Customer Reviews

Secrets of The French Diet

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4 star:		(3)
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1 star:		(4)

 

 

This is less a book about the French paradox than it is a book on how to count calories. Thanks but I didn't need to spend money to figure that out. I wanted to know more about the French approach to eating, which he only briefly covers. His 22 secrets to the French diet include such worthless memes such as exercise more. Novel! He spends a lot of time telling the reader that low-fat diets are worthless, but a bunch of recipes include low-fat and low-cal substitutes. That's a fine approach, but not one the French would use. So he should have just named this book "How to Eat Lite with semi-French recipes". I would not recommend this to people who want to eat like the French because while some of these are covered, it's not all that hard to look them up on the net. You're better off researching on your own and spending the money on a real French cook book.

In this oversized softcover book Robert Ziff M.D. explains the "French Paradox". How the French eat rich fatty foods, drink wine, etc. yet manage to stay so slim. The book is divided into three sections. In the first section Ziff describes the basic ideas behind the French eating style. He gives the formula to determine your ideal weight the French way (this was a bit complicated). He also explains the 22 principles the French naturally follow to eat well and stay sleek. These include slowing down the eating process so your stomach has a chance to savor and realize its full, eating lots of fruits and vegetables and eating moderate portions. Many of these ideas we may have already read, yet Ziff explains them in such a way that makes an impression. Ziff describes the typical French breakfast, lunch and dinner. Section two covers basic kitchen equipment, pots, pans, knifes etc. Section three is the recipe section. He has included a variety of recipes so you can cook authentic gourmet meals at home, and lose weight. Sample recipes include: Roasted chicken with grapefruit and pink peppercorns, roast loin of pork with prunes and apples, stuffed cabbage leaves, home-style shrimp, a number of sauce recipes and many others! Though the list of recipes is extensive, it did not include any bread recipes. Since bread is a mainstay of the French diet, I would have liked to learn how to bake a loaf or what to look for in an authentic French style loaf. The tone of the book is very friendly and I feel Ziff does an excellent job of explaining how the French enjoy their cuisine and stay slender and how we can translate that to our lifestyle!

I have been reading other books on the french way of life and eating, such as Will Clower's "Fat Fallacy" and Anne Barone's "Chic and Slim." This book goes a lot against what I have been reading in other books. Such as the calorie counting Ziff suggests.

Also, he promotes the use of artificial sweetener and I even saw where he suggested a low-fat or low-cal salad dressing if you do not like traditional oil-and-vinegar vinegrette. Most low-fat or low-cal dressings you find on the supermarket shelves are loaded with chemicals, sweeteners, or added perservatives that are not good for you. You should make your own dressing at home, which would be a healthier alternative to supermarket dressings.

The pictures were all black and white, mostly of him or a lady eating at various restaurants. The sparse pictures of actual food dishes were lackluster and not appetizing at all!

In general, this book is very contradictory to others I have previously read and confusing! I submitted a return request today for my copy and will be receiving a refund. Don't waste your time with this one!

Some people who read cookbooks on how to eat imagine that all you have to do is read the book and the fat will fall off. Not so! Others are looking for the pill or system that will turn them magically into the what they wish the mirror would reflect. This is not possible either. However, what is possbile is to learn what others have known that works for them, the French. This is a lifestyle that, not is neither a crash diet nor a magic pill. Neither is this a system an excessively low calorie or low fat diet such that one cannot stay on it for life.

The author has defined how to achieve what the French have been doing forever--eating well, looking well and feeling well. This book is not filled with a lot of complicated straegies, but rather reads more like a fun and often times funny, travelogue through France and many of its great restaurants. I thought the photographs that accompanied the information and the recipes added a lot, I only wish they had been in color. In addition, the author's love of food and cooking comes through and is well balanced with his medical backround.

The book has really changed my life--I now enjoy eating and over a period of four months have lost the 30 pounds that have been hanging around my middle for too long. I have even made plans to visit France as a result! My friends have noted that my cooking style improved and asked for the secret--several received copies of the book for Christmas.

"Secrets of the French Diet" allows me to lose weight and entertain in a style that disguises my need to be calorie conscious. My friends have have marveled at my dishes and have expressed concern about all the weight they may be gaining as a result of eating my food.

The recipes and directions are easy to follow and most items are at hand in a well-stocked pantry. The recipes allow for experimentation with dinner parties and simple and quick home meals.

The travel area of this book allows memories of past travel and future places to visit with no airfare nor culinary surprises.

My suggestion would be more pictures of finished dishes to allow for presentation ideas and platters or serving dishes. With pictures of the finished product you know even you can cook as the French do.

It's hard to believe this is a diet book! This book is loaded with easy to follow recipes that transform simple foods into elegant, tasteful masterpieces. This book is also an endless source of information on everything from kitchen utensils to basic preparation and from sauces to tarts. The 22 "secrets" or principles of the French diet are easy to follow and understand. This French experience is high-lighted with a photographic tour of France and its chefs and then topped with a sense of humor. This is how a "diet" book should be!

This book was a gift and was I surprised to know that a lot of the myths I always had of the french was not really true. I loved the way the author carried you along during his travels in Paris. I especially love the recipes and how to purchase the food items to make the dishes. My son visited during the time I was reading the book and he picked it up and could not put it down. I had a friend to purchase another copy for me and gave it to my son as a gift. He was thrilled as he believes in eating healthy. I have tried some of the recipes and will try others. Well done..Mr. Ziff.

One of the gifts I received for a recent birthday was Secrets of the French Diet, by Robert Ziff. In this day of low carb and other silly diet books, it is a pleasure to read one with good recipes that are not terribly difficult to prepare. As opposed to what some other reviewers have noted, I like to have an idea of the calories in a recipe so I can "tweek" it accordingly. Certainly the pictures in the book are rather mundane--perhaps a future one will have pictures in color that are more tantalizing.

I've tried some of the recipes on my weight-conscious family and friends and pleasantly surprised them with the taste and aesthetics of the food. I think this book is great and would recommend it to anyone who likes to cook and either lose weight or just eat healthy and tasty food!

What a disappointment this book turned out to be. I've been reading many books on the subject of "how" the French eat, not just "what" they eat. The French don't bother with counting calories, yet this book is heavy on the calorie counting. Many of the charts in this book look like something from the 70's or 80's. I doubled-checked the copyright date, as I thought this book surely must have been written in the 80's. Nope, 1999 is the date. The pictures of prepared recipes are in black and white and do NOT look appetizing. My book is being sent back.

My wife and I purchased this book because we enjoy French cooking but don't want the high fat. Dr. Ziff has done it! He has put together a marvelous collection of French recipes that are both delicious and low in fat. We especially enjoyed his recipe for "Chicken in Almond Sauce"! This is a true cullinary delight! His recipes are easy to make and the ingredients are not hard to find. We also enjoyed reading about his travels to many exciting French cities. You're not going to find a better French cookbook with recipes this good and low in fat. Andrea and Bob Ehrlich, Farmingdale, New York.