Last time we spoke about what we can learn from the French about dining and meals. The French are a fascinating culture and I think they have done a lot of things right when it comes to food. So in this episode we’re going to talk about how we can apply the principles and things we’ve learned from the French in the previous episode.
So, number one: the French have a healthy relationship with food. I think it’s incredibly important for us to realize that cutting out certain food groups is never going to be healthy. There are healthy carbohydrates, there are healthy fats, there are healthy proteins, and there’s healthy fiber. It’s important to focus on having a healthy relationship with food; being balanced, not depriving ourselves of treats, of dessert, of hearty food, sometimes rich food, nutritious food.
We need to eat well and we need to have enough calories so that our body doesn’t go into starvation mode and hold on to the weight. We need our bodies to know that we’re eating enough so they can focus on doing the repair work that needs doing, the detoxing that needs doing, on giving us energy throughout the day, helping our brains work effectively, and building muscle. Eating well, eating nutritious food and having a healthy relationship with food is key. We mustn’t be afraid of certain food groups, we mustn’t be afraid to have a healthy dessert now and then or even an unhealthy dessert sometimes. Balance is key.
Number two: the French respect mealtimes. Mealtimes are a special experience, time to have fun together with food for the soul, as well as for the body!
One of the things we can do to help with this is to make our tables beautiful. It doesn’t have to be a task that takes a long time, but can be just adding some pretty paper napkins, some twinkle lights, or maybe some flowers in an arrangement on the table, a pretty tablecloth. Maybe put on some music so that immediately the family knows it’s time to wind down and relax and enjoy the mealtime. It’s not going to be a quick meal, it’s going to be a time enjoyed together. where we can enjoy each other’s company and savor what we’re eating.
Number three: being social. The French don’t eat in isolation or eat while watching TV. Eating is a time of fellowship when everyone gets together to bond over the meal. In this social time, they expect to have good conversation and laughter. One of the things that helps for us here, if we’re struggling to get the conversation going, is using conversation starters. These consist of a little card that has an idea on it of what you could talk about, think of a funny memory our family had together, or if you were able to fly for a day, where would you fly to and what would you do? or if you could meet any famous person from history, who would it be and why? There’s lots of fun examples. I have some conversation starter cards for you in a PDF that you can print, cut out and keep in your dining room. To find them, go to familyfoodformoms.com/conversation. Then you can download the cards and leave me your email address so I can keep in touch.
Having these good conversations helps us to be social, and it actually helps our bodies to relax – to enjoy our food, to digest our food well, and to utilize the nutrients in the best way possible – far more than when we gulp down our food in isolation. So, helping each other to relax, to talk, to be close, to laugh, to enjoy the time is really helpful.
Number four: they eat nutritious food. They eat a balanced diet and a good variety of food. They’re not afraid of desserts, and they focus on simple fare, not processed food, but food that is healthy. Like I said last time, you don’t need to eat gluten free if you’re eating broth with vegetables and meat, or delicious fish, cheese, and fruit dessert. Chicken soup, which is one of the most famous remedies for sickness, is basically broth with meat and vegetables in it. Almost everybody loves it. So, making sure that our food is nutritious, and having good variety is very important – sometimes we get stuck in a rut and we eat the same things all the time.
We should focus on food that is freshly picked, and cooked from scratch. This is combining numbers 4 and 5. The French cook their food from scratch at night. There’s no takeout. I totally understand that we need a break sometimes and we do need to get takeout, but nine times out of ten, it’s great to try and make something nutritious at home.
Fresh vegetables that are steamed are so delicious! For instance, brussels sprouts, broccoli, carrots, corn on the cob, butternut, zucchini – these are all very yummy steamed. Then we can add a little bit of salt and butter afterwards and then these vegetables will have the highest amount of nutrients in them, and they go so well with the meal.
And then for the fish or the meat, cooking a whole piece of meat or a whole chicken is so much better than chicken breasts. Those are fine sometimes, but when trying to have the healthiest form of meat, free range meat roasts are a good option. And it doesn’t have to be boring. The French have some of the best sauces, like a good hollandaise sauce or a bordelaise sauce, or… I don’t even know some of the other names! Even just lemon butter, or some good broth with a bit of potato starch in it to thicken it, makes a lovely meat sauce. Wild caught fish is also very nutritious.
And then include fruit with the meal, and maybe some healthy bread (like sourdough or spelt). We wouldn’t like to have too much starch, for instance, we wouldn’t have rice and bread in the same meal, but having a small amount of good carbohydrates is so healthy.
So, every evening, the French just cook a simple meal together, maybe a thick vegetable soup, then maybe some fish and vegetables, and then some fruit with a bit of cream, a peach cobbler, an apple crumble, or some canned fruit with some whipped cream or freshly made custard. This makes a fulfilling meal.
Perhaps add some cheese at the end, maybe with sourdough crackers. We do want to find the balance between the meal being too much work, and it being fun and good nutritious food. Sometimes the kids can help. Simply buying sourdough crackers really helps.
Number six: optimizing digestion. Having a good metabolism and eating habits that encourage good digestion is so helpful. I think the biggest thing here is sitting down at the table for a meal, not gulping down our food, practicing eating slowly, and chewing well. A good way to slow down our meal like this is to distract yourself with the other people at the table, instead of with your plate of food. So, you’re there to enjoy the company and eat slowly, and the food is almost an afterthought because you’re enjoying being there so much. This helps your body to know, okay, this is time to relax, time to eat, and I can do the work I need to to help my body feel good. When we’re present with our families then our bodies can focus on digesting when we’re not stressed.
Having our meal slowly helps digestion greatly. Perhaps, for example, have some long stem broccoli for a first course, then a nice meat with a little bit of potato on the side for the main course, and then maybe take a break – a little walk, or just a chat, and have then a fruit dessert and some cheese. This is nice and simple, but also very interesting and a good variety. That helps our bodies to digest our food so much better.
Sometimes having a few greens with a little bit of olive oil helps with digestion. Herbal tea also helps to extend the meal and gives us that time to chat to each other, instead of a situation where everyone jumps up as soon as the food is finished.
Also, the food in Europe is non GMO. So, trying to find food that is non GMO is helpful to us. Then the grains are much more easily digestible, so perhaps you can look and see what kind of grains you can find. Organic grains are much better than regular ones. Spelt is good, better than wheat. They don’t have to be gluten free, but sourdough is much better. Also, making sourdough bread with freshly ground grains is good, though ground grain is quite a mission. If you’re somebody who loves doing that, that’s awesome, but I struggle. I just buy my sourdough. We also have spelt that we grind freshly for muffins and things that are easy to bake at home. That makes them extra delicious because of the richness of the grain, as well as extra nutritious.
Number seven: the portions are much smaller. Having more courses helps you to do smaller portions because you know that there are other courses coming. Taking less is a good thing. Teach your family, your kids to take less now, and then only take more if they’d like to after they’ve eaten. Often they’ll find they don’t need to. Eating more slowly and having a break between courses gives your body time to let the food settle and to let you know that you’re actually full. If we eat fast, then we’re far more likely to eat more because our body doesn’t realize that we’re actually full. If you eat just one big course, it’s also easier to eat more.
Number eight: walks and walking. The French do a lot of walking, even during the day, walking to the market, walking to work and home again, walking out just to see people in the evenings. Having a walk between courses or after meals is so helpful. Often we’re in too much of a hurry to do this, but it helps our bodies to digest our food, and it helps our blood sugar not to go up so much after eating. That means we won’t feel so tired afterwards. And, of course, the fresh air and our bodies moving always gives us a boost.
Even if it’s not easy to walk around at night where you are, you could walk around in your garden as a family, or play a little game in the yard, just before eating dessert, or after you eat it. Give your body some time. Obviously you shouldn’t do strenuous exercise after eating, but walking or playing with a ball is great.
Number nine: the French eat a huge variety of foods, and they’re not afraid to try new things. Many French people eat so many different things, and the children aren’t afraid to try new things either. They’re not fussy. Right from when they’re young, they learn to eat proper food, not kids’ food or so called kids’ food, like chips and sausages and burgers, they eat real food. I’ll do an episode on this. School lunches are quite amazing in France. Children are often fed three course meals with real vegetables and real meat; real good stuff.
Number ten: they eat local, in season food. Maybe try to find out if there are any fresh markets nearby that sell in season food. We’re so used to just buying whatever we see in the supermarket, which is often imported, less nutritious, and usually more sprayed with pesticides because of having to travel distances. Finding organic food that is freshly picked from a farm, a delivery service, or a fresh market is great.
Often these days a delivery service will supply food once a week from a local farm. This supports them, and it’s much healthier eggs, much healthier dairy, much healthier bread, vegetables, and fruit than what you get at the supermarket. So see what you can find from local farmers – supporting those places that work so hard is great for them and great for you. It’s hard for us to buy what we’re going to eat every day, like the French often do. but if we can at least do it every few days, get more fresh stuff and less packaged stuff from the supermarket, then we’ve already done a lot to help.
I hope you enjoyed this and I hope you’re inspired, not overwhelmed. Think about the ways that you’d like to apply this and what works in your family.
Let me describe what we call a French meal in our house. We plan that it will be an evening longer than usual – we wouldn’t try to do anything afterwards. We then set the table beautifully, involving the children. The young ones could fetch some flowers from the garden. We use our gold underplates, fancy napkins, and beautiful glasses. We put some sparkling water in the fridge.
And then I have some vegetables in the steamer, like maybe some zucchini ribbons, and we put a bit of basil pesto on top. Then we serve that on a small plate on top of the dinner plate. We set the table, of course, with candles and water jugs, getting the children involved doing that. The first course would be the zucchini in a little pile, looking nice. We have a little music on and we would talk to each other while we ate.
Then a couple of the kids would help clear while the other stayed to chat. I’d check on the main course, which would maybe be meat cooked in a crock pot or in the oven. I make it in advance, perhaps a lamb stew, a piece of corned beef that needs slicing, or a roast chicken with gravy. We do these things slowly together. Then we have a different vegetable on the side, maybe butternut squash, or a potato side. The kids, especially the younger ones again, would be the waiters and waitresses, bringing the plates to the table or bringing a serving tray for people to help themselves from, like in Downton Abbey.
Then we perhaps go to the sitting room for a while and maybe play a game or chat. So, it’s more like an event. It’s not every day, but it’s a special evening that we know we’re putting aside for a French meal. We do something fun together, and come back to the table for dessert, maybe a peach cobbler or some canned pears with cream. We enjoy those, and maybe use some conversation starter topics, and talk for a while. Sometimes we use a fun quiz and test each other.
Then we’d end with a few slices of different kinds of cheese on a platter, perhaps with some sourdough crackers. But sometimes it’s nice to just do the cheese, then it’s not quite so heavy. Everyone helps themselves to a little bit of cheese, or a dinner chocolate to end off. We feel so relaxed and close and just enjoy it.
So, think about what you’d like to do. Don’t worry about doing a whole lot, just choose one or two things that you feel would enhance your family dinners and your family’s health, and learn what you can from the French about food and dining.
You can see the show notes on our website familyfoodformoms.com.
Thanks for joining me, and have a lovely week.
