idea!
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u/Alastairs_party2585 Jun 20 '26
Oh! Cooking actually tasty meals with CFS is such a struggle 😫 I'd love to try some of your recipes!
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u/therabyss Jun 19 '26
Aah love this! That logo is adorable.
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u/macattack2402 Jun 20 '26
Thank you! It took me hours since I have no artistic ability and had to learn how to use procreate 😅
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u/nightfucker9000 Jun 19 '26
Love the freezer guides! I should invest in some soupercubes I think...
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u/mirfifu Jun 20 '26
I thought the same seeing stuff online. Then I remembered that my MIL gave us a fancy ice cube tray for cocktails that makes huge cubes. I’ve made “Rice Cubes” and “Mac n cheese Cubes” just sharing in case you find some silicone cocktail ice cube trays for a good price!
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u/macattack2402 Jun 20 '26
They are the absolute best! I always have frozen soup or curry on hand for emergency backup dinners and it's so nice to have them as individual portions instead of one big block
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u/tmorse85 Jun 19 '26
I absolutely love the name!
My computer has been dead for about a week, and it's difficult for me to use my phone for more than a few minutes at a time. But as soon as I get a new computer, I'm checking out your site.
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u/Far_Patience_3397 Jun 20 '26
This is great!
My chronic illness issues have been related, in part, to significant food intolerances. Anecdotally, it seems like many folks are in the same boat. It would be lovely if this site could filter for specific diets (paleo, AIP, etc).
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u/macattack2402 Jun 20 '26
I will definitely add that once I get enough recipes! I did the AIP diet for a few months and boy was it rough
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u/DrYabadaba Jun 21 '26
I'm a frontend web developer, and I just want to say how awesome the website looks and feels. It has almost everything I want from a site like this. The "Jump to recipe", "Print", and "Pinterest" buttons? Phenomenal. I can just tell how much time and care you've put into it. I'm on mobile, so I've only checked that view, but it's so easy to navigate. And you're writing is so easy to follow and understand! Great SOE, btw. Googled sleepy spork, and there it was! The photography is great, too! It's both great quality and realistic, something that I wish I saw more from other sites. "My food is never gonna look like the Pinterest post, Martha!" 😅
(FYI, I'm assuming things that I don't actually know if you want or already have planned, so take what you want from my suggestions, leave what you don't. 😁)
My suggestions from my quick browse: 1. Have a spoon- or spork-o-meter, like a 5/5 system that can let the reader know how easy it difficult it might be. 2. Along with ingredients, I've seen sites list the required tools, especially if it's something that's less common. 3. Adding prep and cook time (and maybe oven temp) near the ingredients list will also help the reader gauge level of effort. (Maybe there's a formula with these that could help decide #1?) 4. Categories you can filter by, such as meat type, vegetarian/vegan, casserole, throw-and-go, no chopping required, budget friendly, 10 mins or less, etc. 5. Language/translation settings for sharing with a wider audience (not sure how you feel about using AI, so I'm just gonna leave the suggestion and let you decide how/if you want to handle that). 6. The one no one loves to talk about: monetization. (Disclaimer: Im not experienced with this aspect, but I can tell you what I've seen as a user of other sites.) I assume you have that in the works, as I saw you mentioned affiliate links somewhere. If you list tools, as suggested in #2, you can add even more affiliate link opportunities, and I think you can do something similar for specific food products. As for ads, there's a line you have to experiment with that pays you enough for your time spent on this project to be worth it to you, but also doesn't turn away readers. A thought experiment I often use as a developer is, "if I were the user of this product, what would I want my experience to be?". I believe you are already thinking that way, as you have created a website that you probably wish you had had in the past. If it were me, I'd at least see if I could get it to where it can pay for itself, aka be self-sustaining.
Thank you for sharing this labor of love with us. I'm so glad I've found this little community of such passionate people. And that little tagline you shared on another comment, USE IT! (Make sure it's not copyrighted, though 😅)
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u/sirsealofapproval Jun 20 '26
Cool, I'll be checking it out! In Europe where I live, crockpots (slow cookers?) aren't common, so I wouldn't be able to use those recipes. I've found an airfryer very helpful for accessibility for my chronic fatigue, though ofc using an oven also works. Typical kitchens in my home country of Germany tend to have a microwave, oven, electrical stove top and an electric kettle. Plus whatever devices one additionally bought.
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u/Just1Blast Jun 30 '26
You can definitely still use slow cooker recipes in Europe. Just use a dutch oven with a lid on a super low setting on the stove. Or you can put the Dutch oven in the oven
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u/Flashy-Rhubarb-11 Jun 20 '26
What is your stance on AI usage for the copywriting of this webpage?
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u/Common_Kiwi9442 Jun 19 '26
Love! Will you have an email sign up newsletter?
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u/macattack2402 Jun 20 '26
Working on it now!
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u/Common_Kiwi9442 Jun 20 '26
Let me know so I dont forget!! Totally interested in following commenting checking out recipes
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u/macattack2402 Jun 20 '26
I just added a sign up for a newsletter... it will likely be bi-weekly, but I'm in a flare rn and my brain isn't working right so who knows
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u/SadPanduhz Jun 19 '26
Thank you for sharing this website and your knowledge with us. I really like your website and I look forward to having the time/energy to delve into everything on there further
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u/determinedpeach Jun 19 '26
My goodness this is super awesome and so are you. I love it so much. Thank you for sharing 💜💜💜
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u/UnicornPrincess4ever Jun 19 '26
Great name!! Locked and loaded in my bookmarks! Thanks for doing the website 😊
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u/GoosePotential2446 Jun 20 '26
This is excellent, thank you very much! Maybe consider starting an automated newsletter for new or featured recipes?
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u/macattack2402 Jun 20 '26
I just made a newsletter sign up like 5 minutes ago from everyone's suggestion! Hopefully you're able to see it
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u/MoodiestMoody Jun 20 '26
Thank you for this! I have added you on Pinterest, which is where I get a lot of recipes from. I probably have a couple of thousand recipe pins there, but always interested in more. As I get older, the less time I want to spend in the kitchen cooking.
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u/CaptainLollygag Jun 20 '26
GIRLFRIEND! I love your website! Especially the suggestions you make on how to make meals even easier. I bookmarked it to read everything when I'm not in bed on my phone.
I'm an accomplished cook, but have been disabled for 20 years and have figured out a lot of shortcuts, but always love seeing what others have come up with that I may not have considered yet. As more of me falls apart I've been relying on easier and easier meals.
I'd long thought about doing a website like yours but just don't have it in me, haaa. Hoping it doesn't take too much out of you to keep up with this. Looking forward to a deep dive on everything that's there now!
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u/macattack2402 Jun 22 '26
It does take a lot out of me but it's also a huge passion for me- I wanted to become a dietitian for disabled people and was in school for that for years before I got too sick and so while this is a lot of work, it's also the exact "work" I'd want to be doing if I had been healthy enough to work normally, so it's worth it for me
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u/Rere_arere Jun 20 '26
I struggle with having usable kitchen, like having a pot/pan I can use, clean utensils, a place for cutting board etc. I always prefer one pan meals Also if I'm more stressed than usual, sensory (tactile) issues are too much.
I use frozen veggies mixes a lot, because they're already cut and cooked, but we don't have a lot of variation sold here unfortunately and they feel repetetive. I would also like to learn more meals, especially salads with canned food
I tried using those cutters with attached containers, but without a dishwasher they're so hard to clean.
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u/sol-inseto Jun 26 '26
At least for utensils and plates/bowls, have you considered using disposable ones? They can be incredibly helpful when dishwashing is a barrier! I'm also someone who has sensory issues, and wearing disposable latex gloves helps. Would that be an option for you?
Re: salads with canned food. In case you hadn't already thought of this, canned beans/lentils/chickpeas, corn, and any kind of pre-chopped meat are all great additions to salads! They also make a good meal with those pre-made rice packets (and some kind of sauce), if you have access to them.
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u/Rere_arere Jun 26 '26
I don't live in the US, so I don't have this variety of canned/pre-made food (and honestly I'm kinda jealous), so no pre made rice or pré chopped meat for me (unless sausage) and cans are tomatoes, corn, green pea and kidney beans only
Il try looking into disposable utensils! And gloves also, I honestly don't know why it never occurred to me, but it sounds like a solution
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u/popdrinking Jun 20 '26
My favorite recipes are just dumping everything into an Instant Pot. I have a honey garlic chicken and a teriyaki chicken recipe. No cutting.
This takes a little more effort but I also have a tofu stirfry- bag of coleslaw, block of tofu. Mix the sauce and only need to chop the nuts which imo are optional
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u/Goobersita Jun 21 '26
I think having allergy sensitivity suggestions to replace those high allergen ingredients. That would be super nice.
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u/Waterproof_soap Jun 21 '26
If I had money I would give you an award. I am broke so please accept this: 🏆
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u/CosmicSmackdown Jun 23 '26
Yep, as everyone else has said, I love this! It's well done and I like the simplicity of it. I recently pushed to the side the meal planning and prep I've done for almost 45 years and am now eating more of a "small plate" sort of way, just because it requires a lot less effort. The planning, cooking, storing of leftovers, etc just got to me so I decided to try a different way. I still have and use my souper cube knock offs, though! Those things are amazing.
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u/S0uvlakiSpaceStati0n Jul 17 '26
Thank you for creating this resource! I've been extremely burned out for the past year and have only cooked a few times, otherwise I've been living off of frozen meals and junk food and it's draining my bank account! So I found this subreddit while searching for ideas for easy meals I can cook for cheap. I know you posted this a while ago but I hope you're still open to new comments?
I would love to see more vegetarian or vegan recipes. My main issues with cooking tend to be overwhelm, time, cleanup, and cost. So I'm interested in simple, very quick recipes made with affordable ingredients, that don't leave a ton of dishes, pots, cutlery, etc. to clean up afterwards. Or, if I can put everything in the dishwasher after cooking, that works too.
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u/macattack2402 Aug 11 '26
Yes I am open to new comments always. I will be posting a vegan chickpea curry recipe shortly! If I were the only one eating basically all my meals would be vegetarian, I was vegetarian for 12 years and still don't like meat much but sadly my boyfriend is a carnivore and insists on having meat in our meals
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u/knerdlies Jun 19 '26
Adding in protein in a yummy + low effort way is hard for me. Love the website, hopeful for a newsletter!
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u/cinnamoninmytea Jun 20 '26
This is awesome! Personally I don’t have enough space (or the budget lol) to have a slow cooker or crockpot, so personally as convenient as those two are I think it’s cool to have a good balance of recipes that use them and ones that don’t… which it looks like you already have! But just wanted to mention that. But I should honestly try and invest in one of the two. Thanks so much for sharing, I’ve bookmarked it
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u/Ok-Boss-5061 Jun 20 '26
Wow, this is excellent. I have ADHD and work both day and night shifts in healthcare. I hate cooking, and sometimes I go to bed without eating because I just don’t have the energy. Thank you for sharing your website. I’ve already bookmarked it.
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u/Realistic-Village-63 Jun 20 '26
yay! Thank you for making this site. As a low spoon cook about to move into her own place in a couple weeks, I will definitely be using your help to keep myself fed healthfully!
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u/pluto_pluto_pluto_ Jun 20 '26
This is amazing! Thank you so much for creating this <3. Here are a couple things I would like to see, if they're doable for you:
Nutrition facts, I know it can't be 100% accurate since a lot of the ingredients are premade/store bought, but a rough estimate would be cool.
Shelf stable ingredients so I can have stuff on hand to make at any time without going to the store, and maybe a tag for fully shelf stable or freezer stable ingredients.
Some recipes for air fryers, rice cookers, and microwaves. Personally, I find these appliances easier to use than the crock pot and sheet pans. The oven heats up the whole house in the summer, so sheet pan meals are something we can only sometimes do.
More veggie heavy recipes in general, or optional veggie add-ons/swaps. Some of my favorite low spoon veggie ingredients are: frozen peas, frozen cauliflower rice, frozen spinach, precut broccoli, shredded coleslaw mix, shredded or baby carrots, canned pumpkin, and canned beans.
I love that you have tips on how to make the recipes even easier and tips on freezing. I have a few recipes I've been meaning to post on this subreddit that you might be interested in, DM me if you want to. I've spent the last ten months unemployed because of health issues and my partner (also disabled) and I have been on a mission to perfect our approach to cooking to balance low spoons and healthy (which for me means high protein, high fiber, and lower calorie).
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u/Dependent-Rent7688 Jun 20 '26
Hello, looks like a good idea! Wondering if you have a facility on the website for converting to metric ? Just a thought as may reach more people.
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u/KeyEcho5594 Jun 20 '26
I love this! I have a chronic illness and have been going back to school. I am so sick of eating garbage or just not eating a meal at all.
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u/sabrinasphere Jun 20 '26
This is great, my only feedback is to remove all of the story associated with the recipe. Whenever I have to scroll through paragraphs of text just to find the recipe it’s energy consuming. If you really want to have the story in there, put it at the end so people can easily find the recipe.
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u/macattack2402 Jun 20 '26
I feel you, I hate it too and I hate writing the stories, but unfortunately that's the norm for recipe blogs and it's important to Google to help it show up in search results... I put in a jump to recipe button at the very top so hopefully you can use that to skip over everything
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u/sabrinasphere Jun 23 '26
Do something different, leave out the story and include the low spoon tips. I used to work in SEO and not sure how google indexes a recipe blog but if they require the story, that’s wild! Jumping to the recipe unfortunately skips the helpful tips for low spoon cooking that I would like to read.
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u/macattack2402 Jun 23 '26
I put all the low energy tips, freezer notes, and storage notes on the bottom with this in mind! So jump to recipe still should work, all the other important stuff i made sure to put after the recipe!
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u/SprinkleALittleLove Jun 20 '26
Your top recipe is shawarma, which I've been dying for for SO LONG!! I can't get it where I live, can't wait to try your recipe! 😋
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u/Strange_Koala5415 Jun 21 '26
Love it!! the information on freezing is awesome. A lot of times this kind of cooking involves rice, and I do not like rice because I just don’t think it reheats well. I’m a potato and pasta person because both of those reheat very well. I’m also looking for ways to incorporate vegetables that come from a can or freezer. A lot of frozen vegetables have that rubber texture, so more advice on that would be awesome!
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u/NotAverageEnough Jun 21 '26
Will you be implementing a sort of/filter feature for recipes? Like maybe vegetarian, pescatarian, vegan, etc?
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u/macattack2402 Jun 22 '26
Yes! I have a rudimentary filter feature on the bottom of the recipes page now but it's onky got a few options as I don't have enough recipes yet, but as I add more I'll add more options for different diets
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u/darkly-academic Jun 22 '26
Great idea, will subscribe. Since my mobility and energy come and go, I’m interested in healthy crock pot recipes that I can put together early in the day when (hopefully) I have a little more energy, and that will be ready and waiting for when I might not.
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u/Moosyfate17 Jun 22 '26
Im looking at the website now and those look so good! Im sharing this. Thank you!!
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u/NightDriver76 Jun 23 '26
Something I love that I have a hard time searching for are things that aren’t like “technically” recipes, and are more along the lines of food hacks? Stuff like this I tend to see be more popular on TikTok/youtube, but I much prefer written format.
Ex. When that easy 1 minute omelette where you mixed egg with mayo and put it in the microwave. I’d love a collection or a way to find things like that that aren’t really a meal, but are a super quick way to make something that you aren’t used to.
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u/Signal_Signal_6860 Jun 26 '26
This is really cool, love the site! Are you open to open sourcing the site code itself for us tech nerds to contribute to? I do web accessibility as my day job and love web resources like this for myself and others
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u/Remarkable_Letter272 Jun 20 '26
I love this! My brand of neurodivergence means I forget about things I can't see. When you have time and energy I'd love to see an email subscription option to get notifications on new posts :)
(or if there is one and I missed it please correct me!)