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French Kids Eat Everything
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Best Food & Cookbooks (2012)Moving her young family to her husband's hometown in northern France, Karen Le Billon expected some cultural adjustment. But she didn't expect to be lectured for slipping her fussing toddler a snack, or to be forbidden from packing her older daughter a school lunch. Karen is intrigued by the fact that French children happily eat everything—from beets to broccoli, from salad to spinach—while French obesity rates are a fraction of what they are in North America.
Karen soon begins to see the wisdom in the "food rules" that the French use to foster healthy eating habits and good manners in babies and children. Some of the rules call into question both our eating habits and our parenting styles. Other rules evoke commonsense habits that we used to share but have somehow forgotten. Taken together, the rules suggest that we need to dramatically rethink the way we feed children, at home and at school.
Combining personal anecdotes with practical tips and appetizing recipes—including Zucchini and Spinach Puree and Bouillabaisse (Fish Soup) for Babies—French Kids Eat Everything is a humorous, provocative look at families, food, and children that is filled with inspiration and advice that every parent can use.
Karen soon begins to see the wisdom in the "food rules" that the French use to foster healthy eating habits and good manners in babies and children. Some of the rules call into question both our eating habits and our parenting styles. Other rules evoke commonsense habits that we used to share but have somehow forgotten. Taken together, the rules suggest that we need to dramatically rethink the way we feed children, at home and at school.
Combining personal anecdotes with practical tips and appetizing recipes—including Zucchini and Spinach Puree and Bouillabaisse (Fish Soup) for Babies—French Kids Eat Everything is a humorous, provocative look at families, food, and children that is filled with inspiration and advice that every parent can use.
321 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 3, 2012
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June 6, 2012
In this year-long culinary memoir, author Le Billon gets her compliant French husband to move with her and their two small children from Canada to his tiny French hometown for several months, where she discovers that French people respect food and their health too much to stuff themselves with monotonous junk food all day long, and it's apparently such a revelation that she rehabilitates her entire approach to food over it, but she also doesn't make any friends, so she forces her husband and children, who've gone through a tough adjustment but are finally very happy there, to move back to Canada with her, where everyone's again miserable while they go through yet another round of culture shock, sigh.
Le Billon makes a gigantic big deal out of her daughters' culinary transformation in France (which she fought awfully hard for awfully long to be so proud of it now), but to make the transformation seem more marvelous, she sets up a false dichotomy by claiming that her children, whom she has trained to be EXTREMELY picky eaters, have quite normal North American diets. Le Billon is apparently accustomed to feeding them sweets and packaged snacks constantly throughout their days, cooks them separate meals of pasta with cheese at every dinner, and buys them fast food regularly. Just as you can't get me to believe that ALL French kids eat everything, you also can't get me to believe that this is typical North American kid cuisine. Yes, I know it happens, and yes, I know it happens with a lot of families, but if you pretend that it happens with EVERY family, and if you pretend that your kids are totally normal when you let it happen with them, then your rehabilitation into French cuisine is just that much more noteworthy.
I also find it disconcerting how extremely Le Billon flips to the French side, when she finally does recognize the evidence that when she gets out of her kids' way and lets her French in-laws and acquaintances calmly handle their meals, her kids actually do enjoy a wide variety of healthy foods. For one, she equates her self-described attachment parenting style as the reason why her kids have bad food habits, because she claims that the "books" told her to let her kids eat when and where and however they want. I also attachment parent my children, and the books didn't tell ME that, nor would I have obeyed them if they had, because attachment parenting is much more about following your own instincts as a parent than about permitting your child to fingerpaint with yogurt at the table, if indeed the author really found an attachment parenting handbook that told her to do that. For another, she actually seems near the end of the book to think that French parents of newborns have got something right by scheduling their infants' meals very far apart, starting them on solids very early, and weaning them altogether by a year or so; the French breastfeeding rate is extremely low.
Mind you, I don't care how long the French breastfeed, as long as their kids are happy and healthy and their parents love them, but thinking wistfully that maybe your own kid would have been a great sleeper and a better eater if you'd scheduled them and weaned them early is a major jump away from attachment parenting. The author also really seems to come to support the extremely militant view of (some of) the French about snacking. Seriously, French parents flipped out when she tried to give their kids an unscheduled snack!!! of strawberries. Seriously? Her older kid's teacher wouldn't let her kid get a drink of water between meals, since correct mealtimes are more important than proper hydration. It's great that the author finally figured out how to parent her children better regarding food, but there is no need to throw out breastfeeding, snacks, and between-meals hydration just because (some of) the French do. Strawberries are okay to eat between meals. Water fountains don't make us picky eaters.
The author's kids had a hard adjustment to France--it's a big change, and not just in the cuisine. The school system is very different, and discipline is very different, etc. So when the author finally gets bored of France and drags everyone back to Canada, those poor kids, the youngest of whom has apparently been permitted to forget how to speak English altogether, have another drastic change to go through as, once again, the cuisine is very different, the school system is very different, and discipline is very different. The author makes a big deal out of how lousy the grocery store food is, until she finally makes a big deal about learning about the existence of farmer's markets, and she makes a big deal out of how lousy her kids' school meals are, and how they don't have enough time to eat, and how this leads to the need for more packaged snacks, etc. And then she decides to try to get hot gourmet lunches made mandatory in her younger child's classroom, only to get shot down, and she's apparently come so far in her transformation that she just doesn't understand why no other parents would be for that. I mean, my goodness, each preschooler's lunch would only cost $3!
One reminder that I really appreciated from this book is the author's lesson that (some of) the French savor a wide variety of foods every week, and hate to repeat the same meal too often. I often cook the same meal every week, because it's thrifty, healthy, and everyone likes it, but it's good to remember to make the effort to branch out, as well.
This book neatly encapsulates one of my biggest pet peeves: the need to do what everyone else is doing regarding parenting. You do have the power to make your life what you want it to be, and yes, you can parent your children in your own way. You don't have to feed your kids fast food and goldfish crackers, even if you think everyone else does. You may give them healthy snacks, even if you live in France and they think you're crazy for it. If you absolutely can't stand the lunch program at your school and you think it's ruining your child's health for life, you don't actually have to send your child to that school. Sure, homeschooling or facing down French strangers who shake their fingers at you for giving your kid a strawberry between meals is terribly difficult, but if something's important to you, then you make it work. And so in that way, I'm really glad that the author has discovered farmer's markets, and sushi, and gourmet chocolates, and now feels as if she is going her own road there in Canada, away from fast food and white flour pasta and goldfish crackers. Her kids are far healthier, she's a more empowered parent, and although she apparently doesn't know any other families like her there, she'll find them, because there are plenty to find.
Le Billon makes a gigantic big deal out of her daughters' culinary transformation in France (which she fought awfully hard for awfully long to be so proud of it now), but to make the transformation seem more marvelous, she sets up a false dichotomy by claiming that her children, whom she has trained to be EXTREMELY picky eaters, have quite normal North American diets. Le Billon is apparently accustomed to feeding them sweets and packaged snacks constantly throughout their days, cooks them separate meals of pasta with cheese at every dinner, and buys them fast food regularly. Just as you can't get me to believe that ALL French kids eat everything, you also can't get me to believe that this is typical North American kid cuisine. Yes, I know it happens, and yes, I know it happens with a lot of families, but if you pretend that it happens with EVERY family, and if you pretend that your kids are totally normal when you let it happen with them, then your rehabilitation into French cuisine is just that much more noteworthy.
I also find it disconcerting how extremely Le Billon flips to the French side, when she finally does recognize the evidence that when she gets out of her kids' way and lets her French in-laws and acquaintances calmly handle their meals, her kids actually do enjoy a wide variety of healthy foods. For one, she equates her self-described attachment parenting style as the reason why her kids have bad food habits, because she claims that the "books" told her to let her kids eat when and where and however they want. I also attachment parent my children, and the books didn't tell ME that, nor would I have obeyed them if they had, because attachment parenting is much more about following your own instincts as a parent than about permitting your child to fingerpaint with yogurt at the table, if indeed the author really found an attachment parenting handbook that told her to do that. For another, she actually seems near the end of the book to think that French parents of newborns have got something right by scheduling their infants' meals very far apart, starting them on solids very early, and weaning them altogether by a year or so; the French breastfeeding rate is extremely low.
Mind you, I don't care how long the French breastfeed, as long as their kids are happy and healthy and their parents love them, but thinking wistfully that maybe your own kid would have been a great sleeper and a better eater if you'd scheduled them and weaned them early is a major jump away from attachment parenting. The author also really seems to come to support the extremely militant view of (some of) the French about snacking. Seriously, French parents flipped out when she tried to give their kids an unscheduled snack!!! of strawberries. Seriously? Her older kid's teacher wouldn't let her kid get a drink of water between meals, since correct mealtimes are more important than proper hydration. It's great that the author finally figured out how to parent her children better regarding food, but there is no need to throw out breastfeeding, snacks, and between-meals hydration just because (some of) the French do. Strawberries are okay to eat between meals. Water fountains don't make us picky eaters.
The author's kids had a hard adjustment to France--it's a big change, and not just in the cuisine. The school system is very different, and discipline is very different, etc. So when the author finally gets bored of France and drags everyone back to Canada, those poor kids, the youngest of whom has apparently been permitted to forget how to speak English altogether, have another drastic change to go through as, once again, the cuisine is very different, the school system is very different, and discipline is very different. The author makes a big deal out of how lousy the grocery store food is, until she finally makes a big deal about learning about the existence of farmer's markets, and she makes a big deal out of how lousy her kids' school meals are, and how they don't have enough time to eat, and how this leads to the need for more packaged snacks, etc. And then she decides to try to get hot gourmet lunches made mandatory in her younger child's classroom, only to get shot down, and she's apparently come so far in her transformation that she just doesn't understand why no other parents would be for that. I mean, my goodness, each preschooler's lunch would only cost $3!
One reminder that I really appreciated from this book is the author's lesson that (some of) the French savor a wide variety of foods every week, and hate to repeat the same meal too often. I often cook the same meal every week, because it's thrifty, healthy, and everyone likes it, but it's good to remember to make the effort to branch out, as well.
This book neatly encapsulates one of my biggest pet peeves: the need to do what everyone else is doing regarding parenting. You do have the power to make your life what you want it to be, and yes, you can parent your children in your own way. You don't have to feed your kids fast food and goldfish crackers, even if you think everyone else does. You may give them healthy snacks, even if you live in France and they think you're crazy for it. If you absolutely can't stand the lunch program at your school and you think it's ruining your child's health for life, you don't actually have to send your child to that school. Sure, homeschooling or facing down French strangers who shake their fingers at you for giving your kid a strawberry between meals is terribly difficult, but if something's important to you, then you make it work. And so in that way, I'm really glad that the author has discovered farmer's markets, and sushi, and gourmet chocolates, and now feels as if she is going her own road there in Canada, away from fast food and white flour pasta and goldfish crackers. Her kids are far healthier, she's a more empowered parent, and although she apparently doesn't know any other families like her there, she'll find them, because there are plenty to find.
October 20, 2019
There is a very strong subtext in this book about authoritarian parenting. Le Billon says things such as, "Kids who have authoritative parents are more likely to eat more vegetables and to have a healthier weight." I think that done well, pussy-cat style as she describes it, can be very effective.
I found her emphasis on variety, and the emphasis on eating slowly very helpful. A few notes below that I found enlightening.
*Encourage children to focus on food as as source of sensory pleasure.
We experimented with this at the dinner table and all of us immediately realized that we had never tried to describe what we were eating and what it tasted like. Our daughter tried to describe the taste of an artichoke and was promptly stumped. My husband tried to describe the taste of a sweet potato and we were all equally perplexed. Texture, taste, all of those words in that arena had never, never been featured in our dinner conversation. It was new and uncomfortable in the best possible way.
*No short order cooking. Yay! Great. Less work for us.
*Expressing individual food preferences is bad manners in France.
*Conversation can capture your children's attention, keep them at the table, and put them in a positive frame of mind for eating. As soon as my children sit down, I sit with them and start talking.
*Limit snacks, ideally one per day (two maximum) and not within one hour of meals. In between meals, it's okay to feel hungry. At meals, eat until you're satisfied rather than full.
*Have a blind tasting day. Adults too.
*Have them mix the food together themselves.
*Start new foods in soup form so they can get used to the texture.
*Children never have to ask to reach for a piece of fruit, but anything else they have to ask for permission.
*Water is a food group.
*Make the table festive.
*Gaining too much pleasure from food or too little is also a sign that something is out of balance.
*Fill your kids up with real food before they are served treats. For example serve fresh fruit after the main course and before sweetened desserts.
*Use butter instead of ketchup (fat is an essential nutrient)
Enjoy!
I found her emphasis on variety, and the emphasis on eating slowly very helpful. A few notes below that I found enlightening.
*Encourage children to focus on food as as source of sensory pleasure.
We experimented with this at the dinner table and all of us immediately realized that we had never tried to describe what we were eating and what it tasted like. Our daughter tried to describe the taste of an artichoke and was promptly stumped. My husband tried to describe the taste of a sweet potato and we were all equally perplexed. Texture, taste, all of those words in that arena had never, never been featured in our dinner conversation. It was new and uncomfortable in the best possible way.
*No short order cooking. Yay! Great. Less work for us.
*Expressing individual food preferences is bad manners in France.
*Conversation can capture your children's attention, keep them at the table, and put them in a positive frame of mind for eating. As soon as my children sit down, I sit with them and start talking.
*Limit snacks, ideally one per day (two maximum) and not within one hour of meals. In between meals, it's okay to feel hungry. At meals, eat until you're satisfied rather than full.
*Have a blind tasting day. Adults too.
*Have them mix the food together themselves.
*Start new foods in soup form so they can get used to the texture.
*Children never have to ask to reach for a piece of fruit, but anything else they have to ask for permission.
*Water is a food group.
*Make the table festive.
*Gaining too much pleasure from food or too little is also a sign that something is out of balance.
*Fill your kids up with real food before they are served treats. For example serve fresh fruit after the main course and before sweetened desserts.
*Use butter instead of ketchup (fat is an essential nutrient)
Enjoy!
November 5, 2012
It really bugs me the way the French think they are so much better than us. Every few months or so there is book telling us all about it.
The worst part is that they are mostly correct.
I agree 100% with how the French teach their children to eat. They are brought up that vegetables are delicious. Radishes with salt and cucumbers with vinegar are a couple of examples of their "gouter" meal, or after school snack.
French children aren't brought up thinking that fruit snacks or processed mac and cheese are normal. Leeks and spinach and strawberries and fish and baquettes are normal. That is because they were taught that from birth. They are taught to eat slowly and mindfully. Their taste buds have been trained to enjoy beets and apples instead of the sugar laden cookies and crap that North Americans feed their kids.
Karen talks about how we set our kids up to dislike good food. We don't expect them to like broccoli so they don't. We turn down carrots so we can eat chips and they do the same.
Reading Karen's comparison of North American children to French children was both enlightening and embarrassing. In France, parents are not slaves to their children. Children are included in dinner parties because they have been taught how to behave. They are taught to go play when it's time for the adults have their meal (not hang on their parents, my personal pet peeve.)
I've been trying to follow some of Karen's rules and it's made a difference. Eating 3 complete meals a day so I'm not constantly snacking works. I've cleaned off our kitchen table for meals instead of eating at the kitchen island (which was more convenient and helped speed things up.) When my daughter came home today, I had prepared some edamame for her after school meal instead of the usual junk.
Now I've got to go set the table so our family can enjoy a slow, mindful, delicious dinner together.
The worst part is that they are mostly correct.
I agree 100% with how the French teach their children to eat. They are brought up that vegetables are delicious. Radishes with salt and cucumbers with vinegar are a couple of examples of their "gouter" meal, or after school snack.
French children aren't brought up thinking that fruit snacks or processed mac and cheese are normal. Leeks and spinach and strawberries and fish and baquettes are normal. That is because they were taught that from birth. They are taught to eat slowly and mindfully. Their taste buds have been trained to enjoy beets and apples instead of the sugar laden cookies and crap that North Americans feed their kids.
Karen talks about how we set our kids up to dislike good food. We don't expect them to like broccoli so they don't. We turn down carrots so we can eat chips and they do the same.
Reading Karen's comparison of North American children to French children was both enlightening and embarrassing. In France, parents are not slaves to their children. Children are included in dinner parties because they have been taught how to behave. They are taught to go play when it's time for the adults have their meal (not hang on their parents, my personal pet peeve.)
I've been trying to follow some of Karen's rules and it's made a difference. Eating 3 complete meals a day so I'm not constantly snacking works. I've cleaned off our kitchen table for meals instead of eating at the kitchen island (which was more convenient and helped speed things up.) When my daughter came home today, I had prepared some edamame for her after school meal instead of the usual junk.
Now I've got to go set the table so our family can enjoy a slow, mindful, delicious dinner together.
December 8, 2019
A good capture of French food culture by a Canadian author who moved to France for a year and was forced to learn the hard way. Some of her learnings didn't apply to me - eg I was shocked at how much snacking she had her kids doing in Vancouver - like 4-5 snacks per day - crazy! But some of her tips were very helpful, and are confirmed by my experiences in France so far (I've been here for 4 months).
There is a lot here, and I encourage people to check out my notes. But my top takeaways are:
1. A kid has to try a new food ~10 times before they will start to like it. So the goal is getting them to try a taste of new foods. To this end, don't serve the kids different food than adults get - don't cook them a special meal - they need to learn to eat what adults eat and to try everything. This is probably the biggest takeaway of the book (and is its title) - that you can get kids to eat everything by getting them to try new foods. You can also help this process be easier by introducing the new foods in easy to consume formats designed for this (eg leek soup to get used to leeks).
"French psychologists and nutritionists have systematically assessed the average number of times children have to taste new foods before they willingly agree to eat them: the average is seven, but most parenting books recommend between ten and fifteen."
2. The French prioritize healthy eating. Buying food in a French market is a pleasure, whereas going to a grocery store in the US is a chore. In France you can ask vendors where stuff comes from and what is best and they always have an answer, that sometimes leads you to new discoveries. In the US, you can ask the teenager at the grocery store those questions, but you won't get the same experience. The government has strict rules around food that ensures this, and that is something that I wish the US could enact, but it won't for reasons that I won't go into.
3. The French have a culture of eating slowly and enjoying their food. Lunches and dinners are at the table, and eaten together, with plenty of time for conversation. They also make sure to have plenty of variety at the table. This makes food more enjoyable and is healthier for digestion. It's also very health for families! The fact that many stores in France are closed from noon to 2 or 3pm is super annoying, but this is part of the culture of food and family. This is at odds with the culture of fast food and multi-tasking while eating that we have in the US. In French schools, the cantine (dining hall) the kids are served food by teachers, who make sure the kids get some of everything, and educate the kids about what everything is - and there is only one menu!
"You see, in the United States, food is fuel. Here, it’s a love story."
"Whatever they are doing—no matter how stressful, busy, or demanding—the French deliberately pause, savor tasty food, and share the moment with friends, family, or colleagues. It’s as if the entire nation takes a big, collective sigh of relief before plunging back into the rat race."
4. The French only have 4 meals a day, and do not snack at all outside these. Breakfast (which is small and literally called petit dejeune or "small lunch"), lunch (often the largest meal of the day), goûter (afternoon snack at 3 or 4pm), and dinner. So there is a snack, but it's planned, and importantly, it's also done with fresh, health foods, not processed foods. As I learned in The Obesity Code, snacking and particular midnight snacking are particularly bad for you. A particularly important bit is to not allow snacking before a meal, because kids certainly won't eat something new if they aren't hungry. Also, water is a food group!
5. To enjoy food, enjoy local food. This means buying and cooking local products, something the French call Terrior. So the veggies and meats you find in France in a given season won't be the same as at home, but the key is to search out and find those fresh, local products and enjoy them. That is a the key to enjoying where you live, great food, and is a great bonding activity with family and friends.
"Part of this healthy relationship with food arises in France because of something called terroir, a word related to the French word for land (la terre). Terroir refers to a close relationship between people, their land and climate, and their food. So terroir might mean drinking apple cider and eating oysters in Brittany, eating Roquefort or drinking rosé in southern France, or eating moose meat and maple syrup in Canada. French people have strong affinities for local foods—there are many cheeses, for example, that are hard to find outside their home terroir."
"The essence of the French approach is this: find a balance between the foods available where you are living, your terroir and traditional cooking skills, and a schedule that lends itself to mindful cooking and eating."
Alors, bonne chance et bon appétit!
There is a lot here, and I encourage people to check out my notes. But my top takeaways are:
1. A kid has to try a new food ~10 times before they will start to like it. So the goal is getting them to try a taste of new foods. To this end, don't serve the kids different food than adults get - don't cook them a special meal - they need to learn to eat what adults eat and to try everything. This is probably the biggest takeaway of the book (and is its title) - that you can get kids to eat everything by getting them to try new foods. You can also help this process be easier by introducing the new foods in easy to consume formats designed for this (eg leek soup to get used to leeks).
"French psychologists and nutritionists have systematically assessed the average number of times children have to taste new foods before they willingly agree to eat them: the average is seven, but most parenting books recommend between ten and fifteen."
2. The French prioritize healthy eating. Buying food in a French market is a pleasure, whereas going to a grocery store in the US is a chore. In France you can ask vendors where stuff comes from and what is best and they always have an answer, that sometimes leads you to new discoveries. In the US, you can ask the teenager at the grocery store those questions, but you won't get the same experience. The government has strict rules around food that ensures this, and that is something that I wish the US could enact, but it won't for reasons that I won't go into.
3. The French have a culture of eating slowly and enjoying their food. Lunches and dinners are at the table, and eaten together, with plenty of time for conversation. They also make sure to have plenty of variety at the table. This makes food more enjoyable and is healthier for digestion. It's also very health for families! The fact that many stores in France are closed from noon to 2 or 3pm is super annoying, but this is part of the culture of food and family. This is at odds with the culture of fast food and multi-tasking while eating that we have in the US. In French schools, the cantine (dining hall) the kids are served food by teachers, who make sure the kids get some of everything, and educate the kids about what everything is - and there is only one menu!
"You see, in the United States, food is fuel. Here, it’s a love story."
"Whatever they are doing—no matter how stressful, busy, or demanding—the French deliberately pause, savor tasty food, and share the moment with friends, family, or colleagues. It’s as if the entire nation takes a big, collective sigh of relief before plunging back into the rat race."
4. The French only have 4 meals a day, and do not snack at all outside these. Breakfast (which is small and literally called petit dejeune or "small lunch"), lunch (often the largest meal of the day), goûter (afternoon snack at 3 or 4pm), and dinner. So there is a snack, but it's planned, and importantly, it's also done with fresh, health foods, not processed foods. As I learned in The Obesity Code, snacking and particular midnight snacking are particularly bad for you. A particularly important bit is to not allow snacking before a meal, because kids certainly won't eat something new if they aren't hungry. Also, water is a food group!
5. To enjoy food, enjoy local food. This means buying and cooking local products, something the French call Terrior. So the veggies and meats you find in France in a given season won't be the same as at home, but the key is to search out and find those fresh, local products and enjoy them. That is a the key to enjoying where you live, great food, and is a great bonding activity with family and friends.
"Part of this healthy relationship with food arises in France because of something called terroir, a word related to the French word for land (la terre). Terroir refers to a close relationship between people, their land and climate, and their food. So terroir might mean drinking apple cider and eating oysters in Brittany, eating Roquefort or drinking rosé in southern France, or eating moose meat and maple syrup in Canada. French people have strong affinities for local foods—there are many cheeses, for example, that are hard to find outside their home terroir."
"The essence of the French approach is this: find a balance between the foods available where you are living, your terroir and traditional cooking skills, and a schedule that lends itself to mindful cooking and eating."
Alors, bonne chance et bon appétit!
January 13, 2013
A more detailed (sometimes repetitive) look at the subject that most intrigued me about Bringing Up Bebe: the dramatically different approach to food and meals for French families, as compared to North American. Set mealtimes; no snacking whatsoever; healthy, natural and local foods; leisurely family mealtimes where enjoying food and each other's company is the priority; a calm expectation that if you try something enough times, you'll like it--these "food rules" are taken as a given by the French families Le Billon encounters, and she gradually sees the fruits of the French approach in her young daughters' widely expanded tastes and improved table manners. American moms used to handing out Cheerios and goldfish crackers in the car will find much to contemplate here.
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June 11, 2021I picked this up because I enjoy books that tell me how I’ve been living my life all wrong by French standards. The advice in this book is exactly what you would expect, but for me, the real takeaway is that when the author tries to implement her family’s hard-won French eating habits back home in Canada, her efforts tank. This is because the French food culture we all worship so hard stands on the shoulders of generational tradition, subsidized public daycare where cultural norms around food are prioritized, universal healthcare, and a bunch of other things that Americans try to afford by working very long hours which do not allow time for (miraculously affordable) two-hour meals.
I wish like crazy that our kids, and ourselves, were getting the same care, and part of me still idealizes sitting around a table for hours having animated debates about cheese. I’m generally for eating real food, not too much, and locally and seasonally if I have the luxury. And of course I still want to be a chic, cigarette-smoking, messy-haired Parisian woman when I grow up.
But here’s what I else I surprisingly realized after reading this book:
- I like snacks. They’re really fun and I enjoy eating them. If food is supposed to be about pleasure, then I am for sure going to keep eating snacks.
- I really dislike eating, in one meal, enough food to carry me for the next several hours. It makes me sleepy. Hence, snacks.
- I like eating meals while reading a book. It combines two of my favorite things into one superlatively pleasurable activity. I talk to my husband plenty – I’m okay not doing it at every meal.
- I do like a long meal with friends and good conversation. It’s enjoyable from time to time, such as when I’m on vacation. In France. But I wouldn’t want to do it every day. Plus, I’m an American, and I don’t have that kind of time.
Don’t tell the French I said these things.
I wish like crazy that our kids, and ourselves, were getting the same care, and part of me still idealizes sitting around a table for hours having animated debates about cheese. I’m generally for eating real food, not too much, and locally and seasonally if I have the luxury. And of course I still want to be a chic, cigarette-smoking, messy-haired Parisian woman when I grow up.
But here’s what I else I surprisingly realized after reading this book:
- I like snacks. They’re really fun and I enjoy eating them. If food is supposed to be about pleasure, then I am for sure going to keep eating snacks.
- I really dislike eating, in one meal, enough food to carry me for the next several hours. It makes me sleepy. Hence, snacks.
- I like eating meals while reading a book. It combines two of my favorite things into one superlatively pleasurable activity. I talk to my husband plenty – I’m okay not doing it at every meal.
- I do like a long meal with friends and good conversation. It’s enjoyable from time to time, such as when I’m on vacation. In France. But I wouldn’t want to do it every day. Plus, I’m an American, and I don’t have that kind of time.
Don’t tell the French I said these things.
April 16, 2013
Interesting view of eating in France. I take issue with the author's premise that breastfeeding on demand results in the "constant eating" phenomena she finds in N. American kids versus French kids. Rather I would place the blame on the food industry and its constant marketing of "snack" foods to children. It is healthier for the mother and the baby to follow the baby's lead while breastfeeding - this allows the child to learn to eat to satiety, a big part of the French child's education about food and eating, according to the author. Allowing to the baby to eat "on demand" also establishes the mother's milk supply. When moms schedule breastfeeding sessions this can interfere with her breast milk supply, so I was not surprised to learn from the author that France has the lowest rates of exclusive breastfeeding in Europe. When children are transitioning to table food from breastfeeding is the time to help guide a child's choices regarding food. There is a difference between "wants" and "needs." A child may want a cookie, but if they are truly hungry and apple or an orange will satisfy their hunger. A baby's wants are his/her needs, and the same cannot be said of a toddler or older child. This is the time the authoritative (not authoritarian) parenting the author describes comes in to play.
Other than the poor breastfeeding advice I enjoyed the book and the will try some of the recipes at the end.
Other than the poor breastfeeding advice I enjoyed the book and the will try some of the recipes at the end.
September 29, 2012
This is an easy read, which has become more important to me since I have become the mother of a small child. I do hope to regain my full brain capacity at one point, but now is not the time yet.
I already had somewhat of an understanding how these French rules for eating work, as I am originally from Germany where rules are different, but similar to France. One major rule in France is that adults do not snack, and children only snack once a day. I do agree with Billon that here in the US (and in her native Canada) kids do seem to snack all day long. I see it all day around me in play groups, in the park, in town, etc. Unfortunately these snacks are not very healthy over all. I do see fruit sometimes, but mostly snacks are along the lines of the ever present Goldfish cracker. Even adults seem to carry at least a cup of coffee at all times of day (and some of those coffee creations are full desserts themselves). While this is quite obvious and shouldn't need pointing out, I did think it was good to be reminded that this does not have to be the normal state of things.
The French believe that you can be hungry between meals without suffering. It just means you will appreciate your next meal more.
I have since cut out my daughter's morning snack and she is definitely less picky at lunch time now.
Another major point LeBillon makes is that the French let their children try anything and everything to open their minds and palettes for a more varied diet. They just keep putting different foods in front of them until they are tempted to try them. There is no food in France that is deemed "kid's food."
It is also true that it seems not to be important for many American families (I am not saying all) to sit down together for dinner at a nicely laid out table. While our table set up has deteriorated somewhat with a now three year old in the house, we did retain the habit of sitting down for a proper dinner without television or other distractions most every day.
Being overweight myself, I would like to steer clear of instilling wrong habits in my child while at the same time not wanting to cause any ridiculous fear of food. She is so far a perfectly healthy normal weight toddler and I hope that books like this one will help me keep on the right track.
Le Billon seems to have done here research well. She included a source list which I have not set out to verify or prove wrong yet, but at least it seems credible.
I already had somewhat of an understanding how these French rules for eating work, as I am originally from Germany where rules are different, but similar to France. One major rule in France is that adults do not snack, and children only snack once a day. I do agree with Billon that here in the US (and in her native Canada) kids do seem to snack all day long. I see it all day around me in play groups, in the park, in town, etc. Unfortunately these snacks are not very healthy over all. I do see fruit sometimes, but mostly snacks are along the lines of the ever present Goldfish cracker. Even adults seem to carry at least a cup of coffee at all times of day (and some of those coffee creations are full desserts themselves). While this is quite obvious and shouldn't need pointing out, I did think it was good to be reminded that this does not have to be the normal state of things.
The French believe that you can be hungry between meals without suffering. It just means you will appreciate your next meal more.
I have since cut out my daughter's morning snack and she is definitely less picky at lunch time now.
Another major point LeBillon makes is that the French let their children try anything and everything to open their minds and palettes for a more varied diet. They just keep putting different foods in front of them until they are tempted to try them. There is no food in France that is deemed "kid's food."
It is also true that it seems not to be important for many American families (I am not saying all) to sit down together for dinner at a nicely laid out table. While our table set up has deteriorated somewhat with a now three year old in the house, we did retain the habit of sitting down for a proper dinner without television or other distractions most every day.
Being overweight myself, I would like to steer clear of instilling wrong habits in my child while at the same time not wanting to cause any ridiculous fear of food. She is so far a perfectly healthy normal weight toddler and I hope that books like this one will help me keep on the right track.
Le Billon seems to have done here research well. She included a source list which I have not set out to verify or prove wrong yet, but at least it seems credible.
November 20, 2014
It's bold, in this day & age, to write a book wherein you admit that your forays into getting your children to eat foods that they were unused to resulted in them going to bed crying & hungry; that you carried ketchup in your purse when you took your kids to French restaurants; that after getting your husband to move back to his hometown in France, you told him a year later that you wanted to move back to Vancouver. And so I give LeBillon kudos for that, while at the same time I wonder how much criticism she's opened herself up to with this one. Feeding your kids is a mighty touchy subject. Beyond that, is this book really worth it? It's basically just some pretty common-sense tips to get your kids to eat better, interspersed with memoir-ish stories of LeBillon & her kids & her judgy in-laws. If you read the back of the book & can figure out how to use her tips in your own life, you're basically good to go. I've been really lucky as a mom to be blessed with the viewpoint of: if he's hungry, he'll eat. If he wants to eat, here's some good food for him. I feel pretty comfortable with not being stressed about that sort of thing. The only thing that really bugs me is when a certain short someone in my house asks for, say, a sandwich, and then takes two bites & that's that. Perhaps this book is not for me. If you are a parent who has a picky kid & you find that stressful, this could help you out a bit.
June 2, 2012
I was not impressed. The writing was fine, but I felt like there weren't any new ideas. I stopped about a third of the way through and skimmed the rest. She may have been exaggerating about their pre-France eating habits, but they were the kind of habits I'd never allow in my house anyway (short-order cooking, eating nothing-ever- but pasta and parmesan cheese for lunch, and having snacks constantly available) so doing something different was not a revolutionary idea for me. Even the recipes she included at the end seemed rather lacking in variety. I'm relying on Dorie Greenspan's Around My French TableAround My French Table: More Than 300 Recipes from My Home to Yours for good French recipes for a North American audience. And she is NOT disappointing.
But, I also feel like ranting for a while, so I will. One of Le Billon's "French Food Rules" is "No Snacking" and she cites France's dietary recommendations that adults eat just 3 times a day and children eat just 4 times per day, whereas American guidelines have children eating 5-6 times daily. I am much more in France's camp (though I myself need something between lunch and dinner so as to avoid crazy, hangry, low-blood sugar mother mode right before dinner). I quickly got tired of hauling little cups of goldfish crackers or cheerios around with me wherever I went, so Anna quickly stopped snacking outside the home. If I knew we would be gone during a time we usually ate, I packed real food-for both of us- and we sat down to eat it.
It drives me crazy at playgroups and park visits when there is a constant supply of enriched carbohydrates that nobody seems to monitor. Of course my kids want to eat the snacks being shoveled to their playmates, but they are doing well with learning that we eat at mealtimes. I feel like we've actually had FEWER meltdowns since we just go home when we're hungry and there's no whining for snacks in the car, on errands, or at the playground (they know there aren't any). I've also learned to make sure my kids have had enough to eat before we leave the house. So many mom's I know drive themselves crazy over always making sure to be stocked with snacks but it's always crackers or pretzels or fruit snacks. I completely understand that some kids have higher metabolisms than mine, and need to eat more often, but why not offer them real, filling food instead of junk that won't actually make them feel any more full?
Whew. Thank you internet for receiving my rant. The end.
But, I also feel like ranting for a while, so I will. One of Le Billon's "French Food Rules" is "No Snacking" and she cites France's dietary recommendations that adults eat just 3 times a day and children eat just 4 times per day, whereas American guidelines have children eating 5-6 times daily. I am much more in France's camp (though I myself need something between lunch and dinner so as to avoid crazy, hangry, low-blood sugar mother mode right before dinner). I quickly got tired of hauling little cups of goldfish crackers or cheerios around with me wherever I went, so Anna quickly stopped snacking outside the home. If I knew we would be gone during a time we usually ate, I packed real food-for both of us- and we sat down to eat it.
It drives me crazy at playgroups and park visits when there is a constant supply of enriched carbohydrates that nobody seems to monitor. Of course my kids want to eat the snacks being shoveled to their playmates, but they are doing well with learning that we eat at mealtimes. I feel like we've actually had FEWER meltdowns since we just go home when we're hungry and there's no whining for snacks in the car, on errands, or at the playground (they know there aren't any). I've also learned to make sure my kids have had enough to eat before we leave the house. So many mom's I know drive themselves crazy over always making sure to be stocked with snacks but it's always crackers or pretzels or fruit snacks. I completely understand that some kids have higher metabolisms than mine, and need to eat more often, but why not offer them real, filling food instead of junk that won't actually make them feel any more full?
Whew. Thank you internet for receiving my rant. The end.
December 27, 2012
2.5 stars, but who's counting?
This book could have been shorter if it was edited better to cut down on the repetition. It seemed like every chapter contained at least a couple introduction pages about the family's situation in France and French culture. It gets pretty tiring reading the same thing over and over again.
While it was interesting to read about the differences in food culture between France and North America, I had no sympathy for the woman writing this book. It was her idea to uproot her family from Vancouver and move to the small village in rural France her husband grew up in despite his not wanting to return there. Then when she gets there, she becomes some whiny, complaining person who can't seem to adapt to being in the country of "her choice."
More specifically, she goes on for chapters about how hard it was to get her kids to eat the "French way" but I just thought she wasn't trying hard enough. Instead of educating her children about tasting things they may be scared of, she gives in to their crying and whining and pretty much let them choose what they eat for the better part of a year in France. Then she has some magical revelation (No shit, Sherlock) that changing her kids eating habits means she first has to change her bad habits of 1.) not rushing everyone through family meal times, 2.) hovering over her kids in a cloud of food anxiety, and 3.) being more open to trying new foods HERSELF. Seriously, this was a woman who had to have her (now) husband cut up her fish for her when dining with his parents for the first time because she didn't know how to eat fish??
It's not like there wasn't anything useful in the book. There were some useful things that I would probably want to do if I ever have kids like the "no snacking between meals" rule and the "you don't have to like it, but you do have to taste it" rule. It's just that even though this woman was writing about these things, she wasn't trying very hard at practicing them.
If I sound frustrated writing this review, it's because I'm frustrated at that woman. In fact, I skipped the last chapter which featured her "recipes" that helped her win her kids over to eating better. I skipped it because I didn't want to waste my time reading the recipes of some person who spent most of her life not appreciating food.
This book could have been shorter if it was edited better to cut down on the repetition. It seemed like every chapter contained at least a couple introduction pages about the family's situation in France and French culture. It gets pretty tiring reading the same thing over and over again.
While it was interesting to read about the differences in food culture between France and North America, I had no sympathy for the woman writing this book. It was her idea to uproot her family from Vancouver and move to the small village in rural France her husband grew up in despite his not wanting to return there. Then when she gets there, she becomes some whiny, complaining person who can't seem to adapt to being in the country of "her choice."
More specifically, she goes on for chapters about how hard it was to get her kids to eat the "French way" but I just thought she wasn't trying hard enough. Instead of educating her children about tasting things they may be scared of, she gives in to their crying and whining and pretty much let them choose what they eat for the better part of a year in France. Then she has some magical revelation (No shit, Sherlock) that changing her kids eating habits means she first has to change her bad habits of 1.) not rushing everyone through family meal times, 2.) hovering over her kids in a cloud of food anxiety, and 3.) being more open to trying new foods HERSELF. Seriously, this was a woman who had to have her (now) husband cut up her fish for her when dining with his parents for the first time because she didn't know how to eat fish??
It's not like there wasn't anything useful in the book. There were some useful things that I would probably want to do if I ever have kids like the "no snacking between meals" rule and the "you don't have to like it, but you do have to taste it" rule. It's just that even though this woman was writing about these things, she wasn't trying very hard at practicing them.
If I sound frustrated writing this review, it's because I'm frustrated at that woman. In fact, I skipped the last chapter which featured her "recipes" that helped her win her kids over to eating better. I skipped it because I didn't want to waste my time reading the recipes of some person who spent most of her life not appreciating food.
July 11, 2012
A very interesting read about a family who moved to Brittany (France) for a year to live near the husband's family. The wife is Canadian, the husband is French, and they met at Oxford. I thought this made the book that much more interesting. If I dragged my family to France, I doubt I would have gotten as much "inside information" on the way things happen at the family level as this woman did (after all, her in-laws were all there, all French, and firmly committed to the French way of life).
I thought the comparisons with the overall cultures (North American v. French) were fascinating. The difference in sizes of food offered at McDonald's, the cultural attitudes toward snacking (the French rarely snack while we have food for EVERYTHING here--lollipops at the doctor's office, snacks at every single gathering of friends, large pastries with our coffee, bagels at breaks during conferences, ...), etc.
Much of the "French" attitude towards food is, though, not unique to the French. Perhaps they put forth more intentional effort at educating their children to enjoy food (including at the school/institutional level), to savor it, and to spend a lengthy time at the dinner table, but I was brought up in much the same way in regards to set meal times, little to no snacking, and eating a variety of vegetables (and NOT veggies cooked just for me, but the ones cooked for the entire group of adults eating). Our parents most certainly were brought up this way, and I noticed a very similar attitude all over Europe regarding the leisurely social component of meals, smaller portions of richer foods, and so forth.
I really liked the idea of an intentional (planned) afternoon snack for children as well as the more positive approach to trying new food (not "you won't like it if you don't try it" but "try it--it's okay if you don't like it but you'll like it someday"--subtle, but effective).
I really enjoyed this book all in all--much food for thought (hah! pun not intended).
I thought the comparisons with the overall cultures (North American v. French) were fascinating. The difference in sizes of food offered at McDonald's, the cultural attitudes toward snacking (the French rarely snack while we have food for EVERYTHING here--lollipops at the doctor's office, snacks at every single gathering of friends, large pastries with our coffee, bagels at breaks during conferences, ...), etc.
Much of the "French" attitude towards food is, though, not unique to the French. Perhaps they put forth more intentional effort at educating their children to enjoy food (including at the school/institutional level), to savor it, and to spend a lengthy time at the dinner table, but I was brought up in much the same way in regards to set meal times, little to no snacking, and eating a variety of vegetables (and NOT veggies cooked just for me, but the ones cooked for the entire group of adults eating). Our parents most certainly were brought up this way, and I noticed a very similar attitude all over Europe regarding the leisurely social component of meals, smaller portions of richer foods, and so forth.
I really liked the idea of an intentional (planned) afternoon snack for children as well as the more positive approach to trying new food (not "you won't like it if you don't try it" but "try it--it's okay if you don't like it but you'll like it someday"--subtle, but effective).
I really enjoyed this book all in all--much food for thought (hah! pun not intended).
November 14, 2012
Although I do not have young children any more, I enjoyed reading this book. As a substitute teacher, I go to many different schools and I have previously taught regularly in quite a few more and I am not happy with the eating habits I see kids developing. It started with water. There was a big push to have kids drink more water and since the water from drinking fountains was often not very good, kids started bringing their own water bottles. Then kids would substitute juice for plain water, which soon was switched out for energy drinks. The morning milk and cookies snack, became the morning juice and crackers snack. Then came the decision that kids should determine when they were hungry and thirsty, so they should be allowed to eat whenever they felt they needed to. In some schools, VERY MANY of them, actually, this has become "kids can eat all day, whenever they want". This has led to an INCREDIBLE amount of food being thrown out - from their school lunches or from their packed lunches, usually food that is higher in nutrition than sweet drinks and chips of various sorts. Even at the high school and middle school level, in MANY schools, kids are eating virtually all day. I had one very chubby girl tell me that she "needed" to eat all day, or else she would suffer from faintness. She could have been telling the truth, I have no way of knowing, but it certainly wasn't doing her any good to be eating cookies all day.
So, it was very interesting to me to read about a different culture where this was not accepted. The only problem with this book for me personally is that I really do not like to cook. It made me wish very much that I did.
I must also admit to skimming a lot of the latter part of the book. Still, if either of my daughters ever decide to have children, I may seriously consider buying this for them. And should I ever have a say in the matter, I would also seriously advocate for changing the eating habits of children in American schools.
So, it was very interesting to me to read about a different culture where this was not accepted. The only problem with this book for me personally is that I really do not like to cook. It made me wish very much that I did.
I must also admit to skimming a lot of the latter part of the book. Still, if either of my daughters ever decide to have children, I may seriously consider buying this for them. And should I ever have a say in the matter, I would also seriously advocate for changing the eating habits of children in American schools.
July 4, 2012
The author is a Rhodes Scholar and a professor. In typical academic style she is way too repetitive with her points in each chapter.
The message of the book and anecdotes are very good, I just think it could have been edited down to less than 100 pages, or made in the form of a cookbook instead, since there are several recipes in the back anyhow.
The back cover has an illustrated version of the "10 French Food Rules", and you really could just read those and be done with it.
Not really a book that would be of much interest to people who don't have kids, or aren't really enamored of a romanticized version of the "French lifestyle."
It does shed a lot of light on the stark contrasts between French and North American eating (and the links between eating and food schedules and how this affects overall behaviour and lifestyle, particularly with children). The lunch programs at French schools are also amazing and SHOULD be a model for North American schools, but sadly aren't anywhere close.
Overall, there are some definite lessons I'm taking away from this book as a new parent, but it's nothing that couldn't have been said in a much shorter, better organized text.
The message of the book and anecdotes are very good, I just think it could have been edited down to less than 100 pages, or made in the form of a cookbook instead, since there are several recipes in the back anyhow.
The back cover has an illustrated version of the "10 French Food Rules", and you really could just read those and be done with it.
Not really a book that would be of much interest to people who don't have kids, or aren't really enamored of a romanticized version of the "French lifestyle."
It does shed a lot of light on the stark contrasts between French and North American eating (and the links between eating and food schedules and how this affects overall behaviour and lifestyle, particularly with children). The lunch programs at French schools are also amazing and SHOULD be a model for North American schools, but sadly aren't anywhere close.
Overall, there are some definite lessons I'm taking away from this book as a new parent, but it's nothing that couldn't have been said in a much shorter, better organized text.
August 19, 2018
4.0 Stars
An interesting memoir about kid feeding strategies using French parenting techniques. This was a good follow to reading Bring up Bebe.
An interesting memoir about kid feeding strategies using French parenting techniques. This was a good follow to reading Bring up Bebe.
May 2, 2012
I rather enjoyed this book, and appreciated Le Billon's self-deprecating tone. Le Billon (she's Canadian) and her French husband decide to relocate their family to his small village in Brittany and quickly learn that her kids' eating habits will not cut in the the strict food culture of France. I liked that she both embraced the French food culture and questioned it as well, and acknowledged that there are clear cultural differences in what the French value and what North Americans value. What I mean is that the message of this book is not, like so many books about the French diet, "The French are better." Her message is that there are things that North Americans can learn from the French, especially the way they teach their children to enjoy a variety of healthy foods and the social pleasure taken from good quality food savored with family and friends.
February 24, 2024
If you want to hear how much superior French food culture is to North American food culture, this is the book for you.
But seriously, beyond the continual comparison, I enjoyed reading about the French culture, specifically their ideas about food. I learned quite a few things, such as not using food as a bribe or an incentive to avoid emotional eating and eating slowly to savor food, and food should be enjoyable rather than stressful and never eating at your desk or in your car.
I think that Mennonite food culture rests somewhere between French food culture and North American food culture, possibly closer to French food culture. We have the home-cooked delicious meals and families eating meals together, but I'm sure we could all still learn something from French food culture.
But seriously, beyond the continual comparison, I enjoyed reading about the French culture, specifically their ideas about food. I learned quite a few things, such as not using food as a bribe or an incentive to avoid emotional eating and eating slowly to savor food, and food should be enjoyable rather than stressful and never eating at your desk or in your car.
I think that Mennonite food culture rests somewhere between French food culture and North American food culture, possibly closer to French food culture. We have the home-cooked delicious meals and families eating meals together, but I'm sure we could all still learn something from French food culture.
July 1, 2012
To sum up the entire book in a sentence: people will rise or fall to your expectations of them. There are a lot of fun facts about French school menus and statistics about health, but basically that's the book. There are ten "rules," but they don't amount to more than saying "expect your children to eat like adults."
Actually, the French approach to children is very much like that. French people see children as adults in training. So from the earliest days of a baby's life, he or she is expected to act as much like an adult as possible. That does result in some upsetting statistics. Like the abysmal breastfeeding rates in France. But over all, it means French culture produces fairly well behaved kids. And while I’m not sure I can get behind the French attitude for every aspect of life (dressing children in very obviously “kids’ clothes” doesn’t seem harmful to their long term health or happiness, for example), it makes sense to teach your children healthy eating habits and a love of food from an early age. And the typical American family’s attitude towards food doesn’t really do that. Basically if you followed Michael Pollan’s food rules for your kids, you’d accomplish the same thing.
Actually, the French approach to children is very much like that. French people see children as adults in training. So from the earliest days of a baby's life, he or she is expected to act as much like an adult as possible. That does result in some upsetting statistics. Like the abysmal breastfeeding rates in France. But over all, it means French culture produces fairly well behaved kids. And while I’m not sure I can get behind the French attitude for every aspect of life (dressing children in very obviously “kids’ clothes” doesn’t seem harmful to their long term health or happiness, for example), it makes sense to teach your children healthy eating habits and a love of food from an early age. And the typical American family’s attitude towards food doesn’t really do that. Basically if you followed Michael Pollan’s food rules for your kids, you’d accomplish the same thing.
July 8, 2012
I must preface this with the note that I do not have children, and have no idea how or if I could deal with crying and whining. However, this is how the cousins and I were raised--the privilege was all adults, and we wanted to sit at the table and pretend to know what was going on while they talked economics in French and literature in German, we knew food was laboriously prepared by people we respected and that it was offensive not to eat it after that effort, if you didn't want something (inability to eat something because of a texture or a smell was allowed) you didn't take a serving and never asked for something else, little kids ate ground up versions of what adults ate, and food was purchased without our input. My idiot brother, on the other hand, was surrounded by American TV and peers and despite this regime at home, developed into a Dorito and Fruit Roll up eating picky whiner who caused so much trouble when we lived in South America that he ate Tyson frozen chicken nuggets for a year. If you can tune out the popular culture and hold the line, you might stand a chance. Meanwhile, Le Billion assumes that any American readers need the same bullet points repeated every chapter, which may well be true if you have screamy kids and have been marinated in corn syrup.
February 22, 2013
This book needed an editor. It's divided into three sections--the first, a food/parenting based rambling memoir about Le Billon's move to France for one year. The second section is what the title promises--a focused rehashing of all of the lessons and 'rules' Le Billon implemented (that you already heard about in the first section). The final section is a small collection of recipes that is actually the highlight of the book--they all seem simple, easy, and healthful. The need for the second section lies in the first section's rambling and rehashing and feels like the magazine article that this book should have been.
While there were many great lessons from the French approach, it deeply bothered me that Le Billon never provides information from American pediatricians on why it is often recommended here to have a several small 'meals' throughout the day versus three large meals and fasting between. The science is certainly there to support smaller and more frequent meals...but instead she lumps the idea of snacks into the idea of prepackaged snack foods of crap. I'm also disgusted that she appears to have come around to the French approach to heavily scheduled infant feeding. She mentions her 2 day old nephew crying hysterically in the background while his mother casually mentioned that it would be like that for another two hours before his next scheduled feeding. Scheduled feedings from birth is detrimental to both newborns and breastfeeding, and the AAP has come out firmly against this sort of rigid scheduling so early. There is a big difference between not letting a toddler graze on snack food all day and then being shocked that they won't eat their dinner and letting a two day old newborn nurse to bring in the mother's breastmilk. It's this sort of anecdote that totally blew my mind. She seems to promote ALL aspects of French eating and habits as inherently superior or necessary byproducts of their better approach to food. (Another great example of 'I'd never want to raise my children to be like that' is when she inconveniences a friend to come watch her kids so she can take her husband [who has just had a seizure] to the hospital and is told the next day that she should really send wine and chocolates to both women inconvenienced because they were very upset that their meal had been ruined. I'd rather live in a country of fat diabetics than self-centered, empathy-less assholes, but she seems to blow this off as a 'different folks, different strokes' kind of issue.)
While there were many great lessons from the French approach, it deeply bothered me that Le Billon never provides information from American pediatricians on why it is often recommended here to have a several small 'meals' throughout the day versus three large meals and fasting between. The science is certainly there to support smaller and more frequent meals...but instead she lumps the idea of snacks into the idea of prepackaged snack foods of crap. I'm also disgusted that she appears to have come around to the French approach to heavily scheduled infant feeding. She mentions her 2 day old nephew crying hysterically in the background while his mother casually mentioned that it would be like that for another two hours before his next scheduled feeding. Scheduled feedings from birth is detrimental to both newborns and breastfeeding, and the AAP has come out firmly against this sort of rigid scheduling so early. There is a big difference between not letting a toddler graze on snack food all day and then being shocked that they won't eat their dinner and letting a two day old newborn nurse to bring in the mother's breastmilk. It's this sort of anecdote that totally blew my mind. She seems to promote ALL aspects of French eating and habits as inherently superior or necessary byproducts of their better approach to food. (Another great example of 'I'd never want to raise my children to be like that' is when she inconveniences a friend to come watch her kids so she can take her husband [who has just had a seizure] to the hospital and is told the next day that she should really send wine and chocolates to both women inconvenienced because they were very upset that their meal had been ruined. I'd rather live in a country of fat diabetics than self-centered, empathy-less assholes, but she seems to blow this off as a 'different folks, different strokes' kind of issue.)
June 10, 2012
I am ambivalent about this book. I agree that North Americans have some serious issues with food that need to be addressed and I liked the recipes in the book--I would have loved more of these recipes and I would have liked them to be interspersed throughout the book closer to the anecdotes about the recipes. I am interested in other cultures and other ways of eating and I found the book fascinating and a bit shocking in parts.
On the other hand,(hold your applause AND your rotten tomatoes, please) the author's experience just reinforced my impression of the French as being intolerably snobby and unforgivably rude. The author tried to argue that the French attitude toward food creates equality, but she proved that it only supports a cliquish, cultural xenophobia. My god...at least in America everyone is freely offered a dish of casserole any time of the day. It may be a bland processed casserole, but offered with the spirit of friendliness that you don't seem to be able to get in France.
On the other hand,(hold your applause AND your rotten tomatoes, please) the author's experience just reinforced my impression of the French as being intolerably snobby and unforgivably rude. The author tried to argue that the French attitude toward food creates equality, but she proved that it only supports a cliquish, cultural xenophobia. My god...at least in America everyone is freely offered a dish of casserole any time of the day. It may be a bland processed casserole, but offered with the spirit of friendliness that you don't seem to be able to get in France.
May 31, 2012
It is too good to be true, it must be propaganda issued by the French government. French children eat everything? EVERYTHING?
Well, maybe some of the problems related to what we (and our children) eat are cultural in general and some of the guilt and "need to change" should be focussed more at the parents instead of the children as, after all, maybe the child only does what the child knows? Here in a serious, yet light-hearted text, the author looks at the "education" she and her family received when they moved from North America to a small town in northern France and through her own experiences the author dispenses advice (or should that be common sense) which has the capability to change dramatically the lives of you and your family along the way.
There appears to be a number of "rules" that are much more entrenched in France than in other countries that work to form a healthy eating habit, good manners, positive behaviour and much more besides. Certainly the author, who considered herself and her family to be fairly balanced before the move, seems to have benefitted by it. It is not a simple change (such as using a different currency, eating a different foodstuff, etc) but maybe some reprogramming as to how life is approached. The changes can even have a number of positive side-effects, such as children loving and eating many vegetables such as spinach and sprouts without them being "hidden" or "amended" by other substances along the way. Kids eat what adults eat, no short-order cooking, as the book says. It does sound sensible...
Some of the reported new norms do seem, at first glance, to go against what is generally accepted such as it IS OK to feel hungry between meals and that one should eat not for just nutrition's sake but also for your personal enjoyment. Yet, when you start to think a bit more about this it can make a lot of sense. The food served at mealtimes can have a more defined purpose, a clear role in the family hierarchy that transforms into a wider society-at-large. Many things are interlinked when you don't expect them necessarily to be. When you then look at things through "the other end of the telescope" you can see that maybe there is a kernel or two of truth here. If you are in a family where there is always a battle over food and what a child might eat, that mealtimes are not so harmonious occasions, that the family does not eat together, share things together and grow together, maybe one can see where some problems start and expand from. So a little change might go a long way.
Naturally, there is never a perfect, one size fits all solution and it is true that many French families can have problems of their own as even that country is undergoing cultural changes brought about through various means. This is not a deep scientific book with psychological roots. It is an accessible book for the average reader whether you have children or not. Children are just mini adults or is it that adults are just big children? For those desiring much more further reading resources the author has placed an extensive bibliography at the rear and there is a very comprehensive index to boot.
You might get most benefit by reading this book sequentially or at least through entire chapters at a time and the text is quite compelling for a subject that has the potential to be dry and stuffy. This is a not a quick snack self-help book where you expect to see change before you have even closed the book. Make the investment in time and effort and you might be justly rewarded. Towards the end of the book there are many recipes that look rather tasty and this could be a foundation stone for your new family eating regime. The author has set out a number of rules, or could one call them recommended guidelines, that might help set you and your family along a new track.
This reviewer is usually a little sceptical and more reserved towards such "you can change.." type of books as they invariably are a very personal thing that you either get or don't get. Yet this book cleverly crosses many levels and boundaries so that even if you are not presently receptive for advice and don't plan to change, you will get a lot of good knowledge and information without even trying through the power of reading and osmosis. And should you really think that a change is necessary then there are even greater potential rewards for you to come.
The book's relatively low price tag, its sheer engaging style and its format mean that you have a great help book, a great book to read when travelling and a great little recipe book combined. Why not give it a try? If nothing else, you will either reinforce or reduce some possible prejudices along the way.
French Kids Eat Everything, written by Karen Le Billon and published by William Morrow & Co./HarperCollins. ISBN 9780062103291, 305 pages. Typical price: GBP12. YYYYY.
// This review appeared in YUM.fi and is reproduced here in full with permission of YUM.fi. YUM.fi celebrates the worldwide diversity of food and drink, as presented through the humble book. Whether you call it a cookery book, cook book, recipe book or something else (in the language of your choice) YUM will provide you with news and reviews of the latest books on the marketplace. //
Well, maybe some of the problems related to what we (and our children) eat are cultural in general and some of the guilt and "need to change" should be focussed more at the parents instead of the children as, after all, maybe the child only does what the child knows? Here in a serious, yet light-hearted text, the author looks at the "education" she and her family received when they moved from North America to a small town in northern France and through her own experiences the author dispenses advice (or should that be common sense) which has the capability to change dramatically the lives of you and your family along the way.
There appears to be a number of "rules" that are much more entrenched in France than in other countries that work to form a healthy eating habit, good manners, positive behaviour and much more besides. Certainly the author, who considered herself and her family to be fairly balanced before the move, seems to have benefitted by it. It is not a simple change (such as using a different currency, eating a different foodstuff, etc) but maybe some reprogramming as to how life is approached. The changes can even have a number of positive side-effects, such as children loving and eating many vegetables such as spinach and sprouts without them being "hidden" or "amended" by other substances along the way. Kids eat what adults eat, no short-order cooking, as the book says. It does sound sensible...
Some of the reported new norms do seem, at first glance, to go against what is generally accepted such as it IS OK to feel hungry between meals and that one should eat not for just nutrition's sake but also for your personal enjoyment. Yet, when you start to think a bit more about this it can make a lot of sense. The food served at mealtimes can have a more defined purpose, a clear role in the family hierarchy that transforms into a wider society-at-large. Many things are interlinked when you don't expect them necessarily to be. When you then look at things through "the other end of the telescope" you can see that maybe there is a kernel or two of truth here. If you are in a family where there is always a battle over food and what a child might eat, that mealtimes are not so harmonious occasions, that the family does not eat together, share things together and grow together, maybe one can see where some problems start and expand from. So a little change might go a long way.
Naturally, there is never a perfect, one size fits all solution and it is true that many French families can have problems of their own as even that country is undergoing cultural changes brought about through various means. This is not a deep scientific book with psychological roots. It is an accessible book for the average reader whether you have children or not. Children are just mini adults or is it that adults are just big children? For those desiring much more further reading resources the author has placed an extensive bibliography at the rear and there is a very comprehensive index to boot.
You might get most benefit by reading this book sequentially or at least through entire chapters at a time and the text is quite compelling for a subject that has the potential to be dry and stuffy. This is a not a quick snack self-help book where you expect to see change before you have even closed the book. Make the investment in time and effort and you might be justly rewarded. Towards the end of the book there are many recipes that look rather tasty and this could be a foundation stone for your new family eating regime. The author has set out a number of rules, or could one call them recommended guidelines, that might help set you and your family along a new track.
This reviewer is usually a little sceptical and more reserved towards such "you can change.." type of books as they invariably are a very personal thing that you either get or don't get. Yet this book cleverly crosses many levels and boundaries so that even if you are not presently receptive for advice and don't plan to change, you will get a lot of good knowledge and information without even trying through the power of reading and osmosis. And should you really think that a change is necessary then there are even greater potential rewards for you to come.
The book's relatively low price tag, its sheer engaging style and its format mean that you have a great help book, a great book to read when travelling and a great little recipe book combined. Why not give it a try? If nothing else, you will either reinforce or reduce some possible prejudices along the way.
French Kids Eat Everything, written by Karen Le Billon and published by William Morrow & Co./HarperCollins. ISBN 9780062103291, 305 pages. Typical price: GBP12. YYYYY.
// This review appeared in YUM.fi and is reproduced here in full with permission of YUM.fi. YUM.fi celebrates the worldwide diversity of food and drink, as presented through the humble book. Whether you call it a cookery book, cook book, recipe book or something else (in the language of your choice) YUM will provide you with news and reviews of the latest books on the marketplace. //
January 10, 2024
I'm not sure why, but I love a good French/American comparison book! It reminded me of Bringing Up Bebe, and I enjoyed it!
November 20, 2013
Le Billon makes a compelling case for the superiority of the French way of eating (slow, healthy, thoughtful, and apparently filled with delight) compared to the North American way (quick, sloppy, thoughtless, and unhealthy). I especially liked the point she made about the importance of families sitting down to eat together and how the children learn their food habits from their parents. Much of her advice is common sense and hearkens back to the more traditional way of parenting, where it’s OK for the parent to be the authority. How can children insist that they will only eat macaroni & fish crackers if the parents don’t provide it for them? She makes equally valid arguments about eliminating snacking and how bribing your children with food can lead to emotional eating. It’s not that the ideas in this book are particularly foreign, but it seems that the French actually implement and strictly adhere to these commonsense rules about eating that most of us only know we should follow, but don’t because of lack of cooking skills, fresh ingredients, and a desire/ability to spend hours sitting at the dinner table. Overall, I do think this book contains a lot of good advice about teaching your children to be more adventurous, healthy eaters.
However, I was disappointed by what Le Billon leaves her readers with. She builds a compelling case for the French way of eating, then in the last couple chapters indicates that for the North American, there’s no way to eat as perfectly as the French. Apparently, people in North America will still have to buy packages of Oreos for their children, allow them to go to McDonald’s on occasion, and let them snack along with the rest of their ill-nourished comrades. If you want your children to eat perfectly, you’ll have to move to France, enroll your children in the regimented French school system, and do all your shopping at local open-air markets and organic farms. Basically, Le Billon leaves you with the feeling that it really sucks to live in North America and that there is no way you can fulfill the ideals she’s touted throughout the book.
I did get tired of Le Billon’s constant refrain of “I wished we had never moved to France” and she seems to be one of those people who is never satisfied. She moves to France and complains that no one understands how her and her children eat and then she moves back to Canada and complains that nobody there eats like the French!
However, I was disappointed by what Le Billon leaves her readers with. She builds a compelling case for the French way of eating, then in the last couple chapters indicates that for the North American, there’s no way to eat as perfectly as the French. Apparently, people in North America will still have to buy packages of Oreos for their children, allow them to go to McDonald’s on occasion, and let them snack along with the rest of their ill-nourished comrades. If you want your children to eat perfectly, you’ll have to move to France, enroll your children in the regimented French school system, and do all your shopping at local open-air markets and organic farms. Basically, Le Billon leaves you with the feeling that it really sucks to live in North America and that there is no way you can fulfill the ideals she’s touted throughout the book.
I did get tired of Le Billon’s constant refrain of “I wished we had never moved to France” and she seems to be one of those people who is never satisfied. She moves to France and complains that no one understands how her and her children eat and then she moves back to Canada and complains that nobody there eats like the French!
July 22, 2014
I really enjoyed the contrast in the French perception of food vs. those in North America. I am a picky eater (no fruit or seafood) and worry that my kids would inherit the same issues. Without reading this book, I might not have had the tools to prevent my future kids from sharing my anxious relationship with food.
In my opinion, the last generation (or two) have lost the basic skills of buying, storing, preparing and eating food. For example, there are many vegetables I don't consider buying because I don't know how to care for or cook them. The enjoyment of them seems far removed from me because they will never make it to my plate.
The narrowed focus on what food is good and bad, in America, has created a viscous cycle that teaches our children that good (healthy) food tastes bad and bad food (the stuff that tastes good and is most easily accessible) should be avoided. So guess what kids, you are doomed to eating bad tasting food and feeling dissatisfied or eating unhealthy food and feeling guilty and self loathing.
In my view, veggies have been equated with vitamins as a (grudgingly) necessary diet requirement. Is that why we train our children that vegetables have to taste like a vitamin bottle smells? Oh, not you potatoes and corn, you guys are awesome. Broccoli, you stink!
As for thinking differently about food, I found the 10 French Food Rules to be extremely practical and key to understanding some of the missing parts of my bazaar eating habits. You mean there is a way to eat veggies and like them. Yay, what a concept! Now I feel like I have a chance at eating a delicious nutritious meal without feeling like a failure.
In my opinion, the last generation (or two) have lost the basic skills of buying, storing, preparing and eating food. For example, there are many vegetables I don't consider buying because I don't know how to care for or cook them. The enjoyment of them seems far removed from me because they will never make it to my plate.
The narrowed focus on what food is good and bad, in America, has created a viscous cycle that teaches our children that good (healthy) food tastes bad and bad food (the stuff that tastes good and is most easily accessible) should be avoided. So guess what kids, you are doomed to eating bad tasting food and feeling dissatisfied or eating unhealthy food and feeling guilty and self loathing.
In my view, veggies have been equated with vitamins as a (grudgingly) necessary diet requirement. Is that why we train our children that vegetables have to taste like a vitamin bottle smells? Oh, not you potatoes and corn, you guys are awesome. Broccoli, you stink!
As for thinking differently about food, I found the 10 French Food Rules to be extremely practical and key to understanding some of the missing parts of my bazaar eating habits. You mean there is a way to eat veggies and like them. Yay, what a concept! Now I feel like I have a chance at eating a delicious nutritious meal without feeling like a failure.
November 5, 2021
Jane had this sitting on her coffee table when I arrived for a week’s stay to help with Leo while she started back to work. This is a great approach to introducing a variety of foods to young (and very young) children. It reinforces the need to sit down together for at least one meal and eat slowly. The point is to savor and enjoy the food with family and friends. I decided my French ancestry has manifested itself in my slow eating (since childhood) and emphasis on presentation, even when cooking for one. I recommend this to all new mothers, if only to provide guidance on how to get their children to at least try a variety of foods. Adults also benefit!
June 26, 2017
A really useful, actionable guide to how to inspire a natural love for and curiosity about wide varieties of foods in children. Organized around ten very accessible "rules" (with a heavy but humorous dose of "I-moved-my-family-to-France-for-a-year"). Lots of good practical takeaways to help you wage the uphill battle that is raising an omnivore in America.
December 27, 2021
I did not expect to be this impressed with a get-your-kids-to-eat-vegetables book. It turns out to be a smart, reflective page-turner (!) with a more accessible interpretation and visceral depiction of a foreign food culture than I’ve ever encountered.
It’s completely and barely about getting kids to eat better. It’s about one woman’s flawed inner and outer journey to experience herself as an insider and an outsider, a dimensional voyage of discovery, a critical appreciation of European and North American differences, and more. I found it delightful for story and illuminating for observation.
It’s completely and barely about getting kids to eat better. It’s about one woman’s flawed inner and outer journey to experience herself as an insider and an outsider, a dimensional voyage of discovery, a critical appreciation of European and North American differences, and more. I found it delightful for story and illuminating for observation.
July 2, 2023
This was a fun and enlightening read. Karen does a great job highlighting the importance of food in French culture and the way in which they let their love for food lead to healthy eating. Not only did I learn about French eating habits but also interesting tid bits of other parts of French culture as well.
September 27, 2019
can't believe i'm giving five stars to a book that has the words "banned snacking" in the title. what is life.
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