Food Fit

Ellen Haas, the founder of this site, has impressive credentials as a public health advocate; she has spent more than 20 years running government nutrition programmes in the US, overseen a revision of the school lunch programme, and been elected five times as president of the Consumer Federation of America. The aim of the site is to help the public lead a healthier life through good food and active living. The lively and highly illustrated homepage can give the impression that there is little here of benefit to British visitors, packed as it is with American products and stories. However, it is worth persevering. To move to the useful information, click on the channels listed along the base of the banner at the top of the screen.

One of our visitors has recently commented that they have been unsuccessful in trying to unsubscribe to the newsletters. They have been trying for months apparently. So you have been warned.

SPECIAL FEATURES

Healthy Eating is a huge topic and subsequently this channel is divided into several smaller sections, including Season's Pick, Foods in the News, guides to rice and beans, and more. Our last visit saw an article on summer squashes, their nutritional benefits, the varieties available and recipes. You could learn more about the cancer-fighting properties of tea, tomatoes, and garlic, refer to seasonal fruit and vegetable chart, and find out what the site's expertshave to say about biotech foods. There is a link here to Food Fit's 'seven step plan for healthy living', plus an archive of previously published material.

Healthy Cooking Food Fit has the support of a large network of American chefs including some of the top names in the business, several of whom have contributed recipes to the site in sections such as Chefs@Home. It's not about fancy cooking however; you will find plenty of quick and easy recipes here, plus useful tips to add a twist to your regular meals. The Recipe Revue features makeovers of down-home dishes such as frankfurters and beans. There are Menus for the Week from Chef Bonnie who provides useful advance preperation instructions to make everything run as smoothly as possible.

Tools There are several offered. First take your Food Fit profile, which requires site registration, and is a series of questions to determine your nutritional strengths and weaknesses - recipes are then offered that fit your needs. Also here are a healthy weight calculator, a calorie burner calculator, a menu planner, a pantry stocker and a tool to help establish how low you need to cook foods for safety.

Fitness is a great section acknowledging that food and fitness go hand in hand. It covers cardiovascular, resistance and flexibility exercises, plus fitness trends such as meditation. There is plenty here for those new to exercise, and thought-provoking articles for those already interested in fitness, such as a look at why swimmers may sometimes need to eat differently from runners.

Links to food and nutrition sites, chefs and restaurants, plus exercise sources.

OTHER FEATURES

Marketplace for product sales.