It is Friday and we are going to have a Friday Hands-On Happy Hour! Lets talk about keeping hands healthy! And having some fun of course….
We are going to talk about one of my favorite drinks to make anytime! This is a staple for me and for my friends when they come over. While I make the drink for you, I am also going to give you some great tips that I use myself to make sure that I keep my hands nice and healthy and pain free!
Okay so this is the staple for the lychee martini, I always like to get a can of lychees from either Publix or the oriental market but every time I go to Publix I get one or two cans of these since I always have these staples in my house because who knows everyone stop and I have to make drinks. Then, you have to get some vodka. I like to use Tito’s vodka and then I have some Cointreau or triple sec, any type of orange liqueur.
List of ingredients:
- 1 can of lychee
- Vodka
- Cointreau or triple sec
- Ice
One of the most important things is the lychees so we are going to open it up and one of my tips to protect your hands and especially your thumbs is to use a can opener that is easy to use and it’s got a wide grip so we’re going to squeeze and now I’m turning it. You want to make sure like I said you want to have a wide grip and that is easy to turn…if it’s getting rusty and you’re really struggling to open the can, you’re going to really make your thumb work hard so the harder you make your thumbs work which they are working for you all the time with 50% of the work of your hand is your thumb. If you’re making it really hard for it, you can develop thumb pain over time so again I like to use a build out handle something that is easy to use…if you have one of those really old rusty ones please I really do advise that it’s worth it to throw it away and get a new one so that you can use it with ease and not hurt your hand over time. The other thing you can always use is always is use an electric can opener. So, when you take the lid off always be really careful because I just see this as a sharp knife and if you’re not careful you can slice your tendons so don’t rush.
Alright, so in this tumbler I have some ice, now I normally just start dumping soft but I’m going to try and use a “recipe”. I’m going to use my little shaker which has a little cap and I’m going to pour two or one. I’m going to pour two juices of lychees and I’m going to do one of the vodka and I like to do an extra splash because I like it a little strong like Sandra Lee. If you want to follow the recipe, it’s two portions of juice to one portion vodka and then I do a splash of the Cointreau so it’s like half of the cap full. If you have a hand injury or your hand hurts, it’s the easiest drink. Put the cap back on and you’re going to start shaking it up so good exercise. Now, my other tip is when you’re making a drink and you’re using one of these metal tumblers they get stuck so if you shake it up and it gets stuck don’t try to pry it with your hands what I like to do is I like to take it and bang it on the counter top which it just loosens up really easy you don’t have to work so hard and in all about not having to work too hard with your hands right?? I’m going to put some lychees in and we are going to strain that. I’m usually more generous then that at home but we are going to start with this. At home you can serve this in a martini glass or I usually like to put it in a regular tumbler glass with ice, you can do that as well, now if you have a hand injury I recommend these nice plastics cups. If you have a hand injury and you’re worried about being able to hold something heavy because your hand turning it might not have the strength.
That’s my recipe that I’m doing special for you because I don’t measure! So, this is what I normally like to do is get a pitcher and I just pour it inside. I get all the juice and I always save…well something about me is that I have 2 kids…my son is 10 and my daughter she’s 8 and she loves the lychees so I always save her a few! But I’m going to make a pitcher for you so I start it with the juice and the lychees and this is how I make it at home when my friends come over…I go let me see how much I should pour in there and it’s about a half and then I do two splashes of the contra. I close it tight and I’m going to stir it.
So what were the tips to keep your hand healthy and pain free?
- Use can opener that has a wide grip
- Use one that’s not rusty, old, and hard to use
- Take great care to remove the lid as it’s sharp as a knife
- If something is tight to open, give it a few bangs on the counter top to loosen
We need our hands to do some many things! It’s important to protect it over the longevity of our lives so we can use it without pain! Those are my tips for keeping your hands healthy and pain free, and I hope they have been very helpful. Enjoy the lychee martinis!
Hoang Tran OT/L, CHT
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.
Hands on Therapy Services in Miami, FL helps people with arm and hand injuries to be able to stay active, pain free, and avoid surgeries. For more contact info please click here
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