Hey!! It’s SUMMER in Miami and I always equate summer with MANGOES! It’s mango season and that gets me EXCITED!! I just love mangoes! So here are 3 helpful tips to avoid cutting your hand this summer when cutting up some mangoes.
I just went mango picking just yesterday and was giving it out to our clients when I go inspired to talk about how to cut up mangoes and AVOID cutting your hands! There was this craze just a few months ago talking about “avocado hands” and saying how people are eating more avocados and cutting up their hands because of it. Here’s the link to one of the stories that were being passed around!
Well…I feel that people have been eating avocados forever…and eating tons of different fruits forever, and just because you cut your hands doesn’t mean that you get a name for it.
So it made me think about MY tips to AVOID cutting up your hands when cutting up mangos! You are not going to find them anywhere else, because these are MY tips to YOU on how to avoid cutting your hands when cutting up a mango.
When you are cutting a mango:
- DON”T BE IN A RUSH!! I know the mango smells delicious and tastes super yummy BUT don’t be in a mad rush. Because the more of a rush you are in, the more likely you could cut your finger. Rushing through something makes us not be so careful and that’s when mis-happens can occur. Don’t worry….that mango will still be there waiting for you once it’s all cut up!
- USE A SHARP KNIFE! I don’t think there’s anything worst then a dull blade in my opinion….but I guess it depends on who you ask. My mother is always telling me “be careful! That knife is too sharp.” But if you are cutting with a dull knife, you have to work really hard for it to cut through the skin of the mango. Plus, there are a variety of ways to cut a mango. One FB video shows you how to cut off the sides and scrape it into a glass to get the fruit. I don’t do it that way…but others may like that. There are also different ways of holding a knife to peel mangoes and you just have to decide how comfortable you are and how you want to hold the knife to peel a mango.
- STABILIZE WHAT YOU ARE CUTTING! From the stem end, cut it off so that it will be flat…therefor, making it easier to cut. If it’s not rolling around then you will have less of a chance to cut your fingers. Some people skip the cutting part all together!! They take a ripe mango, smush it all in the peel until the fruit inside is a pulp, bite off the end, and just suck the fruit out! That’s not how I eat mine, but you decide how you want to eat your mangoes!!
Quick story…..I once worked with a client that in her desperation to open a container of ice cream, cut her finger with a butter knife. A BUTTER KNIFE. Yeah…she was going through something (no judgement), her mind wasn’t on it, she was rushing, and she was using a dull blade to cut the plastic of the container off while holding it in the hand. SO essentially…rushed, knife not sharp, and unstable surface…..Listen SHIT HAPPENS ALLTHE TIME! We can’t control everything and sometimes bad things happen to good people and we can’t all avoid it all the time. BUT all we can do it TRY.
Try these THREE tips on how to avoid cutting your finger when cutting up mangoes this summer! Enjoy! I know I will be all summer long!
Hoang Tran OT/L, CHT
Hoang has been practicing occupational therapy and certified hand therapy in the Miami area for almost 20 years with experience in all types of arm and hand injuries. Need help? Free reports are available to help you get started in your recovery.
Disclaimer: As with all our pages, this is NOT a substitute for formal medical treatment or occupational therapy. It is intended to inform only. Hands on Therapy Services disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information.
