Strengthening Oklahoma Families
Pottawatomie County OSU Extension Service
14001 Acme Road Shawnee OK 74804
(405) 273-7683 www.oces.okstate.edu/pottawatomie
Inside this
issue:
Wow Walking
OHCE News
Canning
Serving Sizes
Recipe
May/June 2015
Thriving with arthritis on a day-to-day basis
When thinking about arthritis, people
generally picture older individuals with
aching and swollen joints who have
difficulty with walking and moving about.
However, arthritis is the leading cause of
disability for individuals over the age of
15 in the United States. Many people
living with arthritis are finding ways to
manage the disease and not let the
disease manage them, said Jan Johnston, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension adulthood and aging
specialist. “It seems there are times
when we let the physical sensations of
swelling, pain, tenderness, stiffness and
redness dictate our activity, frame of
mind and day-to-day living,” Johnston
said. “However, the Arthritis Foundation
suggests taking and keeping control of
our lives with a few reminders. These include respecting the pain, pacing ourselves and avoiding stressful positions.”
To reduce some of the pain of arthritis,
the Foundation also suggests changing
position frequently, taking brief rest
periods to reduce over-use and using
assistive technology to help manage day
-to-day tasks. Assistive technology is a
variety of tools, devices and services that
assist us in making tasks safer, easier
and quicker to complete.
“As with many things, there are myths
about arthritis floating around,” Johnston
said. “One such myth is eating high acidic fruits such as oranges and grapefruit
can trigger osteoarthritis pain. This is
false. In fact, these foods are high in vitamin C and can be helpful in warding off
pain and keeping it from getting worse.”
Another myth is exercise is bad for your
joints if you have rheumatoid arthritis.
Again, this is false. Johnston said the key
is to balance between adequate rest and
exercise and have regular medical checkups.
“Staying active keeps joints and muscles
toned and healthy, while also helping to
fight fatigue and improve your quality of
sleep,” she said. “However, if you feel
pain when exercising, check with your
doctor about modifying to make it easier
on your joints.”
Although some people believe only men
can get gout, this is not true. While men
tend to be more likely to develop gout,
both men and women are susceptible.
Johnston said, while it is unfortunate,
often people who have arthritis stop, and
ultimately avoid, activities that in the long
run could be beneficial. “While pain and
stiffness can make things more difficult
and less enjoyable, activities such as
exercising or even gardening can vastly
help in combating the stiffness and pain
of arthritis. If you’re living with arthritis,
listen to your body and know when it’s
time to switch activities or simply take a
break or call it a day,” she said. “Mornings
may be a better time for some activities,
while the afternoon hours may be a better
fit for other types of activity. Learning how
your body responds is the first step in
successfully managing arthritis.”
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Want to join a fun
Wow of Walking
Walking is easy to do and
offers many benefits.
What’s not to like about
walking? It’s free. It’s easy
to do, and it’s easy on the
joints. And there’s no question that walking is good for
you. Walking is an aerobic
exercise. A University of
Tennessee study found
that women who walked
had less body fat than
those who didn’t walk. It
also lowers the risk of
blood clots, since the calf
acts as a venous pump,
contracting and pumping
blood from the feet and
legs back to the heart, reducing the load on the
heart. Walking is good for
you in other ways as well.
group working to
make a difference in
our community?
Schwartz, MD, of Plancher
Orthopedics & Sports Medicine in New York. Impact that
comes from movement or
compression, such as walking, “squishes” the cartilage,
bringing oxygen and nutrients
into the area. If you don’t
walk, joints are deprived of
life-giving fluid, which can
speed deterioration. Walking
increases the strength and
flexibility of your muscles,
increasing the range of moWalking supports joints. It
tion and shifting the pressure
tones muscles that, in turn,
and your weight from joints to
support the joints, especially muscles – which are meant to
the leg and abdominal mus- handle weight – helping to
cles – and even arm muscles lessen arthritis pain.
if you pump them as you
walk. Walking can also stop Source: http://www.arthritistoday.org/
the loss of bone mass for
those with osteoporosis, according to Michael A.
Walking improves circulation. It also wards off heart
disease, brings up the heart
rate, lowers blood pressure
and strengthens the heart.
Studies found that women
who walked 30 minutes a day
reduced their risk of stroke by
20 percent – by 40 percent
when they stepped up the
pace, according to researchers at the Harvard School of
Public Health in Boston.
OHCE Opportunities and News
Want to learn new
skills and hobbies?
OHCE is open to
everyone and has
several area groups to
join!
SPECIAL EVENT!
Dutch Oven Cooking
May 26, 2015
Starting at 9:00am
Wintersmith Park, Ada
This special event is hosted by OHCE County
Groups from surrounding
counties and lesson is provided by OSU Extension
Educators.
YOU WILL EAT!
$5 registration due
May 20th
FCS
NEWSLINE
Exploring Oklahoma
June 23, 2015
Robyn Jones,
Hughes County
Extension Educator
Mark Your Calendar!
OHCE State Meeting
July 12-14, 2015
Norman, OK
Embassy Suites
Award Winning
Foods
Sonya McDaniel
Pott County
Extension Educators
Registration coming
soon in the
State Newsletter
“Outreach”
2:30 pm at the
OSU Extension
Center
Workshop Topics:
Leadership, Quilting
Scrapbooking,
Oral History Stories,
emerging social
concerns
Get Ready for Canning
People have been
preserving foods at
home for many years.
It isn’t a complicated
process and it’s just
food which leads people
to believe that any
information source (or
no directions at all) are
needed to preserve
foods. This is false! It is
very important to follow
approved, tested recipes
for processing any food
at home.
Foods not utilizing water
bath canning methods, or
pressure canning for lowacid foods can contain
toxic levels of food bourn
bacteria when consumed.
Although sight and smell
can be an indicator, it isn’t
a fail safe method for
knowing if a product is
safe. The use of colored
jars makes visual
evaluation of a product
very difficult.
For this reason, using
these product for craft
purposes may be the best
policy.
Home food preservation is
a great way to enjoy fresh
foods all year long. It
helps consumers control
additives to foods,
however; safe practices
must be followed.
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3
Foodie Friday
Workshop
Salsas and Jelly—
Water Bath
Canning
JUNE 5th
$2 at the door
RSPV by calling
275-7683
Online Food Preservation Resource!
National Center for Home Food Preservation
http://nchfp.uga.edu/
What or How Much!!
People eat more when
they're offered larger
servings. But is it more
food—or bigger plates,
bowls, bags, or other
containers—that makes
the difference?
The students ate twice as
much candy from the two
large bowls (about 2
ounces, or 300 calories'
worth) than they did from
the small bowl (about 1
ounce, or 150 calories'
worth).
To find out, Belgian
researchers offered 88
college students one of
three bowls of
chocolate candies to
snack on as they
watched a 22-minute
TV show: a small (onecup) bowl filled with 7
ounces of candy, a
large (three-cup) bowl
with 7 ounces of candy,
or a large (three-cup)
Source: Nutrition Action
bowl filled with 21
ounces of candy.
What to do:
If your dishes are
generously sized and
you're trying to eat less,
maybe it's worth investing in a new set. And
keep in mind that you
might eat more of the
remaining chips or
cookies or crackers at
the bottom of a large
bag than you might
from a smaller bag.
Also, repackage food
from large bags into
smaller (preferably
reusable) containers.
And if you don’t want to
eat the entire dish at a
restaurant, ask the
server to wrap half of it
up before it reaches the
table.
Christmas in
June!
Now is the time, if
you haven’t already
to start setting your
budget for the
holidays!
Spreading out your
Holiday spending
over the next 6
months will help
you cover your
needs in January
2016!
No Cook Strawberry Dessert
1 loaf (10-1/2 ounces) angel food
cake, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 packages (.3 ounce each) sugar
-free strawberry gelatin
2 cups boiling water
1 package (20 ounces) frozen
unsweetened whole strawberries,
thawed
2 cups cold 1% milk
1 package (1 ounce) sugar-free
instant vanilla pudding mix
1 carton (8 ounces) frozen reduced-fat whipped topping,
thawed
Chopped fresh strawberries, optional
1. Arrange cake cubes in a single
layer in a 13-in. x 9-in. dish. In a
bowl, dissolve gelatin in boiling
water; stir in strawberries. Pour
over cake and gently press cake
down. Refrigerate until set, about
1 hour.
2. In a large bowl, whisk milk and
pudding mix for 2 minutes. Let
stand for 2 minutes or until softset.
3. Spoon over gelatin layer.
Spread with whipped topping.
Refrigerate until serving. Garnish
with chopped fresh strawberries if
desired. Yield: 20 servings.
Nutritional Facts
1 piece equals 92 calories, 2 g fat (1 g
saturated fat), 2 mg cholesterol, 172 mg
sodium, 16 g carbohydrate
Source: Taste of Home
Freezing Fresh Berries
An average of one pound of fresh berries equals one pint of frozen berries.
Select berries with fresh sweet flavor,
deep colors and firm textures and
ideal maturity for eating fresh. Freeze
berries the same day as harvest.
Work quickly. Sort berries and rinse
in cold water using small quantities; and
drain well. Do not soak. Discard any
berries that are discolored or damaged.
Berries may be frozen with syrup, dry
sugar or unsweetened.
Always use freezer grade containers
or bags for the best results. When
using rigid containers leave 1 inch headspace or fill pint or quart freezer bags 24 inches from the top and squeeze out
air to allow for expansion during freezing. Label, date and freeze immediately.
Check out the Pottawatomie County OSU Extension
Facebook page for lots of tips and recipes each month.
Editor: Sonya McDaniel
Family & Consumer Science,
Extension Educator
Strengthening Oklahoma
Families Newsletter
is published by the following:
Pottawatomie County
Cooperative Extension Service
at a cost of .19 cents per
distributed copy
Pottawatomie County Cooperative Extension Service
Oklahoma State University
14001 Acme Rd.
Shawnee OK 74804