Ranskattaret eivät liho keittokirja

by Mireille Guiliano, Tarja Kontro (translator)

With French Women Don’t Get Fat, Mireille Guiliano wrote the ultimate non-diet book on how to enjoy food and stay slim and became a publishing phenomenon. In her first ever cookbook, she provides her millions of readers with the recipes that are the cornerstone of her philosophy—mouthwatering, simply prepared dishes that favor fresh, seasonal ingredients and yield high satisfaction.

Organized around Mireille’s three favorite pastimes—breakfast, lunch, and dinner—these recipes emphasize pure flavors, balanced ingredients, and easy cooking methods. Eating pleasurably is just as important as eating healthfully, and Mireille does not neglect dessert and chocolate (essential components of any Frenchwoman’s diet) and incorporates advice on entertaining, menu planning, and wine selection. And once again, Mireille offers tips and tricks to magically reduce one’s waistline.

Filled with stories from Mireille’s childhood in France, her life in Paris, Provence, and New York, and her extensive travels and meals for business and enjoyment, The French Women Don’t Get Fat Cookbook is a beautiful, practical lifestyle guide to living well, eating wonderfully, and getting the most out of life with the least amount of stress.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Nonfiction, Food, Health, France, Self Help

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Internationally best-selling author Mireille Guiliano was for over 20 years the spokesperson for Champagne Veuve Clicquot and a senior executive at LVMH as well as CEO of Clicquot, Inc., the US firm she helped found in 1984 and was its first employee. Her first book, French Women Don't Get Fat: The Secret of Eating for Pleasure, became a runaway best seller around the globe in 2005. She followed up this book in fall 2006 with French Women for All Seasons: A Year of Secrets, Recipes and Pleasure. In both, through her personal stories and illustrations, she espouses living life to the fullest by embracing quality, sensitivity, seasonality and pleasure while maintaining a healthy equilibrium.

In September 2008, Hilary Swank's production company bought the film rights to French Women Don't Get Fat; the plan is to make a romantic comedy with Mireille's famous French lifestyle message. The script is being adapted and should be ready soon. Stay tuned!

Please visit her book's website at:
http://www.frenchwomendontgetfat.com

Reviews

[Nicole Harkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to 2/3rds of this book at least a year ago. Stuck on the plane back from Berlin on Saturday I finished the book. On the second go I liked the book a lot more. The author is a French woman who has lived in America for 30 years. In college she put on some weight and was sent to her doctor. Whether this really happened or not, Dr. Miracle serves the important role of explaining to the author and the reader the mysteries of how French women eat.

So the bottom line you ask? Eat anything you want, in moderation and walk a lot, and by a lot I mean three times as much as you do now.

Her tips, however practical, hit home. For instance she suggests carrying an en-cas, or emergency snack. This keeps her from splurging on some unplanned candy bar and pacifies her when she feels hungry, because she knows always has a snack.

One of my favorite chapters talks about the importance of chocolate and bread in your diet, again only eat the best, and in moderation. “French women don’t eat Wonder Bread.”

In Berlin last week I wore a pedometer. I have been wearing it in DC for four months. My daily step goal is 10,000 steps, but in DC I average 8,000. In Berlin I took at least 15,000 steps daily and one day took 25,000 steps (a.k.a. 10 miles). I loved it. I felt so good. I am going to work on walking more. The author talks about taking the stairs, parking in the furthest parking spot, and trying to incorporate movement into your daily life. She might be right in thinking the machines at the gym are vestiges of our Puritanical history, and serve only to punish us in front of our community.

After listening to the audio book, I bought the hardcover book which contains some very cute little illustrations and French recipes to try. I plan to try the yogurt recipe in the book tomorrow.

I must say I saw the book as more of a fad then anything I might really like, but I was wrong. She offers solid permanent life changing options to help us all look a little more French.

[Andreea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I took this book without research thinking it's a chick-lit. I was disappointing when I realized it's actually a "diet book", but decided to give it a chance in any case.

It's not a diet book like your typical diet book, it's more of a "life and diet book" as it comes with lots of helpful things. There are no drastic diet changes, just some obvious rules like don't eat and watch tv and diets are not a healthy way to lose weight.

So why did I like this book so much despite talking about things I knew? I think I liked the author a lot and the fact that it's a book that had all the obvious things in the same place. Sure, there are many things I disagreed with like her repulse towards exercise but to each her own. And my favourite thing? Indulge in things that give you pleasure, but learn moderation and who wouldn't love a diet book that doesn't ban chocolate and pastry?

[Jean Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book makes me angry every summer when I come home to Kansas after 3 months feasting in France. Mireilled Guiliano may have gained 20 lbs as a teen eating chocolate-chip cookies and brownies in the U.S., but I gain ten pounds EVERY summer in France. It's all so incredibly yummy--such depth and subtlety of flavor in every recipe, and such variety at every meal. All washed down with the most delectable wines. How can anyone not get fat?

I used to go to WEight Watchers in Bergerac (named after the swashbuckling lover), and believe me, there were lots of "rondes" there.

I really like Guiliano's book, but I don't think she was playing fair. Plus, she should know that there are chocolate chip cookies and brownies for sale at most big weekly markets.

[Emerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes! Someone is saying it the way it is. Okay, except for the title. because french women DO get fat, especially after 40, but probably a far fewer percentage and less drastically than in america. that's for sure!

Her story is great, and her perspective and philosophy on eating is even BETTER. I have always desired to be someone who eats for pleasure but have caught myself binging and eating while standing and stuffing my face without being able to really taste the food.

Today i had a breakthrough and enjoyed the food i made as much as i wanted to enjoy it and i feel like i grew past old issues in that moment :)

[Mikayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful insight in the art of understanding what you put into your body will always affect who you are as a person. These manifestations come in all shapes and sizes and loving who you what you are both inside and out is a key aspect of Mireille Guiluiano's cookbook. However, this isn't merely a cookbook but a inspirational manual for any person to use in their every day life and whenever they want to prepare not only old favorites, but exciting new dishes and meals. The art of mindful eating was one of the main takeaways I drew from this book. As for the recipe's themselves, there are some delightful gems. The potato leek soup is a wonderful dish to re-balance your goals and understand the foundations of eating well and with a mindfulness.

[Libraryassistant · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the first book, and it had a lot of good ideas. This has a lot of tasty sounding recipes which are not necessarily diet and which are accompanied by many more stories and tips.
The chapter on the delight and healthfulness of champagne was refreshing.

[Leah Hanley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I waver between wanting to give this 3.5 stars or a solid 4, but since half stars are not allowed it gets 4. I love most of these recipes. Although I haven't cooked through most of them yet I can tell by reading them that they embody simple yet full, rounded flavors. What I love about the recipes themselves is that she approaches them from preparation through plating and presentation. I also enjoy her brief introductions to some of them, and in that light this cookbook does read somewhat like a memoir. Another bonus is a full chapter on creating menus, and without that it would not have hit home how integral wine is in the French dining experience. It's integral to the point that there is an entire chapter devoted to educating you on Champagne. (When there are only 8 chapters and one is for Champagne, that really makes a statement.) And another thing worth noting is the layout of the recipes is refreshingly well thought out and useful. Each recipe has its own page, which leaves quite a bit of blank space for note taking, the ingredients and instructions are well laid out, and she does well to include how to prep the ingredients IN the list (usually) instead of in the instructions. The color choices are playful, but the art loses me a little.

Things I don't like include the organization of recipes, her dieting advice (she's not a health professional and I was interested in this book to learn about French standards and mindsets toward food, not French dieting tricks), and her love for the word "magic." I would have preferred a more logical grouping of recipes, say by protein/ingredient or type of dish. She does explain why she grouped them by meal, but even her explanation about making lunch dishes work for dinner and vice versa contradicted her reasoning. The organization itself was what knocks it down an extra half star. And lastly there were a handful of times where her food science was a little off or I didn't agree with the exclusion of an ingredient substitution. For example, almost all accessible wasabi is actually horseradish died green, so why not just list horseradish instead? And after 3 hours your meat will not benefit from any longer marinating so why insist on marinating meat for 24 hours? Just little things like that.

But overall I would like to keep this book in my repertoire because the food speaks for itself. And I have to say, I am a big fan of the MBC. It's delicious.

[Maze Branch Oak Park Public Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again, a lovely way to spend an afternoon...eating and discussing our way through a cookbook. The What's Cooking group tends to enjoy cookbooks that feature photos more than those that do not. However, we made an exception for this cookbook.

Overall, we found the recipes easy to follow, and the ingredients easy to find. The recipes are ideal for weeknight cooking with many preparation times in the 30-45 minute range.

We tasted the following recipes...

- Pumpkin and Apple Soup - this was the recipe that everyone made at home, and we were all in agreement that we enjoyed it the least. We found it bland.
- Savory Flammekueche - bacon pizza - 'nuf said. Oh so delicious...there were absolutely no leftovers!
- Grated Fruit and Veggie Slaw - a unique taste sensation - crunchy, chewy, sweet and sour. Most of us liked it; a couple of us weren't crazy about it.
- Cauliflower with Capers - a nice side dish
- Farfalle with Yogurt Basil Sauce - no one loved this recipe, and no one hated it. It was bland.
- Chocolate Madeleines - the baker was having trouble with her oven, so some of the madeleines were over-cooked. Mixed reviews.
- (Eggless) Chocolate Mousse with Cardamom and Pistachios - a lovely, creamy chocolate treat
- Stuffed Zucchini - we really enjoyed this spicy treat.
- Yogurt and Oatmeal Cake with Coffee Ice Cream - very moist cake/great for breakfast

Guiliano offers balanced advice on eating well but with balance and discipline. Very similar to Weight Watchers.

[Ayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful concept of eating for enjoyment!
Like most people in the US we are all busy trying to multi task, we don't take time to enjoy our food, it is usually eaten before the tv or while reading the newspaper, we become out of touch with the sensual pleasure food can impart. Mirelle advises us to enjoy each bite , becoming satied with the food not just gobbling it up. She includes wine, and allows for chocolate (in small portions) she offers diversity in foods , most Americans eat a limited amount of fruits and vegetables on a daily basis, try to include more. I love her receipes, I tried her leek soup and found I really enjoy them, they have a taste similar to asparagus when boiled and lightly buttered! She suggests wine at lunch and dinner, wine, especially red is full of anti-oxidents and has been shown to reduce cholestral in blood. her receipes are back to unprocessed verses all the frozen diet foods rich in hidden sodium and sucrose.
If you are ready to look at your relationship with food and willing to change your eating habits, then I highly recommend this book as a easy to understand and enjoyable way at looking at food!

[Emily Kestrel]

My cookbook shelf is over flowing again, which means time to do a clean out. I always start with books I’ve never cooked from, like this one. And then I flip through all the recipes, basically just looking for a reason to keep the book. In this case, not one single thing popped out at me.

Honestly, even if I wasn’t cooking mostly vegan/vegetarian these days (which this book definitely is not), most of these recipes just don’t sound appealing. Even the things I “could” eat sound kinda weird, like...leek and zucchini salad or beet and ginger gazpacho. Maybe these things are delicious, but I am not tempted to try them.

The one recipe I want to make is the ratatouille. But that’s easy enough to find elsewhere.

So this book is going into the donation box. I’m not rating it because I don’t think that’s fair when I haven’t actually tried to cook anything. It’s more a case of buyer’s remorse for picking up something that’s so clearly not for me.

[Andee Nero · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up because I recently started eating regular breakfasts and this has an enormous list of easy-to-make ideas. Although it doesn't advertise itself as such, the recipes in this book are composed of simple, basic ingredients and require little prep-work. Most of the recipes have four or less steps and about the same number of ingredients. The focus is on combining the flavors of different fresh foods on a plate, rather than on dumping an entire spice rack into a pot, which I think is really interesting. I'm particularly drawn to goat cheese recipes. There are a lot of flavor combinations with goat cheese that I'm curious to try, although not necessarily in tartines or whatever particular recipe she uses them in. I'm less interested in her miracle weight loss recipes, so I glossed over those and won't be trying them any time soon.

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed Mireille Guiliana's first book "French Women Don't Get Fat" but this cookbook seemed like a stale collection of her anecdotes from the original book, with some recipes thrown in. Since I read her other book, I tired of hearing the tale of how American carbohydrates made her fat and French leek soup saved her waistline. While it offers up a sensible eating plan (fresh, healthy, homemade, smaller portions) it offers nothing new. After waxing poetic for an indulgent number of pages about her glamourous aunt's secret recipe for "summer diet breakfast creme" only to find out that the secret recipe is your basic yogurt and fruit I decided I'd had my fill of "French Women."

[Norma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this book. Guiliano's food philosophy is easy to adopt. (I've also read her other books) I think my outlook was already similar. I've also been introduced to some new foods. I really like leeks! One drawback to this cookbook is the use of foods that I don't know. It took me awhile to realize that haricots verts are green beans!! There are also ingredients that would be hard to find locally.

Recipes I've tried and liked: Leeks Mozzarella, Roasted Chicken with Endives, and Magical Breakfast Cream.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sort of annoying that the book characterizes French women as so much more SENSUAL and IN TOUCH WITH THEMSELVES, when actually, they're just dysfunctional in a different way:

http://jezebel.com/5568997/french-wom...

But, I did like the simple recipes the book offers, and I've been finding that consciously savoring and enjoying the SHIT out of everything I put in my mouth = fun. You know, instead of mindlessly chawing on something while responding to work emails.

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the French Women Don't Get Fat Book, and the cookbook is nice too, but the recipes call for some ingredients that I don't usually use - lots of them call for creme fraiche - and I can sub sour cream for that, but it seems rather fattening to me - and I realize the author stresses small quantities of yummy food, but still. She also highly recommends the champagne that she is CEO of the company for. I found that in the store recently. Waaay above my budget. Maybe she can send me a free sample?

[Min · Rating 3 out of 5]

After greatly enjoying her first book, French Women Don't Get Fat, and their sequels, I hoped to find her recipes easily cataloged without flipping through narrative.
Regrettably, this is not the case. There are a few of the classics such as Magical Leek Soup that spearheads her suggested "recasting" of one's diet, and lifestyle, yet, much of what is within these pages are new recipes.
It is lovely having even more deletions to expand one's repertoire for healthy delicious foods and beverages. Although, I still hope for a compilation of what is in her previous books.

[Freda Mans-Labianca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book, and one I am eager to try some more from. Though I adapted the recipe, the content was still the same for the most part. All I changed was the zucchini to peppers. My palate preferred it.
I don't get the title, really, even if it is cute. All women can get fat. Even off the recipes in this. Good thing the title don't make the book.
Not going on the top of my list, but surely no where close to the bottom either.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I typically don't review the cookbooks that I read, but this had so much non-cooking info that it's worthwhile. I didn't read her first book (French Women Don't Get Fat), but plan to now. She wrote very conversationally, and her advice was practical. I liked that the recipes focused on eating fresh and healthy - it's the first diet cookbook I've seen that doesn't include calorie counts! And the illustrations are great.

[Greta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting recipes throughout the book; I haven't read the original book, but I would have liked to see a little bit more of that sprinkled throughout the recipes. There were no images in this cookbook either, but most of the recipes were either on one page or across a 2-page spread for easy reference. The "Magic Breakfast Cream" is something I had while in France - variations of this seem to be popular throughout Europe.

[Jonelle Tiffany Boulter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't realize this was a cookbook. There were lots of recipes, but I really appreciated Guiliano's advice.
I loved that she was able to discover how to enjoy her favorite foods, eat fresh and in season, shop often, prepare a meal to last for several meals, and hints to avoid overeating.
Very worth while.

Parental Warning: Anyone can read this. There is some chapters about Alcohol. I don't drink, but this should be directed for those who can.

[Charlotte Gerber · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and the recipes. I've made just about all of the recipes included, though some I enjoyed more than others. I'm not a huge fan of cooked onion broth, but I have to admit it did work to lose a few pounds. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to make a change in their diet and is serious about it. Most of the items in the recipes are easily found at local grocery stores with a decent produce department.

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

The French have a culinary discipline that I admire. This book will change the way you approach each meal. It will make you conscious of what you put in your mouth. You will become a connoisseur. Eating in a hurry or on the run will become passe. You will feel better and look better.
Bon Appetit!

[Pam · Rating 1 out of 5]

French women don't get fat and are also apparently not even vaguely humble. I found this book just irritated me from the get go. Lots of advice that was just common sense that I have read in many other books of this nature. The difference being that the other books did not also come with the condescending tone of the author.

[Viktoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. She is an easy to read author. Even when you may be thinking I can put this down for now you may end up reading on. Definitely worth reading if you are interested in eating basic human health food without concerning yourself if you fit into one obvious category, such as vegan, vegetarian, carnivore, etc. Pure and simple with fats, sweets, and wines in moderation.

[ElizaBeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got a lot of helpful tips from this funny little book that I still incorporate into my daily life years later (like drinking a glass of water 30 minutes before a meal but not while eating). And it validated my belief that champagne is an all-the-time beverage, not something to reserve for special occasions!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favourite recipe in this book is the 'miracle breakfast cream' which is divine, and I loved it every morning until I had our second baby! Then I don't have much time for mixing up miracle creams in the morning! Maybe I should write a book - Australian Women with Two Young Boys Don't Have Time To Get Fat!

[Laura Abadie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every young woman 'should' read this book before stepping into the world of business, and preferably, before leaving high school. Packed full of common sense, and centered advice for how a woman can behave, live, and think, like a lady in today's society. ...and then there's the advice on maintaining a healthy weight, for life.

[Jennie · Rating 3 out of 5]

You'll find no pictures in this no-frills book but the content is better than most.

Mireille approaches the french diet with light fare as well as kitchen tips and body health like lots of water and walking. Cooking is the reward for shopping she says, something I had never really thought of before.

Check it out!

[Brandi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I do not know what I expected of this book, but whatever it was, I didn't get it. I gave up without finishing the book, not wishing to read more about how superior the author felt French women are to others. I just didn't care.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can see where people read this and it provides one of those life-changes - her advice is practical, and beyond the weekend of the Magical Leek Soup anyone can follow her "diet". I've already bookmarked several of her recipes and am reconsidering my pantry.