Things I love: OXO Good Grips

I know I’m growing up, because instead of making a beeline to fashion outlets and shoe stores, I tend to get all giddy and excited about homewares and decorating.  There are many things that frustrate me about having crippled and painful hands, but one of the biggest is that they make so many kitchen items that are near impossible to grip, or get lids off, when your hands ache.  It doesn’t help that I am a) fiercely independent and b) live alone, so on a bad-hand-day, the lids don’t come off the jars and canisters, nothing gets chopped, and I revert to the easiest (translation: often least nutritious!) option for food.

Enter OXO Good Grips – not only do OXO make fantastic items for the kitchen, but they’re also the company responsible for the incredibly innovative pre-filled syringes of Cimzia (if you’ve ever had it, you’ll know what I mean... even my crippled hands could manage that much!).  Open my pantry or kitchen drawers and you’ll find an array of their wares, but if you could only manage a few items, I’d highly recommend these...

OXO Pop-Top Canisters

These come in a range of sizes (diameter and height), and feature a great pop-top that both undoes the airtight seal and acts as a handle to easily remove the lid.  These were my first OXO discovery and purchase, and since then I've given them as gifts to arthritic and non-arthritic friends!

The OXO Masher

Quite frankly, it's the best masher I've ever used.  Even non-crippled cooks rave about it.  The only problem is that it's metal, so no mashing in your teflon-coated pots - but easy to hold, and it mashes beautifully for perfect comfort food.

OXO Scissors

These are fantastic - they cut through anything without requiring much grip strength, are easy to hold onto, and come apart for easy cleaning.  I even bought a second pair of these for my desk, they're awesome.

OXO Peeler

This and the U-shaped peeler are both great.  Their big handles mean they're super-easy to keep a hold of, and the blades are super-sharp to ensure that they glide across whatever you're peeling.  

OXO Super Spreader

This knife may look a little odd, but it's a fantastic spreader which is also sharp enough to cut through your average sandwich, or block of cheese.  Mine barely makes it back into the drawer, it gets used so often!

Your local homewares store should be able to source OXO products for you, but if you live somewhere a little less metropolitan like yours truly, I can highly recommend KitchenwareDirect - orders over $100 are shipped for free, and they are super-competitive on price!  Now to save up so I can afford a KitchenAid Mixer...