French Way of Living – books about food, culture, and homes

This list of books on the French way of living includes items that I find practical and inspirational. Not only French people are known for their admiration of the arts and love of food. They also can teach us how to live well-balanced life where the burden of responsibilities is countered by everyday pleasure. New titles will be added as I read along but please feel free to suggest others too.

French Women Don’t Get Fat

French Women Don’t Get Fat is a book I have known about for years but never actually read until recently.

After spending fifteen years exposed to French culture almost every day, I believed I knew everything that is to be known about the connection of the French people with food. I was wrong. This book confirmed what I knew but it also made sense of it all. I could never understand why people in France spend so much time in lengthy conversations about ingredients, meal planning, and grocery shopping. There is a lot to learn from the French about how to eat right and cook well, but most of all – how to enjoy it all!

Some of the French principles of healthy eating shared by the author Mireille Guiliano are:

• Always eat on the table, not in front of a TV, newspaper, or phone
• No eating ‘on the go’
• Eat grandly on occasion, not regularly
• Have always three-course menus three times a day but every course is a small portion
• Use the power of presentation (china, glassware, table clothes, and napkins) to enhance the experience

The result of following these principles, century-old traditions indeed, is a meaningful, balanced diet full of nutrition, enjoyment, and shared experience with loved ones. It is worth giving it a go!

My favourite quote from this book is

“Most diet books are based on radical programmes…The unstated principle seems to be, if you bore yourself to death with one kind of food group, eventually you’ll lose interest in eating altogether and the pounds will come off.”

More to come…

10 Non-touristy things to do in Paris

The oldest restaurant in Paris – a meeting place of revolutionary and artists

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