Down Home Happenings
(Home Economics Newsletter)

You can include exercise in your treatment plan for arthritis. When performed correctly, exercise can improve your joint flexibility, relieve pain and strengthen bones and muscles.

To get started, try a few stretches. Begin with the shoulder shrug. This stretch helps chronic arthritis involving the vertebrae of the neck. Slowly and steadily raise your shoulders into a shrug. Hold it for a moment, feeling the effect on your neck muscles. Keeping your head still, gently press your shoulders downward as far down as you comfortably can. Release and repeat.

Next, try the wrist flex. Extend your arm and bend your wrist to raise your hand as if signaling "stop." Then bend your wrist the other way so your hands drop forward as far as it can go.

The knee-to-chest exercise is good for the back. Lie on the floor with your legs bent and feet flat on the floor. Pull your right knee to your chest and hold it a few seconds. Straighten your right leg and shake it to relax the muscles. Return to the starting position and repeat with the left leg.

Many people believe that white table sugar is somehow worse for you than "natural" sweeteners like honey, brown sugar or fruit sugar. But apart from their taste and physical form, all those sweeteners, including table sugar, are virtually the same.

The Alabama Peanut Producers Association is sponsoring Chef Brad Peters. Chef Peters will present an hour demonstration on Low Calorie/Low Fat Cooking using peanuts.

Extension Agents from several Alabama counties will present another hour of recipe preparation on foods suitable for the diabetic diet.

To register, send a $10 check to Dr. Evelyn Crayton, 220B Duncan Hall, Auburn University, AL  36849-5654. For questions, phone Dr. Crayton at 334/844-2207 or 334/844-2224.

Now it's possible to have your cake and eat it too--at least some of it. Recent baking recipes reveal fruit purees can be substituted for fats such as butter or oil.

In baking, fats add moisture, flavor and tender texture to cookies, cakes and muffins. Fruit purees, such as prunes or bananas and non-fat dairy products such as non-fat yogurt or sour cream, provide some of the fat in homemade baked goods.

The test of the success of non-fat substitutes is taste. Foods made with natural fat substitutes have similar flavor to their full-fat counterpart, but are much healthier.

Not all fruit purees are the same in baking recipes. Prune puree provides a rich flavor and a moist texture. Prunes also work to enhance flavors in a recipe such as chocolate, cinnamon and orange.

When modifying a recipe using fruit purees, use half as much of the substitute as the recipe originally calls for.  Experimentation with applesauce, fruit purees or non-fat dairy products are the only way to be sure your family will enjoy the lower-fat versions of old favorites. For example, if the recipe calls for 1 cup of butter, use 1/2 cup of fruit puree. For best results, add 1 tablespoon of butter back into the recipe. You can also trim the fat in your recipes by using egg whites instead of whole eggs and graham cracker crusts in recipes that call for higher fat pastry dough crust.

Kadee Bryan of Brantley will be working with the Crenshaw County Extension Office to facilitate Breast and Cervical Cancer Education in Crenshaw County. Kadee is working on a contract/grant position with Enterprise Family Services Center. Funds for the educator comes from the Avon Products Breast Cancer Awareness Program.

If you need a program for a civic, church or community women's group, please give Kadee a call at 334/527-3717 or 334/335-6312. She has a wealth of excellent materials to share with women in Crenshaw County. We will have an exhibit at the Love Thy Neighbor Program and Relay for Life Activity on May 4. Stop by our booth to get the latest breast and cervical cancer education information.

Not sure where to turn to find out what toys are safe for your child? Do you wonder if your heater or air-conditioner has been recalled? Want information on food safety? There's now a "one-stop web site for people to access consumer information from multiple federal agencies.

Located at www.consumer.gov, the U.S. Consumer Gateway offers information by subject categories instead of by federal agency. That means you don't have to figure out which agency is responsible for the subject you're looking for.

The Gateway is divided into 10 major categories, including: Product Safety, Your Home, Children, Food, Health, Your Money, and Transportation. In addition, the "Of Special Interest" section highlights the latest news of consumer interest. Another section, "Scam Alert", gives tips on recognizing and avoiding fraudulent and deceptive practices in the marketplace.

Poorly fitting shoes are a major source of foot problems. Use this "pinch test" to choose sport or exercise shoes: If you can pinch some of the shoe's material as shown, there's enough space between your foot and the side of the shoe.

Gayle White
County Extension Coordinator