French Women Don't Get Fat: The Secret of Eating For Pleasure (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The message of this book could be a blessing or a curse, depending on your perspective. There is no hard science, no clearly-defined plan, and no lists of food to have or have not; instead, you'll find simple tricks that boil down to eating carefully prepared seasonal food, exercising more and refusing to think of food as something that inspires guilt. It's both a practical message and far easier said than done in today's "no pain, no gain" culture.

Author Mireille Guiliano is CEO of Veuve Clicquot, and French Women Don't Get Fat offers a concept of sensible pleasures: If you have a chocolate croissant for breakfast, have a vegetable-based lunch--or take an extra walk and pass on the bread basket at dinner. Guiliano's insistence on simple measures slowly creating substantial improvements are reassuring, and her suggestion to ignore the scale and learn to live by the "zipper test" could work wonders for those who get wrapped up in tiny details of diet. She sympathizes that deprivation can lead straight to overindulgence when it comes to favorite foods, but then, in a most French manner, treats them as a pleasure that needs to be sated, rather than a battle to be fought.

A number of recipes are included, from a weight-loss enhancing leek soup to a lush chocolate mousse; they read more like what you'd find in a French cookbook rather than an American diet book. Most appealingly, these are guidelines and tricks that could be easily sustainable over a lifetime. If you agree that food is meant to be appreciated--but no more so than having a trim waist--these charmingly French recommendations could set you on the path to a future filled with both croissants and high fashion. --Jill Lightner

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Stuffed Cornish Hens
Serves 4

When I grew up, the holidays always meant lots of visitors and a series of requisite celebratory meals, mostly at lunchtime. This easy dish was always on one of the menus. Mamie was usually busy (what else during late December?) and would make the stuffing in advance so lunch could be ready in less than an hour. The recipe serves a family of four for lunch in style, but double the ingredient portions and obviously you are ready for a full table with guests.

Ingredients:
2 Cornish hens (or poussins)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
3 tablespoons chicken stock
Stuffing:
2 cups water
2/3 cup brown rice
1/2 cup mixed nuts (pine nuts, walnut pieces, whole hazelnuts)
2 tablespoons golden raisins
1/3 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon parsley, freshly minced
1 teaspoon dry herbs (chervil and savory or rosemary and thyme)
Salt and freshly ground pepper

1. For stuffing: Bring water to a boil. Add rice and cook for 15 minutes. Drain and mix well with remaining ingredients. Season to taste and refrigerate overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Rinse Cornish hens, dry the inside with paper towels, and season. Add stuffing loosely and truss hens. Reserve remaining stuffing in aluminum foil.
3. Put hens in baking dish and brush them with melted butter and other seasonings. Put in oven and baste 10 minutes later with chicken stock. Continue basting every 10 minutes. After the hens have cooked for 20 minutes reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and put the remaining stuffing in a small ovenproof dish. Roast the hens for another 20 minutes. Serve (half a hen per person) immediately with a tablespoon of stuffing on each side of the hen as garnish.
N.B. For a wonderful tête-à-tête romantic dinner, serve one hen each with a vegetable then dessert. I have prepared it successfully to my husband on Valentine’s Day. While the hens are in the oven, you have time to concoct a little dessert, et voilà, you can pop a cork of bubbly, sit for candlelight dinner and have your husband serve dessert.

Hot Chocolate Soufflé
Serves 6

During the season of overindulgences—Christmas, New Year and all the festivities in between—there is in our home a succession of store-brought, traditional goodies: Bûche de Noël (yule log), marrons glacés (glazed chestnuts), the 13 desserts of Christmas in Provence. This is not to say that the holidays don’t bring out the baker in all of us, but whether it is to give as gifts or to maintain tradition, people do load up with holiday sweets from pastry shops (as I can attest from seeing from the window of our Paris apartment the annual long lines of people outside the pastry shop across the street). When I grew up, however, come New Year’s Day, and there was a home-cooked chocolate ritual. Our big festive meal was on New Year’s Eve, which left New Year’s Day as a quiet, family "recovery" day. (I appreciate some reverse the big meal day… or have one both days.) Anyway, for us, breakfast was well… late (especially for those of us who went partying after dinner), and limited to a piece of toast and a cup or two of coffee. Lunch was mid afternoon and usually made up of leftovers or an omelet, but the first dinner of the year was marked with a special dessert. The simple meal at the end of a week of overindulgences consisted of a light consommé, some greens, cheese, and the chocolate treat. There were no guests, plenty of time, and Mamie was ready for the flourless soufflé. She is a chocoholic and it would be unthinkable to start the year off without chocolate. So, what better way to end the first day of the New Year than with one of her favorite chocolate desserts as both a reward and I’m sure good-luck charm?

Ingredients:
1 cup milk
1 cup unsweetened Dutch cocoa powder
1/3 cup sugar
4 eggs at room temperature
2 tablespoons butter at room temperature
Pinch of salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare a 1-quart soufflé mold by lightly buttering it, dusting the insides with sugar and tapping out the excess. Place mold in refrigerator.
2. Pour the milk, cocoa powder and sugar into a heavy saucepan and stir to combine. Bring to a boil over moderate heat while stirring constantly. Reduce the heat and cook while stirring until the mixture thickens (about 10 minutes). Transfer to a bowl and cool slightly.
3. Separate the eggs and stir the egg yolks into the warm chocolate mixture. Stir in the butter.
4. Beat the egg whites until they reach soft peaks. Add the salt and beat until stiff. Whisk half of the egg whites mixture into the chocolate mixture. Fold in the remaining whites gently with a spatula. Pour the mixture in the soufflé mold and smooth the top.
5. Bake in the lower-middle shelf of the oven until puff and brown for about 18 minutes which will give you a soft center. Serve at once with softly whipped cream.

Red Mullet with Spinach en Papillote
Serves 4

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons olive oil
8 fillets of red mullet, about 2 ounces each
1 lb. spinach, washed and dried in a salad spinner
4 teaspoons shallots, peeled and sliced
8 slices of lime
4 tablespoons of crème fraîche
Salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Cut 4 pieces of parchment paper (or aluminum foil) into squares large enough to cover each fillet and leave a 2-inch border all around. Lightly brush the squares with olive oil. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Put the spinach in the center of each square and top it with a tablespoon of crème fraîche. Top with two fillets and add one teaspoon of shallots, two slices of lime. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Fold up the edges to form packets. Put the papillotes on a baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes. Serve at once by setting each papillote on a plate.
N.B. You can use sole or snapper instead of red mullet

Pappardelle with Spring Veggies
Serves 4

Ingredients:
12 ounces pappardelle
1 lb. green asparagus
2 cups fresh peas, shelled
2 tablespoons of shallots, peeled and minced
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup of pine nuts, toasted
1 cup freshly grated parmesan
1 cup roughly chopped parsley
Coarse sea salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Cut off end of asparagus and blanch in salted water until just tender (about 5 minutes). Blanch peas separately for about 1 minute.
2. In a heavy saucepan, gently sauté the shallots in olive oil until they begin to turn gold. Add peas and asparagus and cook for a few minutes.
3. Cook the pappardelle in boiling water, drain and pour into saucepan. Add pine nuts, parmesan and parsley and season to taste. Serve immediately.

Croque aux Poires
Serves 4

Ingredients:
4 slices of brioche
2 ripe pears
2 tablespoons of sliced almonds
2 tablespoons of honey
1 tablespoon butter
1. Peel the pears and cut into small cubes. Melt butter in a saucepan and sauté the pear cubes for 2-3 minutes.
2. Arrange pear cubes on brioche slices. Cover with honey and almonds. Put under broiler for two minutes watching carefully. Serve warm with a dollop of sour cream or crème fraîche.
A yummy dessert also wonderful for a weekend breakfast or brunch.

From Publishers Weekly

Guiliano's approach to healthy living is hardly revolutionary: just last month, the New York Times Magazine ran a story on the well-known "French paradox," which finds French people, those wine- guzzling, Brie-noshing, carb-loving folk, to be much thinner and healthier than diet-obsessed Americans. Guiliano, however, isn't so interested in the sociocultural aspects of this oddity. Rather, befitting her status as CEO of Clicquot (as in Veuve Clicquot, the French Champagne house), she cares more about showing how judicious consumption of good food (and good Champagne) can result in a trim figure and a happy life. It's a welcome reprieve from the scores of diet books out there; there's nary a mention of calories, anaerobic energy, glycemic index or any of the other hallmarks of the genre. Instead, Guiliano shares anecdotes about how, as a teen, she returned to her native France from a year studying in Massachusetts looking "like a sack of potatoes," and slimmed down. She did this, of course, by adapting the tenets of French eating: eating three substantial meals a day, consuming smaller portions and lots of fruits and vegetables, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, drinking plenty of water and not depriving herself of treats every once in a while. In other words, Guiliano listened to common sense. Her book, with its amusing asides about her life and work, occasional lapses into French and inspiring recipes (Zucchini Flower Omelet; Salad of Duck à l'Orange) is a stirring reminder of the importance of joie de vivre.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Knopf; 1 edition (December 28, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400042127
• ISBN-13: 978-1400042128
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (403 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #16,033 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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1,931 of 1,983 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great way to enjoy food and life and still lose weight, January 4, 2005

By	J. Whitford (Falls Church, VA USA) - See all my reviews

I understand that the reviewer who listed her web site has her own products and way of losing weight that has been effective for many people. I truly applaud her efforts.

However, that is not to say that this marvelous little book is incorrect in any way, shape or form. While Madame Guiliano is not a nutritionist or doctor, she is the CEO of Clicquot Inc., a U.S. subsidiary of Champagne Veuve Clicquot. Believe me, she knows a thing or two about eating and drinking for pleasure and maintaining your ideal weight.

Let me tell you my own experience eating the French way. I went to France a few years ago for about three weeks. I stayed in Paris, and then in Chartres. I could only afford to eat in little cafes and bistros, but I vowed to eat only my favorite foods and go back only to restuarants that were to die for. I ate my favorites - chocolate made fresh every day, chocolate mousse, home made ice cream, omelettes, pizza with goat cheese and cream sauce, quiche of every kind - you name it I ate it. I also had a glass of wine with dinner every night. We snacked almost all day in between meals on fresh fruit. All of the food was fresh - no chemical additives and nothing packed in pastic bags. We also walked every morning before breakfast and every day after lunch.

When I got home and got on the scale I was shocked to see I had lost 25 pounds, and two dress sizes. I had to laugh because we complained the first few days about how long it took us to get served, and how long each meal took. After the second day we were so into really tasting the food we shared, we shut up and stopped hurrying through each meal.

It took less than a week for me to get back into my harried life - eating on the run, shoving food in my mouth while I talked on a conference call and simultaneously completed and emailed reports. I was back to the fast lane and fast food take out.

When I got this book it took me back to France, and back to why the French have less than an 11% obesity rate (and ours is 30% and climbing.) The French simply eat the freshest food in season, they enjoy what they eat and they walk every where!

We cannot avoid food. We need it to survive. But we can choose fresh foods in season that we love, make meals with a few favorite ingredients and savor every bite.

Once we slow down and let our taste buds enjoy great food again, we will give our stomachs the twenty or so minutes it needs to signal - hey that was delicious but I am done now. You can stop. Save the rest for another time.

Granted, we should not use food as a deterrent for issues we are not dealing with in life. We need to ask - what exactly is eating me right now? And deal with it. Get help from books like Eating in the Light of the Moon or from professional therapists.

In the meantime, we can learn the pleasure principle of food, and lose a few pounds along the way.

I also recommend her other books:

French Women for All Seasons
Women, Work & the Art of Savoir Faire: Business Sense & Sensibility

112 of 114 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A feasible plan to change your lifesytle, April 5, 2005

By	Shaz "oi-you!" (Naples, FL USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

About 6 months ago, I read a Marie Claire article about how the French and American editors switched lives and diets for one month. The French editor lived on Snackwells (an abomination, she thought) Lean Cuisines, and ate in her car, in front of the T.V., and on the go. The American editor dined on fresh, warm breads, rich cheeses, succulent meats and divine wine, and actually sat down, undistracted, to do so. At the end of 30 days, the French editor, despite eating so-called "diet" meals, gained about 10 pounds; the American editor lost 10-15. Bizzare occurence? Alert the 'Weekly World News'? Hardly. Instead, pick up a copy of Mirelle (pronounced Meer-Ray) Guiliano's new book "French Women Don't Get Fat".

Mirelle confirms what we already know- that French people in general are more active (let's face it- it's more tempting to walk to work when you have the gorgeous Parisian landscape to indulge in) and consume less junk. So basically, she's not telling us anything we haven't heard before. The difference is, the French approach isn't a quick fix drop 10 pounds in 2 days juice diet. Mirelle accounts her own experience as a foreign exchange student in America- at 18, she was bigger than she'd ever been, thanks to a new love for chocolate chip cookies, potato chips, and everything else Americans love to nosh on. When she went back home, she turned to her family doctor, Dr. Miracle (no joke), who was eager to help. And now, she's given us Dr. Miracle's instructions to help us.

There are a few phases you must go through to change your lifestyle: Recasting, which involves keeping a 3 week food journal to identify your "offenders" (i.e. which foods are your personal temptation/downfall) and at what times you're eating the most, and Stabilization, learning to eat and move for life by adding the previous offenders in moderation. Although tedious for some, this is like having a doctor prescribe a personal diet just for you, rather than jam you into a 'one size fits all' diet. Recasting also involves what Mirelle calls "round up the usual suspects"- analyzing your journal to decide was seems excessive in your judgement- and then determining what you can live without (or at least, with less of). Dr. Miracle also 'prescribes' starting your casting off with 2 days of 'leek soup' (sort of like the French version of the cabbage soup diet, but smells less like feet). Another staple in your house should be fresh, in season fruits and vegetables. If you're just buying what's in the supermarket, you may not be getting the best of what's in season, which yields a better flavor that reduces the need for lashings of butter and salt to improve their taste.

Variety is key, she adds. If you condition yourself to eating the same type of foods, your taste buds become immune to the flavor, thus requiring more to satiate your 'craving'. By adding new foods and flavors to your diet, you're more likely to eat less, and certainly will never be bored. Mirelle also gives us a few recipes that can serve as substitutes for sweets (and there's not one that calls for sugar substitute or pretend butter). All in all, "FWDGF" encourages moderation and using your common sense. If you really want dessert after dinner, skip the bread basket and only have two forkfuls of dessert- then, lay your fork down and keep up conversation until the waiter/tress asks to take your plate away. This may seem like an expensive waste, but you've satisfied your craving while not overindulging. As Oscar Wilde once said, "The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it". Likewise, a little of a well chosen dessert will keep you from gorging something worse later on. Stock good dark chocolate in the house when you get a jones for something sweet. Dark chocolate can satisfy a craving and has antioxidants that are good for those with high blood pressure (in small doses, of course).

A few reviewers have slammed this book for what they feel is the age old French snootiness about Americans. Not so. Indeed, Mirelle speaks about her love for her adopted country (her husband is American) and merely wants American women to understand that the reason French women stay slim is no secret. That Marie Claire article also mentioned that only 6% of French women are overweight/obese, as opposed to American women (over 50 percent). This is because:

1. French women eat smaller portions of more things (each meal averages 3 courses).
2. French women eat more vegetables.
3. French women love chocolate, especially dark chocolate
4. French women honor mealtime rituals and never eat standing up, on the run, or in front of the T.V.
5. French women eat what's in season for maximum flavor, and know availability does not equal quality.
6. French women don't care for hard liquor.
7. French women walk wherever they can.
8. French women drink water all day long.
9. French women don't eat anything "fat-free", "sugar-free" or anything stripped of natural flavor. They go for the real thing IN MODERATION.
10. French women choose their indulgences and compensations.

There are many other "French Women..." things in this interesting book that you owe it to yourself to at least consider. I've gotten past the leek soup weekend, and even keep a stash on hand in the fridge to eat before my meal (lots of fiber to make me feel full). Recipes and advice abound here; the key is eating for pleasure, but in moderation; recasting your life to be healthy and happy without total deprivation or counting carbs, calories, or fat grams. Eventually, you will get to the point where you can talk and think about food positively, not dread it (French women never talk about diets either). I think this is something I can live with!

756 of 805 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lose Weight the Luxurious French Way!, December 28, 2004

By	Lee Mellott "www.SkinCareForWrinkles.com (my ... (Frederick, Maryland) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Mireille Guliano President and CEO of the champagne company Cliquot Inc. is the author of "French Women Don't Get Fat". Guliano travels 180 days of the year, eating out frequently and indulging in rich dishes and other goodies including bread, champagne and chocolate. Yet she manages to stay very slim and trim the French way.

"French Women Don't Get Fat" is a wonderful opportunity to look inside this chic French woman's mind and understand how she eats such delicious food, rarely visit the gym yet wears a small size.

The 263pg book speaks volumes. It clearly describes how to "think" so you will make the food choices that even if indulgent support a healthy weight. And it describes how to "move" to stay slim and you don't have to go to a gym.

You do not have to be in the Zone or give up carbs or fat in order to lose weight. There is no need to micromanage your nutrients. Instead you must temper your indulgences with restraint. It seems so simple - yet millions of overweight Americans don't know how to accomplish this. And with her commonsense explanation M. Guliano explains exactly how to do this.

Madame Guiliano is not a doctor or nutritionist. And she has not done scientific studies to test her methods. BUT all she has to do is point to France and the millions of slim Frenchwomen who use her "methode".

Madame Guiliano states she learned the process of weight loss when she gained weight after a visit to the States from her Doctor - Dr. Miracle. The good doctor taught her simple steps to achieve a healthy weight. Guiliano took his lessons to heart slimmed down and is now frequently asked how she stays so slim!

One of the first steps in the program is recasting. Here you look over the food you eat and you decide what you have to have and what you are willing to eat less of or give up entirely. You also work to get the blatant sugars that create havoc with your chemistry out of your system. There is also a simple recipe for leek soup for a weekend of cleansing for those who wish to jumpstart a weight loss program. You will journal and see what areas cause trouble in your life.

Other steps include eating regular meals, increasing fruits and vegetables, drinking water, not stocking offenders at home and enjoying yogurt on a daily basis.

The book is really designed for those who understand the calorie concept and have a basic understanding of healthy and non-healthy foods. Though Guiliano does not get into calorie counting since she asks that you track what is causing your weight problems, it's assumed that you know that "faux" foods like twinkies are an offender whereas an apple is not.

Her book includes numerous recipes including Asparagus Flan, Grilled Spring Lamb Chops, Yogurt, Baguette, Salad of Duck A L'orange and more. The book is,however, light on sample daily menus. More of what to eat on a daily basis would have been good.

The book is a superb read on how the Frenchwoman stays so slim and trim! Freshness, variety, balance, luxury and a trim waistline can be yours if you follow the principles!

Bonne Chance!
Lee Mellott