French Kids Eat Everything: How Our Family Moved to France, Cured Picky Eating, Banned Snacking, and Discovered 10 Simple Rules for Raising Happy, Healthy Eaters [Hardcover]

Karen Le Billon (Author)

Book Description

Release date: April 3, 2012

French Kids Eat Everything is a wonderfully wry account of how Karen Le Billon was able to alter her children’s deep-rooted, decidedly unhealthy North American eating habits while they were all living in France.

At once a memoir, a cookbook, a how-to handbook, and a delightful exploration of how the French manage to feed children without endless battles and struggles with pickiness, French Kids Eat Everything features recipes, practical tips, and ten easy-to-follow rules for raising happy and healthy young eaters—a sort of French Women Don’t Get Fat meets
Food Rules.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“It takes a brave couple to move two picky–eater kids into a French small town and convert them to foodie omnivores. We have much to learn from European food traditions, and the contrast between French and North American school lunches is a striking example. A must–read for teachers and parents.” (Marion Nestle, Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University and author of What to Eat )

“Humorous as well as instructive, this culinary adventure will change the lives of parents and children alike. . . . Karen Le Billon and her children learn that it’s okay to feel hungry between meals, turn to mindful eating, and learn the importance of enjoying one’s food.” (Patricia Wells, author of The Provence Cookbook )

“This book is not only about how to teach children (and yourself) to eat well and happily for life, it’s a book about how to help build and maintain the foundations of any civilized society. I loved it. Essential reading, whether you have children or not.” (Laura Calder, author of Dinner Chez Moi and host of French Food at Home )

“A wonderful—and important—book. One family’s topsy-turvy culinary transformation becomes an in-depth exploration of the habits that have kept French kids loving food (and eating spinach) for centuries.” (Elizabeth Bard, author of Lunch in Paris )

“A fascinating and valuable read.” (Lynne Rossetto Kasper )

“A breezy but practical volume for hurried parents looking to keep their kids well-fed. . . . [The] tone is straightforward, generous, and gentle. That Le Billon concludes with a small collection of kid-friendly recipes makes this foodie manifesto all the more accessible.” (Publishers Weekly )

“Le Billon . . . strategically identified questions she faced while living abroad: Why were French kids tidier eaters? Why did they sit quietly at restaurants? Why did her daughter’s teacher suggest she see a therapist when she wanted to pack her school lunch?” (BonAppetit.com )

From the Back Cover

Moving her young family to her husband's hometown in northern France, Karen Le Billon is prepared for some cultural adjustment but is surprised by the food education she and her family (at first unwillingly) receive. In contrast to her daughters, French children feed themselves neatly and happily—eating everything from beets to broccoli, salad to spinach, mussels to muesli. The family's food habits soon come under scrutiny, as Karen is lectured for slipping her fussing toddler a snack—"a recipe for obesity!"—and forbidden from packing her older daughter a lunch in lieu of the elaborate school meal.

The family soon begins to see the wisdom in the "food rules" that help the French foster healthy eating habits and good manners—from the rigid "no snacking" rule to commonsense food routines that we used to share but have somehow forgotten. Soon, the family cures picky eating and learns to love trying new foods. But the real challenge comes when they move back to North America—where their commitment to "eating French" is put to the test. The result is a family food revolution with surprising but happy results—which suggest we need to dramatically rethink the way we feed children, at home and at school.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; First Edition edition (April 3, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062103296
• ISBN-13: 978-0062103291
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (91 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,467 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #2 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Customs & Traditions
  • #5 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Regional & International > European > French
  • #77 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Special Diet > Healthy

More About the Author

Karen Le Billon is an author, teacher, and proud mom of two daughters. She is married to a Frenchman, and her family divides its time between Vancouver and France. Her kids love spinach puree (honest!).

A Rhodes Scholar with a PhD from Oxford University, Karen currently teaches at the University of British Columbia, where she holds a Canada Research Chair. In 2012 she was named a member of Jamie Oliver Foundation's Real Food Advocates team. She is the author of three previous books, and her work has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Bon Appetit Magazine, and on Good Morning America.

She blogs on France, food, and parenting at FrenchKidsEatEverything.com.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

113 of 123 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Just What I Was Looking For! April 6, 2012

By NavyWifeLovesLife

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I just finished reading this book and I loved it. I bought this after finishing 'Bringing Up Bebe', and I wanted more tips on how to get my child to enjoy more foods. I also wanted to change my own food habits, so this was perfect for me. I hate how I eat and I hate how the way my family eats has affected their health negatively. I am still young and in good health and I want it to stay that way. I don't enjoy eating and food much, because I like to eat and just move on to the next thing as fast as possible. I now realize that by taking my time to eat and to cook healthy meals, I can de-stress and enjoy my life more. Slowing down to enjoy food and family is just what I needed.

I am sure that a lot of people (especially Americans) will probably not give this book as good a review as it deserves, because there are a couple of parts in the book that pretty much say that everything about the way Americans eat (as well as some other Europeans and Canada) is so very wrong. I am inclined to agree 100%, because if nothing was wrong with how Americans eat then our childhood obesity rate wouldn't be what it is. But I can see how some people might be ready to get all upset about somebody telling them that their eating habits are wrong. So unless you want to and are willing to make a big change in your eating habits for the sake of your child, don't bother reading this book. It is the slap in the face that I needed and what I think America needs, but is too lazy and complacent to accept.

So far my family and I have begun changing our lifestyles, little by little, to follow the 'rules' in the book. It has been amazing. We have had several meals 'the French way' and we have enjoyed them immensely. My daughter is very young (just started solids) so this is the perfect time for me to have read this book. She will never know how bad me and her dad used to eat, and how bad our habits were. I think its great that I will never have to go through a time with her where she will refuse to eat things. Her dad and I are not picky eaters at all and I can't stand to have meals with picky eaters, so we are willing to do whatever it takes to keep her from being like that. The changes we have made so far are small, but we are working slowly towards our goal of eating the way we should at every single meal.

This is a great book if you are looking for a lifestyle change that will help you and your kids eat healthier and lead more enjoyable lives. If you are willing to put forth some minor effort to change and you really try at it, its not that hard. I lead an incredibly busy life and this has actually simplified it a lot! The recipes included are great and the anecdotes are funny. It is a fun book to read. I highlighted and underlined a lot of passages to read again. The rules are simple (not rigid) and easy to apply to everyday life, even if you don't live in France. Any family and any person can follow them super easily.

------ UPDATE ------

I just wanted to update my review now that its been several months since I closed the cover. My daughter is now a a busy toddler and is eating more 'big girl' foods. I wanted to revist this review just to say that this book has definitely made a lasting impression on me, my parenting, and my life. This has helped me so much. Currently my family is very busy and we barely have time to do anything, much less take the time to cook nice dinners, but somehow we have been able to carve out time here and there to use dinner as a time to connect, even if we aren't always able to do that with every single meal. We are still working on a lot of the main principles outlined in the book, since its hard to undo 20 something years of 'bad' eating in a few months or weeks. We are just doing what we can, when we can, and its working for us.

I really appreciate the many anecdotes in the book and the funny stories now that my daughter is a toddler and has learned to say, 'no', and 'I don't want any'. Often when I offer her new foods she shakes her head and dumps it in the floor. And yes, sometimes it is frustrating but eventually she will try a bit after offering her the food several times in different ways. My daughter doesn't like certain textures so we have to work with her on that, and this book has given me the knowledge that she won't always hate sticky foods, its just a phase and eventually with work she'll get over it. I now know that sometimes you have to try something 100 different ways before you like it.

My husband and I have applied this to our own eating habits. He hates squash so I have tried to get him to try it in various dishes in order to test the theories in this book and I do think they work. I have prepared squash for him in almost every possible way, and while he does not like every single dish he does enjoy some of them. Also we have cut out or cut down on a lot of bad eating habits like eating fast food and take away, foods with high fructose corn syrup instead of real sugar, and foods with other nasty chemicals. Now we try to eat as much organic food as possible and as clean as possible.

We also prepare almost everything ourselves so we control how much sodium and sugar is in everything. I make almost all of my daughter's baby food, and we are lucky enough for her to attend a daycare that is very much like a creche in some ways. All the kids eat the same food (unless they are allergic) and the teachers encourage them to try new foods and to take time and enjoy eating. They also encourage table manners and healthy eating. They sing songs and read books about eating healthy foods every day, they have play kitchens where they pretend to make healthy foods. They also give the parents a menu of everything the kids eat so we can keep track of their nutrition too.

My daughter has eaten a ton of things that most toddlers I know would NEVER eat. She does enjoy a bite of pizza or a muffin here and there. And in the future I have no intention of telling her that she can't have a burger or chicken fingers from McDonald's if she wants it. I just don't want her to think that high calorie food the only yummy food. She needs to know that an apple can be just as yummy as a slice of cheesecake and that a refreshing glass of cucumber water can be as delicious as an ice cold Coca-Cola. I was not raised to appreciate that in moderation EVERYTHING can be enjoyable equally. I was raised to think that indulgence was the best way to enjoy food. Now I realize that a small brownie tastes better than a big one because its a special treat instead of an everyday thing.

Obesity can lead to so many health problems like some forms of cancer and heart disease. I don't want that for my daughter. I have seen what these things can do to individuals and families because many of my own family members suffer from these medical issues. It is hard enough when a person is afflicted with a medical problem that they have no control over whatsoever, but to have a medical problem that could have been avoided if you practiced healthy habits its so much worse because it leaves you with regret. Many people don't know that there are alternative ways of living and doing things because they simply do not make the effort to find out. This book and this lifestyle is one of those alternatives for those who are willing to do the work to change.

I'm not judging people who have medical problems due to weight because I love dearly some people who do, and I myself am still struggling to get my pre-pregnancy figure back. I know that being a healthy weight isn't just about eating right and exercising, there is a deep psychological aspect that has to do with how we are raised and how we feel about ourselves. I know that and I want to be sure that I do everything within my power to make sure that my daughter is not affected by some of the negative things that impacted me and my eating habits, most of which were definitely psychological.

I'm not saying this is the only way or the best way to eat or live your life, but it has worked for me and I think it could work for a lot of other people if they were willing to try it.

------ UPDATE ------

For those who are interested, I've started a blog about how I've been using these rules to help my family and myself eat better. Since I read this book I've lost 100% of my pregnancy weight, and I am now 10 pounds lighter than I was when I got pregnant, and still losing. My daughter is now 18 months old and eats very, very well.
[...]<- in case this URL doesn't work, its duncanfamilyeats dot blogspot dot com.

55 of 60 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars French Kids Eat Everything - But not just anything and not just anytime or anywhere April 17, 2012

By toast2taste

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

After a decade of French and France bashing, the pendulum seems to be swinging in the other direction with a range of new books extolling the magic of the French art de vivre. After Pamela Druckerman's coquettish "I'm not even sure I like it here" but nonetheless rose-tinted view of life in France (read, Paris), it's refreshing to read Karen Bakker Le Billon's earnest attempt to understand the French way of educating bébé at the table. While Druckerman bears and rears her children in Paris and in a French cultural context from conception, Le Billon moves with her French husband and two small children, ages two and six at the time, from the ultra-permissive, child-centered food culture of North America (Vancouver, to be exact) to the authoritarian and comparatively rigid environment of Brittany.

The Le Billon grandparents are horrified by the manners and eating habits of their Franco-Canadian grandchildren. From their French family's perspective the children eat constantly, at inappropriate times and places, and with so sense of etiquette - n'importe quoi, n'importe quand et n'importe comment. Le Billon is not happy with her daughters' poor eating habits and limited culinary range, but feels powerless to change them until she realizes that behavior tolerated at home is unacceptable in France and could pose a significant impediment to her children's social acceptance.
With the rational mind and experimental rigor of her academic background, she sets out to identify aspects of French food culture that will help her educate her own children on healthy eating and good manners. What makes the book interesting is that Le Billon is not herself in love with the French way of life and she is not a foodie by a long shot. She is no instant convert to eating a wide variety of foods and spending hours languishing at the table either. Le Billon is not afraid to voice her discomfort with the rigidity of French culture with regards to expectations of child behavior. She often finds French attitudes towards children and food downright mean.

In the beginning Le Billon views children making their own food choices as empowering and the rigid rules around eating times unnecessarily strict. In American culture, choosing your own food is indicative of the overarching importance placed on individual liberty. French culture, in contrast, values communal sharing of food as a means of strengthening bonds and increasing cohesiveness.
While Le Billon wishes that her daughters could adopt the manners and varied palates of their French peers she herself is a reluctant cook with a somewhat fearful and anxious attitude towards food. She sees mealtime as a chore and a time drain. However, over the course of the year she comes to appreciate not only the health benefits of specific mealtimes, a varied diet and no snacking, but also the interpersonal benefits of relaxed time together as a family. Meal times transition from battleground to an opportunity to spend time together, to connect, to be joyful and to relax. The book is overly long in my opinion, but the reader does identify with the slowness of her process in coming to terms - and eventual acceptance - of a way of eating that runs through French culture. Restraint, connection and pleasure are all to be found around the table.

Where this book distinguishes itself from others in the genre is that it does not conclude in France with a rosy cinematic fade out of the annual family day-long garden feast and a `happy end' to the food wars. After their year in Brittany, the Le Billon family returns to Vancouver, intent on maintaining the French culinary art de vivre, or lifestyle. The return, as my family knows all too well, was rocky. They had spent a year consciously exploring another view entirely of food and its place in their lives culminating, literally, with the 10 commandments of eating well, only to find that it is very difficult and a whole lot less pleasurable to walk the walk in the land of ten minute school lunches. K-Rae Nelson, Toast2Taste.blogspot.com

98 of 119 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Excellent until move back to North America April 12, 2012

By Laura J. Valle

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I purchased this book after I read the book description regarding how the author integrated what she learned in France into her family's lives back in North America. Having recently moved from Paris, expecting our first baby, and scared to death of raising my child in our current American food culture, I really was hoping to glean some ideas on what to do to keep my child away from American junk food, fast food, processed food, and from snacking all the time as I see children do here. I thought the book was terrific the whole time they were in France - it reinforced what I had learned there and reminded me of all the things I do want to do with my children/family. However, I found their move back to North America less than inspiring and overall not helpful. The author resumed allowing her children to snack throughout the day at school and did nothing regarding the lack of time her children had to eat in school and their poor lunch selections. She also started purchasing processed foods in the house for "just in case" times (like peer visits) and allows her children to eat fast foods on days beginning with "F". I do not want to home school my children, so I really was hoping for some real, solid suggestions on keeping my children healthy in an unhealthy, fast food society. I do not want my children to snack throughout the day, eat processed food at all (especially not partially hydrogenated oils or high fructose corn syrup) and I will never let my children go to fast food restaurant chains - nothing on their menus are healthy whatsoever.

Definitely, the first part of the book is a good read, especially for those who have never lived in France or in Europe. There are also recipes in the back of the book that are quite nice and useful for quick healthy meals. It would be lovely to see a full cookbook filled with French, family-friendly, easy recipes (hint-hint). The research in this book is also sound, and overall, the book is a good read. I was just highly disappointed in lack of answers I sought out to find - how to raise my children in the American society while still maintaining a whole foods, unprocessed, slow, healthy way of eating. And personally, I was shocked that the author chose to move back. We did not have a choice, but hope to return someday (maybe even before our children enter the American school system), so it is also hard for me to understand why someone would want to give up that wonderful life for a life of fast paced, shove-faux-food-in-as-you-go, kind of life style.

Definitely a must-read for those in America who want to change their relationship with food (enjoyment/nourishment instead of reward/punishment) and to attempt to carve out a better way of life for their children in America's obsessive processed/fake food culture.