Kathleen Zelman, MPH, RD/LD
Biography

Ellen Haas
Biography

	Are school lunches healthier today than in the past? Should I be focused only on the fat and not calories? What are "fit foods" and how do I work them into my meal planning? Do I have to choose only organic fruits and vegetables? How do I introduce these healthy foods to my kids?

Tired of hearing about all of the foods you shouldn't eat? Ellen Haas, author of "Fit Food: Eating Well for Life," wants you to know about 21 "fit foods" that you should eat -- foods that are especially good for you and very tasty, too. Kathleen Zelman, director of nutrition for the WebMD Weight Loss Clinic, chatted with Haas on May 4, 2005 to learn what these super foods are and how you can make them a part of your daily diet.

If you have questions about your health, you should consult your personal physician. This event is meant for informational purposes only.

ZELMAN:
Before we get started talking about your new book, tell us a little bit about your background and how you became such a nutrition advocate.

HAAS:
Back in the 1970s, when my children were very little, I started a grass roots consumer organization in my basement and went on to become the five-time president of Consumer Federation of America. I also founded the national consumer organization Public Voice for Food and Health Policy. In those 20 years, I lobbied and was part of a team that was successful in getting a new nutrition label. We worked to get safer seafood inspections and reform the school lunch program to get it healthier and provide more nutrition education for children.

In 1992, I had the wonderful opportunity to be in charge of the policy that affects 1 in 6 Americans every day. I was appointed by President Bill Clinton to be the Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services and it was there I had the chance to put my words into action.

In 1995 we changed the school lunch program for the first time in 50 years. We updated the nutrition standards so that school meals were required to meet the U.S. dietary guidelines. I also had responsibility for the dietary guidelines, the food guide pyramid, the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion as well as the 14 food assistance programs like the Food Stamp Program.

I left the government in 1997 and wrote a book that was great fun to do; it's called Great Adventures in Food: Fresh Ways to Celebrate Every Meal . I then wanted to get the message out to a broader audience -- to as many consumers as possible -- about healthy eating and how fitness can be fun, enjoyable and improves your life. I founded FoodFit.com with Pat Kelly, a colleague from my consumer days. We launched FoodFit.com in 2000 to make it easy to make good food and enjoy active living.

Through these years we have developed very exciting and useable content for consumers as well as a collection of 2,500 delicious, healthy recipes led by our chef, Bonnie Moore. It was from this collection of content information, tips and recipes that we put together Fit Food , because we wanted to bring this information, if you will, into the consumers' kitchen so that they could live a healthier lifestyle and make delicious meals for their friends, their families and themselves and to enjoy the pleasures of eating healthy and being healthy.

ZELMAN:
Your background is truly amazing and you are an incredible nutrition advocate. I remember your advocacy efforts on behalf of school lunch and how you worked to improve the nutritional quality of our kids' midday meals. What is your opinion of school lunches today?

HAAS:
I don't believe we're there yet. But, I think there has definitely been progress in lowering the fat in school lunches and as well as adding more fruits and vegetables. For example; there's been a surge in the numbers of salad bars across the country in schools. However, the requirements, by law, is that all schools that serve lunches and breakfast must meet the dietary guidelines and today there are still thousands of schools not meeting these guidelines. We have 96,000 schools in the country and we have to have more leadership to bring schools into compliance with the law.

"I think first and foremost we have to motivate and educate children about healthy food choices and make it fun."

ZELMAN:
Some of the problems with kids and school meals are that the kinds of foods kids prefer are not necessarily foods that are good for them. How do we bridge the gap?

HAAS:
I think first and foremost we have to motivate and educate children about healthy food choices and make it fun. When I was at USDA we had the Team Nutrition initiative which was a campaign of public and private organizations to promote healthy food choices. For example, we had tastings so that children could explore new vegetables and fruits, like kiwi or asparagus. What we tried to do was involve the kids and talk about the different greens. There was a program at one school where chefs from New York came into the school to introduce to children all the different kinds of greens, and that really got the kids to look for healthier choices when they went through the school lunch line.

Also, I think it's important to talk to children in a language they understand. Today they watch TV, use the internet, go to movies -- there are lots of ways to communicate about how they can have a healthy diet.

Focus on just a few things, like increasing the amounts of fruits, vegetables and whole grains they get.

The government needs to make a commitment to nutrition education, so we can battle this crisis we have today of childhood obesity.

ZELMAN:
If we want to get kids to eat all the fruits and vegetables recommended by the new dietary guidelines, we clearly need to make it more fun. I hope school lunch directors are listening to your recommendations.

HAAS:
That's what Fit Food tries to do for parents -- demystify the wide range of food in today's market.

You don't have to have a dinner with only green beans, there's a wide variety to choose from. So Fit Food was developed to make it easy to find different vegetables, fruits and protein sources to serve. Not only the nutritional background of the foods but also shopping advice like what to look for in the market, because people may know about green beans but are not familiar with zucchini, rutabaga or acorn squash. Fit Food gives you the information about how to shop for it, what the uses are, and the best way to prepare it.

The opinions expressed herein are the guests' alone and have not been reviewed by a WebMD physician.