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Show THE Page 16 OGDEN VALLEY NEWS Volume XIV Issue V December 1, 2006 Ogden Valley’s Nutrition Picks— Parenting 101- Input, Input, Input! By Bob Doman For most parents the question of how their child develops and learns is a mystery, but it needn’t be, shouldn’t be, and, for you’re children’s sake, had better not be The development of your child’s brain/learning is a direct response to input; specific, appropriate input delivered with sufficient frequency, intensity and duration. This is true whether your child is learning to crawl, shoot free throws, or master calculus. Learning or developing is a process of changing the brain. Your understanding of these basic principles can have a dramatic effect on your child’s future. parents erroneously believe that how their child develops is primarily a reflection of their genetic programming; that how smart they will be and whether or not they’re good at reading, math, art, sports, or music is primarily preordained from birth by their genetic wiring. Our genetic predispositions influence our development, but for the most part how, our brains end up functioning is a reflection of when and how they are stimulated. This input-stimulation determines how our children become wired or how their brain’s become organized. When your child is born, they are born with most all of the brain cells they will ever have. The process of development is a process by which we stimulate the brain and thus stimulate the growth of the connections between the brain cells. This growth of connections is what actual- ly accounts for the physical growth of your child’s brain. When we stimulate the brain we change the brain. Stimulation/learning actually physically If the brain by growing connections or networks, learning and development have taken place. The first few years of life are particularly critical; this is the period when children actually experience a rapid loss of brain cells. The fast majority of brain cells are not being utilized at birth, but if we provide the child with a lot of specific input, we bring more and more brain cells into action and keep them. But, as the saying goes, “If you don’t use it you lose it’ and your young child’s developing brain is going to either benefit from the input or suffer from its absence. All input is not good stimulation, but all stimulation is good input. Most of what occurs in our children’s lives is what we call random versus specific input. In general, a lot of “stuff” as in random noise and commotion, is bad stuff, a teacher trying to teach your child long division before they have mastered subtraction is likewise “stuff.” Whereas, specific input designed to fit the child is what the good input/stimulation is made of. To stimulate the brain, we must supply it with specific and appropriate input delivered with sufficient frequency, intensity, and duration. As we proceed, we will help you learn how to provide your child with specific, appropriate sae growing input. can send your questions to <askbob@nacd. org> Healthy Baking Substitutions By Amy Cain, MS, RD Dietitian at Ogden Clinic, Valley Resident, and Healthy Eater! Baked goods have gotten a bad-rap with the low-carb craze, but using good quality ingredients can make them healthier than ever! Although navigating these healthier items can be confusing at first, it is a learning process and the experimentation should be fun! Jot down the substitutions you make to recipes so you can replicate them in the future, or make additional changes based on your individual tastes. any of these substitutions come from the bulk bins at Smith’s on 12th and Harrison. Buying in bulk allows you to experiment with a small amount of the product, rather than investing in a large amount that you won’t ever use. Flour: Whole-wheat pastry flour or spelt flour are 100% whole-grain flours that can be used in place of white flour when making things like muffins, pancakes, cookies, biscuits, pie crusts, etc. While you may be hesitant about using whole-grain flour, these flours have less gluten than regular whole wheat flour, therefore decreasing the likelihood that your finished product will turn out like a “brick. /Oils: To make quick breads hearthealthier, butter or oil can be replaced ina 1:1 ratio with applesauce or natural peanut butter (peanuts and salt are the only ingredients). Cookies are an exception because applesauce seems to make them a little too “muffin-like,” but a little peanut butter in place of butter works great. With cookie recipes you can also subtract 2 tablespoons of butter right off the bat without replacing it! This trick seems to work well for our highelevation. Sweeteners: At the very least, use unrefined cane juice, under the brand names Sucanat or Florida Crystals. These sweeteners are basically identical to white sugar, but are unrefined so they retain minerals and other nutrients. It is assumed that they have a similar effect as white sugar on blood sugar levels, but I have noticed that they don’t give me the “sugar intoxication” that white sugar does. They can replace white or brown sugar in a 1:1 ratio. For the real purist, brown rice syrup is the sweetener of choice! It is 37% complex carbohydrates, so is assumed to be absorbed much more slowly into the blood stream. It can replace white or brown sugar in a 1:1 ratio, but since it is a liquid, you must add about 4-5 tablespoons of extra flour for every cup of syrup you use. Healthy Additions: Adding 1/3 cup cooked oatmeal gives baked goods a very moist and hearty texture. A few tablespoons chopped nuts, chopped dried fruit, raw millet, wheat germ, oat bran, or ground flax seeds can also be added. Nuts can also be finely ground in a spice grinder before being added. For information on Ogden Valley’s Healthy Lifestyle Program, contact Amy Cain at <AmyCainl@aol.com> This 6-week course is an achievable, lifelong eating and fitness plan that includes cooking demos, identifying healthy carbs, proteins, and fats, stocking a healthy pantry, eating well on the run, and intuitive eating. Boys Scouts Doing Their Part LIBERTY home with 6 bedrooms, 6 bath, 2 family rooms, 2 kitchens, 2 laundrys, 2 fireplaces. 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