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Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2003; 1 p.m. ET

Welcome to The Lean Plate Club, hosted by Washington Post health and nutrition writer Sally Squires. On Tuesdays at 1 p.m. ET, Sally leads a discussion for people who want to eat healthier, move around more and otherwise get better but not bigger. We're not about fad diets or crash weight-loss plans; we're about eating wisely and living healthy for the long haul.

We want to hear from you -- your tips, strategies, meal plans, successes, warnings, setbacks and more. Of course Sally will be happy to answer questions, and turn others over to the Club. None of this, of course, is a substitute for medical advice.

Health section editor Craig Stoltz will join Sally sometimes. Stoltz has none of Sally's impressive credentials but labors under a decade-long medical directive to control his weight and eat wisely, takes a statin to lower his blood cholesterol and keeps track of everything he eats on a Palm handheld computer, a fact most of his acquaintances no longer find interesting.

Sign up for the free Lean Plate Club e-mail newsletter.

A transcript follows.

Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.

Sally Squires: Welcome.

The freebies today are "Combat Fat" by Andrew Flach, "Healthy Living From a Greek Island" by Eleni Delfakis, and "Energy Breakthrough," by Sarah, The Duchess of York.

Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Here's my recipe for salad dressing:

A dash of top quality olive oil (1st cold pressing), a dash of balsamic vinegar, 1 crushed clove of garlic, a touch of Dijon mustard if you wish, salt and pepper. Mix in bottom of salad bowl before you put the lettuce in. It's delicious, easy to make and good for you.

Sally Squires: Hey Toronto: I love balsamic vinegar. Another favorite: raspberry. If you haven't tried it, do. It's really great. OTher favorites out there?

Washington, D.C.: I am in the habit of craving a taste of something sweet after every meal. I have tried things like having a couple of M&Ms after lunch/dinner, but having a whole bag of these treats on hand is a recipe for disaster. Any suggestions for a satisfying meal-ender, or how to cure myself of these taste bud cravings?

Sally Squires: Hi DC: Do you need chocolate or could it be any sweet stuff--which by the way seems to send a potent signal to the brain that helps it to know the meal is ended. Dried fruit is another healthy way to end a meal (in addition to fresh fruit.) You might try buying individual pieces of dark, bittersweet chocolate and then only have one or two pieceson hand at one time. Other suggestions out there?

Auburn, Ala.: Once I started looking for partially hydrogenated oils I found them in so many packaged goods. I know to avoid cookies and crackers, but I found out my powdered hot chocolate mix which I thought wasn't too bad for me has partially hydrogenated oil also! I now make it at home with milk and chocolate syrup, but I miss my late afternoon chocolate fix in the office.

Sally Squires: Hey Auburn: It's disappointing isn't it, to learn that something you love has a hidden ingredient. But before you give up your favorite altogether, check out the total fat content. If it's less than 3 grams per serving, you're probably not getting much trans fat, according to Margo Wootan at Center for Science in the Public Interest. And she also said that you don't have to avoid trans fat altogether. So maybe you'll be able to indulge in that favorite cocoa after all.

Washington, D.C.: I love salads and I make my own dressings. The thing to remember is that if you're making them yourself, you control what goes in them and how much of it. And, homemade things taste so much better than anything you can buy in the store. Some simple suggestions: olive oil and balsamic vinegar, walnut oil and raspberry vinegar. I often just use balsamic vinegar with a simple fruit, nut, and greens salad. And you'll be surprised at how refreshing freshly squeezed lemon juice as a salad dressing is. Also, try adding shallots and fresh garlic or your favorite herbs to a lemon juice/olive oil combo or a vinegar/olive oil combo. They're really a number of ways to dress your greens and vegetables in a healthy way. I even make a delicious creamy caesar dressing that calls for olive oil, a small amount of mayonnaise (to replace the uncooked egg), lemon juice, and garlic. My fiancι loves it!

Sally Squires: Hi DC: I couldn't have said it better myself. There are a whole range of healthy oils to try out there. I too am a big fan of walnut oil. It's really pretty amazing what's now available.

Bethesda, Md.: Hi Sally,

Thanks for the column -- it makes a lot of sense. Do you think butter (in small portions) is better than margarine since it has the same amount of calories?

Also, as a type 1 diabetic, I have been very interested in nutrition, and was curious what it takes to become a nutritionist and registered dietician? When I was diagnosed, I met with a nutritionist who helped me make sense of the nutrition side of things. I'd like to be able to help other people to make the right choices, too. I'm 35 years old, and am interested in pursuing this career path, as I think it would be very rewarding. What would you suggest?

washingtonpost.com: This might be a good start: American Dietetics Association Education Resources

Sally Squires: Hi Bethesda: The experts still say that margarine (with liquid vegetable oil as its leading ingredient) is still better than butter, which comes with saturated fat. That's particularly important for people with diabetes since that condition in itself is a known risk factor for heart disease. So to be safe, it sounds for now like the evidence leans towards margarine. But could you once in a while indulge in a tiny amount of butter (and I mean tiny?) Of course. Everything in moderation.

As for that career path: you might also want to check with the American Dietetics Association. www.eatright.org where you can find out a lot more about becoming a registered dietitian. A number of graduate schools also offer courses in nutrition. I'm a graduate of Columbia University's Institute of Human Nutrition, but there are plenty of others out there.

Vegetable Servings: Hello Sally,
I have a question about foods like veggie burgers, veggie sausage, etc. Do these foods count as a vegetable serving, or are they too processed to provide real nutritional value?

Thanks!

Sally Squires: They do indeed count towards the food pyramid. (And I don't know that they are overly processed although this comment has come in the past too, so it maybe we ought to address in the future in more depth.)

How does it count? It can count either towards your protein (that's the group with meat, poultry, eggs, beans, nuts and fish) or towards the vegetables. But don't use the same food as a serving as each. In other words, a veggie burger can count as a protein serving or as a vegetable, but not as both.

Arlington, Va.: I have the same after dinner sweet craving, I am afraid. Frozen juice bars work for me. Edy's has a Whole Fruit Bar that is nice and not full of artificial junk. I like the berry ones. They are fat free and I think only about 100 calories.

Sally Squires: Thanks Arlington. Other options: frozen fruit. A number of Lean Plate Club members have talked about eating frozen or slightly thawed peaches, blueberries, etc. Frozen cherries are almost like candy. Graham crackers, ginger snaps and meringues are a great way to end a meal. Those meringues by the way are quite sweet and are only about 20 calories each.

Washington, D.C.: I am also someone who craves sweets after a meal, I usually eat:

Fat-free pudding cu: - again you can buy them pre-made and individually wrapped so you aren't tempted to eat a ton.
Fat-free whipped cream on graham crackers.

It really helps me to indulge my sweet tooth (in a healthy way) on a regular basis and not deny myself. When I denied my self in the past, I would tend to go crazy and eat a brownie or a candy bar. But now, I just acknowledge that dessert is something I need and eat it after every meal (and I have lost 60 pounds in the last year).

Sally Squires: Hey DC: I think there's a typo in your answer (I can recognize it because I do them so often myself!). I think you mean Cuties. I've heard that they're great. Also consider, Skinny Cow bars. And Starbucks makes a frappacino bar that is only about 130 calories. Quite good as well.

Newport, R.I.: This week is National Eating Disorder Awareness week. What are your thoughts about this issue?

washingtonpost.com: FYI, we had a discussion about anorexia nervosa and bulemia yesterday: Perfect Illusions, (Live Online, Feb. 23)

Sally Squires: Hi Newport: Our great producer Liz has already given us a good link to another discussion. Eating disorders come in many forms: over eating and under eating and I know that a lot of people are struggling with both.

Dupont Circle, Washington, D.C.: For the chatter who wants a sweet end to a meal, how about a Viactiv calcium chew? Comes in different chocolate flavors.

Sally Squires: Now there's an interesting idea. Just be sure to keep out of reach of kids, because they contain vitamin D too. That's a fat soluble vitamin which means that it can be stored in your body and reach toxic levels. So both adults and kids need to not overdose on this stuff.

Princeton, N.J.: Hi Sally, this has been said before in your chats, but I just wanted to re-emphasize something from my own experience: regular exercising is hard to start and stick with at first, but eventually you WILL feel so much better and you WILL start to need it and crave it. I just cannot physically lay on the couch all day any more. I start to get muscle cramps and feel awful. I must get out and do something, even if it's just going for a walk. The same is true for what you eat. I found that the more fruit and veggies I eat, the more I want them. I don't even want fatty snacks and fast food makes me feel ill. Your body will definitely adapt and respond to what you're doing to it and will help you sustain those good changes in (and over) time.

Sally Squires: Hi Princeont: Yes, it's been said before, but we can't say it often enough. (And this comes from someone who has been sitting at a National Cancer Institute meeting for the past evening and morning.) At that very meeting, they presented new data emphasizing the importance of exercise (and achieving a healthy body weight) in helping to reduce the risk of breast cancer. Quite intriguing: post menopausal women who exercise seem to have a reduced risk of breast cancer.

McLean, Va.: I read "The Problem With Trans Fat" this morning and hope you can answer a question which plagues me. Nearly all of the tub margarines which claim to have "0 grams Trans Fat" that I have looked at have palm oil or palm kernel oils. I thought palm oil was a saturated, bad fat. If so, how can they be in these margarines? Also, as a subscriber to CSPI's "Nutrition Action," I read that we should use Promise for baking, but it has both hydrogentated and partially hydrogenated soybean oil. How can it also claim to have zero grams trans fats? Thank you!

Sally Squires: Hi McLean: Here's the deal--the processing of some of these oils can add trace amounts of trans fatty acids. They're very miniscule so not to worry (at least as long as you are choosing a tub margarine with liquid vegetable oil as one of the first ingredients). But as Center for Science in the Public Interest's Margo Wootan noted today, you don't need to avoid all trans fats although you do want to keep intact as low as possible.

Arlington, Va.: My favorite is Ken's Raspberry Walnut Dressing. I think it's fat-free and relatively low in calories. I like to use it on a salad of mixed greens (particularly mesclun), with walnuts and chopped Granny Smith apples mixed in (sometimes I'll throw in a little blue cheese, too). Good stuff!

Sally Squires: Yum! Sounds really good. Consider adding a little healthy fat: some chopped walnuts, or almonds or pecans. Perfection! Thanks

Woodbridge, Va.: In response to the person who needs sweets after a meal.

I keep a bag of small, individually wrapped Dove chocolates in my pantry, and I eat one piece after a meal. They are delicious, and each piece only has around 35 calories. Popsicles are another good choice (around 40-50 calories). If that's not enough to stop your cravings, you can try chewing sugar-free gum. I've recently discovered that chewing gum is a great way to stop myself from eating when I'm not really hungry. Cinnamon or fruit flavors satisfy my sweet tooth, and it keeps my mouth busy, so I can't keep eating!

Sally Squires: Thanks Woodbridge. I've also found some tangy and sweet ginger candies at Trader Joe's that are only 25 calories each. They're also chewy. And let's not forget mints--one of the all time favorites.

Reston, VA: Hi Sally,
I'm a fan of cold cuts, especially smoked or roast turkey breast. I'll have slicked turkey breast sandwiches for lunch about once or twice a week when I need a quick lunch to take to work. But yesterday, a coworker told me that cold cuts aren't healthy because they contain a preservative that isn't too great. He didn't have any specifics so I wanted to run this by you and the LPC members. I'm generally well read on nutritional info and I've never seen anything about this before -- anyone else?
Thanks!

Sally Squires: Hmmm. I'm not sure exactly what perservative that is, but I'll check and report back in a future LPC column or newsletter. By the way, the newsletters went out this morning. If you're not getting yours, please let me know at leanplateclub@washpost.com and please put trouble subscribing in the subject line. And yeah, to get the newsletter, which is still free, you do have to sign up at www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/email/front.htm . Please let me know if you have trouble subscribing.

Salad Dressings: A favorite of mine is olive oil, soy sauce, lime, and garlic. Very flavorful! Also, I have a weakness for ranch dressing -- sometimes, you just want something creamy. So, I get the Hidden Valley Ranch Lite, but it is still too thick for salad dressing. I dilute it with some skim milk to thin out the consistency as well as lower the calories.

Sally Squires: Yum. You are all making me very very hungry!

Alexandria, Va.: For the sweets person and Sally's response-
I am addicted to frozen green seedless grapes. They are a perfect sweet ending to dinner or a late-night snack!

Sally Squires: Thanks Alexandria! And that reminds me: frozen bananas are pretty good too. If you stick them in a blender or food processer and mix with a little lemon (and honey or vanilla) before freezing, they won't discolor.

Falls Church, Va.: My favorite salad dressing:
Canola oil, dijon mustard, rice wine vinegar, and touch of (real) maple syrup. Serve over greens with pecans and perhaps a winter pear. Fabulous!

Sally Squires: Hey Falls Church: I'm so glad that you reminded us of rice wine vinegar. It's great. And because it's a little higher in calories than usual vinegars, you can now also buy Lite Rice vinegar which has a few less calories. Thanks!

Washington, D.C.: L'il Dreamers (like an ice cream sandwich) are very tasty, come in vanilla or chocolate. They have 4 grams of sugar (1 tsp) each; no fat; and 60 calories. It's a good nutritional bargain compared to say a Skinny Cow that, if I remember correctly has about 20 grams of sugar. That's 5 tsps.

Sally Squires: Ah, I sense a theme developing here and a lot of folks who have figured out how to have a great tasting and healthy treat after dinner,which remains by the way, one of the most tempting times for many to eat.

Washington, D.C.: Ms. Squires:

It is my experience that a dash of any kind of booze, sprinkled on top of any food being stored covered, extends food fridge life by three to 10 times. (Take a pint of fresh raspberries. Put 'em in a baggie. Sprinkle on half a teaspoon of rum. Seal. Do the same with another pint, but skip the rum. Compare the two in three weeks.)

Question: Why don't you foodies tell us about such stuff? Is there some danger in using a bit of liquor as a preservative?

Sally Squires: Can't speak for the foodies, but how does this taste? I'm guessing it's probably pretty good.

Washington, D.C.: For salad dressing, try pumpkin seed oil. It has a very distinctive flavor, good fats, and holds up well to vinegar. While most books suggest about 2 parts oil to 1 part vinegar, I find that the pumpkin seed oil holds up much better, and I almost reverse the proportions, using balsamic vinegar. Yum!

Sally Squires: Hey DC: Okay, where do you buy pumpkin seed oil? That's a new one to me!

Laytonsville, Md.: I enjoy reading the live chats weekly, even if I am on a teleconference each week. I have been eating low-fat vegetarian (Ornish) since May 2001 and lost 30 pounds! Even with my disability I have started the walk fit (I use a cane!) tapes and trying to move more.

On the transfats question, how can we get food producers to take out the partially hydrogenated stuff? It's everywhere! Even in vegetarian/vegan frozen foods! And I don't eat french fries now!

I use only olive oil and I take flaxseed oil and borage oils for L3. Fish oils are out of the question, so how do we get the right fats and get vendors to lighten up their products?

I bring frozen veggies to work to microwave at lunchtime and control what I eat. But it seems that most prepared foods have hydrogenated stuff!

Any ideas?

Sally Squires: Hey Laytonsville: Congratulations on all that you're doing. Sounds like you have made some great changes and are already reaping the benefits.

Two thoughts: one is that trace amounts of trans fat exist--even in food that isn't processed. So you can't eliminate it completely. Nor should you as Margo Wootan mentioned in today's column.
Second: the Food and Drug Administration is considering a proposal right now to list trans fats on food labels. I suspect that if this goes through, more people such as yourself will vote with their feet on certain foods and tat is probably the best way to make a change.

Salad Dressing: my absolute favorite dressing is the juice of an orange (blood oranges in the winter are awesome!), a drizzle of honey, a drizzle of EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) and a dash of cayenne pepper. the sweet, hot dressing is great for all kinds of salads (including fruit salad!) and even to marinate chicken and fish!

Sally Squires: This sounds great! Thanks for posting! And the idea of a using this is a marinade is really good.

New Jersey: I received some citrus vinegar and chili-pepper vinegar as a gift. Does anyone know any good recipes to make a salad dressing?

Sally Squires: I'll post and see what the members say. If we can't them all posted today, look for more in an upcoming newsletter.

RE: cold cuts lover: Could the poster be thinking of nitrates, which is found in hot dogs and other processed meat products?

Sally Squires: Yeah, I was thinking of that too. But there may also be ascorbic acid, which is in fact vitamin C.

Re: Pumpkin Seed Oil: Well, I actually got mine at the market in Vienna, Austria, but I've seen it at Whole Foods.

Sally Squires: Ah-Hem! I think that Vienna Austria doesn't exactly count, but I'm glad you found it also at Whole Foods. And I guess with the Internet we can probably buy nearly any food from anywhere, right? Thanks for letting us know.

Haymarket, Va.: My trainer said I should stay away from polyunsaturated fat. I get these from eating vegetarian, soy based products. I thought they were okay -- Omega 3? Why should I stay away from them?

Sally Squires: Hi Haymarket: I don't know because in fact, omega 3's and omega 6's are considered healthy fats. I suggest you ask your trainer for a fuller explanation. Then please let us know. And by the way, you're smart to check things out. We've also written about these healthy fats in previous Lean Plate Club columns if you want to check the archives.

Confused: Now I'm confused! From college organic chemistry, a trans fat is not a saturated fat. Saturated means no double bonds, while trans refers to the orientation around a double bond, which means they're unsaturated. So reading the label for how much sat fat if you're interested in trans fat content is pointless.

Maybe the point is that they should both be avoided, but a sat fat and a trans fat are not the same chemically.

Sally Squires: Dear Confused: You're absolutely right, chemically trans fats are unsaturated. But studies suggest that they are as harmful--if not more harmful--in raising blood cholesterol levels as saturated fat. That's the reason that they are lumped together with the saturated stuff.

Washington, D.C.: A nice plus about rice wine vinegar is that it is so mild, you can reduce or even eliminate the oil in the dressing. A drop or two of toasted sesame oil also goes a long way in adding flavor.

Sally Squires: Yes, sesame oil is great. And I'd say that balsamic vinegar comes pretty close to rice vinegar in smoothness. Thanks for posting!

Falls Church, Va.: Pumpkin seed oil: We were just in Vienna Austria and this is very popular over there. Apparently pumpkins are a big crop in Styria (southeastern Austria). It's called something like kurbis. we had a lovely kurbiscremesuppe -- cream of pumpkin soup: the pumpkin flesh was roasted and pureed and mixed with some of the seed oil, some chicken broth added -- no cream, just creamy texture! Very very good. But I too would love to know where to buy the seed oil here in Washington.

Sally Squires: Hey Falls Church: And the earlier poster said that we can probably find it a Whole Foods aka Fresh Fields.

Silver Spring, Md.: I was recently advised to add Flaxseed oil to my diet -- as I eat very few fats and my skin is always dry. Before I buy, any recommendations for brands? Uses, other than drizzling on my salad? Can I cook with it?

Thanks

Sally Squires: Hi Silver Spring: Flaxseed oil is a source of those healthy fats--omega 3's and 6's. There are a variety of reasons for eating them, but for the sake of brevity, studies suggest that these fats are helpful in preventing a fatal type of irregular heart beat that can accompany a heart attack. I'm not sure about cooking--but I'll check that one out. Many people use flaxseed oil for dressings and you can grind the seeds and put on top of salads, in muffins, on cereal, etc. There are also a number of flaxseed cereals that are quite good and low in fat.

Somewhere, USA: Re: Salad dressing -- Also try out the non-dairy Nasoya brnad of Salad dressings (available in whole Foods) -- their sesame garlic dressing is really good!

Sally Squires: Sounds great! Thanks!

Rockville, Md.: Hi! I heard that it is better to replace margarine by butter since margarine is said to contain a substantial amount of specific fatty acid (transfatty I think) as compared to the ones in butter, and the ones found in margarine is not good for the arteries. Is that so?

I have also come across butter substitutes that have buttery taste but mostly contain vegetable oil/fat. I am not sure if it is healthy for humans to consume such a substitute or butter. What do you think?

Sally Squires: Hi Rockville: This trans fatty stuff can get pretty confusing. Some margarine--paticularly stick margarine--does indeed contain a lot of trans fat. Butter on the other hand is higher in saturated fat. Experts say that your best bet is to go for tub margarine that has liquid vegetable oil as one of its top one or two ingredients. And also look for margarine that has less than 3 grams of saturated fat. You can also now buy margarine with zero trans fat and with plant stanols or sterols which are as effective as some medications in lowering cholesterol. Three types: Benecol, Take Control and Smart Balance. Just remember that these all have calories and yes, fat. So you can't eat endless amounts of them.

McLean, Va.: For the person who wants to end a meal with something sweet, think fruit, especially seasonal fruit! That's a little hard right now, but there are great oranges, apples and pears out there. As the season changes, there will be more great fruits to choose from.

washingtonpost.com: I also saw some early peaches today at Fresh Fields. -- Liz

Sally Squires: And we've been getting some delicious raspberries, although they are a bit pricey. But the strawberries are also hitting the market now. And don't forget canned, frozen or jars of fruit. Other good options. There's also a wonerful mango sauce at Trader Joe's that could go over yogurt or fruit.

Philadelphia, Pa.: You've inspired me to get up and at 'em. Walking the stairs, under any circumstances has become my only method of traveling between levels. Even if it's only 2 or 3 steps up/down, it's still 2 or 3 MORE steps I've managed to add to me day. Every bit helps.

Sally Squires: Way to go Philly! Keep it up. Yesterday, I had a lot of meetings but still managed to log in 5,000 steps with lifestyle exercises. These pedometers really help remind you to keep moving!

Bethesda, Md.: Just wanted to remind everyone that shoveling definitely counts as exersise, so do your neighbor's walk too while your at it! (Just be sure to remember to bend at the knees!)

Sally Squires: Well said, Bethesda, particularly as they are forecasting more (ugh!) snow for tomorrow and Thursday.

Alexandria, Va.: I have high cholesterol (results from 2/20/03 test: total 246; Trig 121; HDL 56; VLDL 24; LDL 165; T chol/HDL 4.3). I would prefer not to take medication to lower my cholesterol. What are the chances that I can reduce the bad cholesterol by changing my diet and cutting out red meats and cheese products? I have a weakness for grilled cheese sandwiches and desserts (cookies/brownies).

Sally Squires: Hmm, Alexandria: You might want to check out your profile at www.nhlbi.nih.gov where you can plug in your numbres and see your 10-year risk of having a heart attack or other "event" as they say. Yes, you can lower cholesterol with lifestyle changes--and you'll find info on that same site for that too. But talk to your doctor. If you have other risk factors right now, including smoking, being overweight, having diabetes or high blood pressure, you may not want to wait. And if it seems like medication is the way for you to go, remember this: stick with those lifestyle changes because by losing weight, changing what you eat, etc. you may be able to slowly wean yourself off that medication (with your doctor's supervision, of course.) Also consider the healthy margarines mentioned above as well as getting plenty of soluble fber, like oatmeal. Soy also seems to be good. And you might start investigating some of the low fat cheese. Let us know how you do...

"Nuts" in Alexandria, Va.: Hi Sally. First time poster here. I have incoporated walnuts and almonds into my morning oatmeal. I was shocked to find the high fat gram content of these little gems.
I am trying to stick with 20 to 25 fat grams for 2,000 calories per day and the nut consumption is putting me over. What are your thoughts?

Sally Squires: Hi Alexandria: Welcome and thanks for posting. Take a few nuts--we're talking about three or four--and finely chop. It will give you the taste without as many calories. You do have to watch how much you consume because they are indeed high in calories. I also count them out when I eat them in places where it is easy to get carried away with mindless calories. Hope that helps.

Sally Squires: We are out of time folks and there are a lot of left over questions. I will answer them in upcoming newsletters. You can also e-mail me at squiress@waspost.com

The winners today are:Princeton, Woodbridge and DC for the pumpkin seed oil. Thanks to everybody for a great chat. Now, I'm getting up to take one of those two minute walks--hope you can do the same today. Remember, don't diet--eat smart and keep moving, the Lean Plate CLub way. Be sure to e-mail me at squiress@washpost.com and put winner in the subject line to claim your prize above. Thanks to all!

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