French Women Don't Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano
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Book Reviews of French Women Don't Get Fat
Book Review: Great Recipes
Summary: 3 Stars
I picked this book up thinking it was a novel ... and was delighted to see it was a foodie book (I must admit they're my favorite especially if there's recipes included). The first half of the book went great ... I found myself nodding in agreement and while I don't necessarily believe in starting off a cleansing diet with leeks but I do agree that we need to be more active, pro-active and drink lots of water and get more sleep. It boils down to common-sense really. Twinkies and Doritos do add up over the years ... something I've discovered in the past few years.
So this book didn't show anything new under the sun. Maybe it does for other readers, but not for this one. If you're a serious foodie, I would suggest reading Barbara Kingsolver's "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle," which goes into more details about food, politics and more (and includes some really yummy recipes) or read any of Michael Pollan's books. This book is fluff in comparison, though it does have some good recipes that I cannot wait to try.
Other reviewers here have complained about how condescending the author's writing style is ... and how she seemed to look down at us "slovenly Americans" (my words, not hers) ... and I finally did get that sense after awhile, especially when she's scornful of the people living in her apartment building who were exhausted during the great blackout a couple of summers ago ... they were exhausted just after climbing a few flights of stairs. Yes, it may be true, but stop with being so surprised every few seconds ... we Americans are not stupid. We know when we're being talked down to. And this book is rather patronizing for someone who claims to be half-American.
Not only that, the French are not the only country in the world that have good recipes. They're just more vocal about it than the other countries in the world.
If you can ignore all that, this book can be quite fun to read especially the lavish descriptions of meals and wine. This book can be fun to read about Paris and the French countryside (though I do not believe that all French women are perfectly slim ...) ... and like I mentioned before, the recipes look simple enough to follow and delicious enough to try. So if you can ignore the author's smug tone, then you'll have a fun book to read!
1/9/10
Book Review: A Common Sense Approach to Eating
Summary: 3 Stars
I bought this book out of curiosity: I wondered what the rage was all about. What was it that this French woman writes that changes the way American women view and eat food? What I found is this... there isn't much to learn from Guiliano's book that you cannot think of on your own if you've ever paid attention to what goes into your body. Eating natural, non-processed foods (from the perimeter of the grocery store or if you're lucky the Farmer's Market) that do not have an ingredient label attached is what we should be eating. It, in my opinion, isn't some big reveal. We should have to be taught to choose an apple over a bag of potato chips, but many of us don't, unfortunately and it's lead to an epidemic in obesity.
Guiliano writes common sense: eat fresh, organic foods, mostly fruits and veggies in smaller portions. Drink loads of water. She adds blips and blurbs about enjoying life, savoring the moment of everything as if it is some top secret piece of information. Anyone, could have written this book, but since it's written by a French woman, it seems that American women revere this as some sort of sacred text. Perhaps, I'm one of the lucky ones; I grew up with a vegetable garden in the back yard. However, if Guiliano's book is what it takes to get you to be healthy, so be it.
I didn't do the "diet", and when I read the magic soup business, I nearly shelved the book. I disagree with the entire "recasting" section. And the magic leek soup weekend is bogus, in my opinion. Guiliano contradicts herself by writing later that "French women never get hungry". If one is not to get hungry, how can you drink leek broth for 48 hours and not get hungry?
I will say that there are some wonderful and very easy to make recipes in the book that I've tried and have incorporated into my day-to-day life. And, I've changed my view of champagne. Why do we have to wait for a special occasion? Drink up!
If you're looking for an easy read, and a different way to approach food then I say buy the book. What can it hurt? You may learn a thing or two, or you may just realized that this could be a marketing ploy targeted at American women because we're so gullible when it comes to weight loss.
Book Review: "Kazakh women do not get fat or old "
Summary: 3 Stars
"Kazakh women do not get fat or old or anything" this should have been the title of the next book in the series of stories how French/Japanese ("Japanese women do not get old or fat")/Kazakh /Other foreign women come to the US, gain 20-30 pounds, return home and loose all that baggage, in no time, thanks to local cuisine. By the way, anyone who has ever been to Almaty, Kazakhstan notes how slim and gorgeous are women there. I could share my story of abandoning unhealthy American food and going back to my roots, literally. But I would not. The truth is that after spending 2 years (guess where) in Alabama I lost one size and now I am a tiny size 00. I have never been in a better shape. The reason: I looked around and tagged along Alabamians at what Americans are the best: sports and organic food. There are lots of organic food stores and you can get great personal training for a very affordable price. Now that I moved to Paris I can see the difference, and I prefer my "D1" work - outs to those of the "Vit'Halles" '.
I remember when my dear chubby American friend asked me what do I do to stay so thing and young and I replied "Watch your diet," munching on a piece of bread spread with 100% fat homemade butter. It was organic, of course.
My point is that in some places people insist more on having fresh food and the food industry has to comply. In some countries it is commonplace to buy directly from the farmer, which and almost impossible in the US. Food produced by big corporations and fast food chains is packed with chemicals that affect your weight and health. So watch your diet and you will not have to travel to France/Japan to lose weight.
Book Review: New Twist on an Old Story
Summary: 3 Stars
It would be unfair to mislead a prospective reader into thinking that this book contains a secret they haven't heard before. Sorry, but this charming frenchwoman hits upon two weight loss strategies we already knew: self-discipline and exercise. The exercise part might be missed by some if they fail to consider what the author describes of her profession, which keeps her tremendously busy and on the move. Because she enjoys her life and what she does so enthusiastically (just like some sports trainers we all know) one can almost fail to notice how much racing around this woman is doing. As for the self-discipline, here she's very direct. The french culture is characterized by daily shopping for groceries (and, I might add, french markets sell many products in smaller quantities than our american stores) as well as a national obsession with fresher food, but the author makes no secret that she regularly has to dine out in restaurants for business reasons and often has little access to healthy snacks when her work goes into overtime. Her suggestions for being prepared for these diet-foiling situations can be truly helpful and healthful. Still, there is no getting around that she forces herself to make many low calorie eating choices while watching everyone else at the table order the torte chocolat. Quelle bore! I was nevertheless glad I purchased this book for it's friendly reinforcement and encouraging style. Learning a little more of the french culture wasn't too bad either.The author is a woman's woman and her book is an entertaining writer.Book Review: A touch of arrogance
Summary: 3 Stars
Having just returned from France, I can say that this book is undeniably written from that French point of view of extreme cultural pride, sometimes to the point of arrogance. I didn't read this book for dieting tips, I was simply curious as to how a French woman explained the "french paradox". Mireille's tone throughout the book is a bit stuck-up, and sometimes hypocritical. She criticizes diet books for their focus on eating just one food for days at a time, and then tells her readers to spend a weekend eating nothing but leek soup. She also completely over generalizes about both the French and American cultures. I took issue with her claim that the French drink little tea, except tisanes, because while I was in France my host family drank black tea all the time, and the super markets' varieties of black tea is further evidence of its presence in the food culture. But the one sentence that finally convinced me to write this review was "The French are probably the world's biggest soup drinkers." Now that is just completely wrong. I guess Mireille has never read about or sampled Korean cuisine, where soup is served at just about every single meal.
I recommend this book for the recipes and the over-all French eating philosophy (in the first chapter), but the unapologetic cultural bias of this book makes it often hypocritical.