Like the French
Ah, the French. They eat butter, cream sauce, bread, dessert, and drink wine. Why aren’t they all obese? Don’t they break all the rules?
Well, they have their own rules, based on pleasure, according to Agnes Poirier in The Guardian, who writes, “My diet is very rich and yet I am thin. Food, to most of my compatriots, is a matter of colours, savours and flavours.” Let’s take a closer look.
For one thing, most French people eat breakfast. Don’t you love a leisurely breakfast? Well, if you rise a few minutes earlier you can enjoy that pleasure. The French never miss a meal. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so why not enjoy it?
Coffee breaks in France are a time for coffee and conversation with friends and colleagues, a relaxing time, not a time for wolfing down pastries. Pastries are reserved for breakfast, and if you had eaten breakfast you wouldn’t be craving a pastry at ten o’clock, would you?
Traditionally, the French eat full meals, with several courses that may include the afore-mentioned bread, cream, dessert, and wine. They eat slowly, savor small portions, and taste a little of everything. Consider the new Canada Food Guide, and how lovely it would be to include several different kinds of the recommended foods in each meal.
“Walking is an essential part of the French way of life, and the average French woman walks three times as much as the average American.” Imagine strolling along the quiet, tree-lined roads of Mayne Island, (keeping an eye out for jumpy deer and nonchalant drivers.) Some of us can enjoy this. Or if a cross-island walk doesn’t thrill you, park a few blocks from your destination. No need for power-walking if that isn’t your style. Just a satisfying saunter is fine.
Like the French, you, too, can choose fresh, seasonal food. You might grow a few of your own vegetables, ponder the produce section in our grocery stores, or linger at our local farm gate stands and buy a basket full of vegetables and flowers. You may visit our own Farmers’ Market that will soon overflow with the tastiest, freshest, home-grown produce, home-baking, and preserves, every Saturday until Thanksgiving. French cuisine is full of seasonal specialties. Yours can be, too.
And then there is wine. Not everyone can drink it or wants to, but a glass of wine contains an antioxidant compound called resveratrol which some say contributes to overall good health. This antioxidant is also found in peanuts, pistachios, grapes, blueberries, cranberries, and even cocoa and dark chocolate.
Sound like fun? Slow down over your meals, savour every morsel, enjoy small portions of a variety of local produce, raise a glass of wine, get out and enjoy the beauties of nature, and you, too, will enjoy a healthy life and might shed pounds at the same time.
You’re welcome to join TOPS every Wednesday morning at the Community Centre, from 9:00 to 10:00. We’re a low-cost, enjoyable, self-help program that cheerfully welcomes everyone. (Your first visit is free.) If you want to Take Off Pounds Sensibly with us, please call ...
Some information in this piece is from
- The Spruce Eats - Make Your Best Meal,
- French Women Don't Get Fat – Mireille Guiliano – French Lifestyle,
Submitted by Amber Harvey