111op

Bits of these are quite funny:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/15/re...-guiliano.html

She answers ten questions from readers.

ira

>3. Beat the egg whites until stiff, glossy peaks are formed. Gently fold the whites into the chocolate mixture until well blended.

4. Pour the mousse into a serving bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.<

Watch while your guests develop intense stomach cramps and die of salmonella poisoning from eating uncooked egg whites.

Nike

Today's New York Times Op-Ed page has an article called Inhaling Their Food.
It is written by someone who is, tongue-in-cheek, skeptical about and irritated by the Frenchwomen Don't Get Fat book. Today's writer says the not getting fat may be less due to savoring small portions on fine china, and more due to heavy smoking--as the trend for smoking declines, the trend for obesity is increasing.

ira

>as the trend for smoking declines, the trend for obesity is increasing.<

Ay, there's the rub. Do we continue smoking and die of emphysema or give it up, become fat and die of emphysema?

peeky

At my nutrition class in school I learned that where the food is less processed it has natural worms in it and so the people have worms to help them digest their food and stay slim.

In a country like the USA the worms are all chemically taken out of our food so we don't have natural worms in our bowels.

WillTravel

Peeky, in the 1920s, you could buy tapeworms so that you too could benefit from a "tapeworm" diet.

Hmm, maybe it's the steak tartare that keeps Frenchwomen slim. (Just kidding.)

peeky

My professor did mention eating raw meats and veggies to keep those worms. I didn't post this before because I thought it would upset people.

easytraveler

We don't have worms in our stomachs and that's why we are getting fat? I can't buy that.

The reason why the French are thinner is the same old, same old.

1) Normally, they don't live in huge houses with lots of storage. Storage as everything else is limited. This means two things: a) you tend to store only those items which are absolutely necessary for cooking and eating (no junk food!) and
b) buying fresh food every day or every other day

2) They have to WALK to the local market and back and they have to HAUL all their food purchases home by themselves. How much food would you be able to haul home on your own? This keeps the portion size down.

2) Those who live in the cities don't have cars or, if they do, don't drive everywhere, so they tend to take public transportation, which provides a healthy degree of walking.

Same old. Same old. Smaller portions and lots of walking exercise.

I have the book but can't get past chapter 1. It's that leek soup diet! Forget it!

mermaid_

I think the worm theory isn't it, either. I had steak tartare last month in Paris at Le Bouillion Racine and it hasn't done a single thing to my figure! I'm neither thinner or fatter.

crefloors

Ewww!!!!!! I don't think the answer is worms either but don't think our food doesn't have them. When those little crawly things appear in cornmeal or flour..what ever, they don't crawl in from somewhere else, they are there to being with but just in egg form. We eat them all the time and don't see them because we usually eat the product before the eggs hatch. Oh yuck. Yes, it's true.

WillTravel

Most steak tartare in France is not going to be infested with tapeworms - that's why I put "just kidding". However, raw meat does have some risks, including the possibility of catching a parasite or tapeworm. And it's true that in the 1920s women did deliberately infect themselves in hopes of losing weight from that plan.

peeky

With all the diet fazes going around I think it is a good business to get in on the ground floor.

I am going to introduce the Peeky Worm Diet, I can sell them flash frozen like they do in a tropical fish store or in convenient pill form.

mpalmer888

You guys are missing the point! The leek soup is fabulous. It has tons of nutrients in it, for example iron, magnesium, manganese, B6 and folate. I felt great after eating it for a weekend. So I made it again. I did spruce it up with some good quality chicken boullion, and I didn't fast, I just ate lightly for the weekend. I love her book, I've lost ten pounds since February and feel great. And still losing. I took her most basic suggestion and stopped eating so many sweets.

cigalechanta

The most beautiful thin French (and American women) I have met smoke alot and move their food around on their plate. Dining with them is not fun. I wish I could break bread with MFK Fisher and Colette.

madameX

Like the second response and PalQ have said -- it comes down to portion control, calorie intake, and moving around more.

The French enjoy smaller portions of more (delicisou) items. The idea of a huge portion of something is off-putting, and they enjoy what they eat. They don't do six-story desserts -- a few bites of something wonderful are enough. Nor are they impressed with having enough on the restaurant plate to take home -- that's not what dining out is about. A restaurant recommendation from a Frenchman will always talk about the quality of the food, not "They give you a lot" or how great a 16-oz steak was (like some recommendations I get in the U.S. But admittedly, I've never had as a good steak in France as in the U.S., and my French colleagues agree.) The typical portions are more than adequate for reasonable dining, but also scaled to allow enjoying multiple dishes.

...And I adore champagne...

Yes, women get heavier with age, even there, but hardly at the scale you see in the U.S. (and don't blame Mcdonald's -- no one forces anyone to eat there.) In the past few years, the French bureau of standards (I forget its name) has done a re-measuring of thousands of French women to understand how "average" sizes have changed over time, and advise the clothing industry accordingly. Yes, women have gotten heavier (and taller) as most cultures have, both due to lifestyle changes but also improved availability of foodstuffs.

And anyone who thinks of ANY food as a magic bullet for losing weight, especially chocolate mousse, still isn't thinking well about food and nutrition.