This little infographic made me realize that I have a pretty toxic relationship with food. At times I restrict, and then I overindulge, and I never truly know what to eat so I almost always end up unsatisfied and bloated. Unfortunately my way of eating is also to pretend that I'm in some kind of race. Like someone told me there's a prize at the bottom of the bowl and I have to get to it first. (Usually, by the time the opening credits of The Office are over, so is my meal. It's a problem.)
So I think that maybe adopting the "French" way of eating, or rather just developing a healthier relationship with food, could be beneficial. Because I want to eat with intention and purpose, dammit! I want to fall in love with each floret of broccoli, each red pepper flake on my plate! And I want to look like Juliette Binoche while I'm doing it. Is that so much to ask?
Here I've narrowed down the "rules" to the ones that resonated with me the most:
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1. Limit Snacking
In French culture, it’s okay to be hungry between meals. In a way, the meal becomes more rewarding and ceremonial if you’ve been looking forward to it for a few hours. This is not to say that snacking cannot happen at all, it's unavoidable (especially for me) but it is not supposed to be a "graze all day" situation. And a "snack" choice is certainly not supposed to be something processed + packed with sugar like a Clif Bar. (No offense Clif Bar but 22g of sugar is naht healthy.) Grab a banana or a yogurt, your body will thank you for it.2. Mindful Eating
Mindful eating means that you consider your emotions to determine if you are actually hungry or if there's something else going on, before reaching for the Halo Top. Take a moment to self reflect. Are you bored? Are you upset? Are you just thirsty? Food is not going to fix these things. (And neither is buying things I don't need off Amazon Prime at 11 at night, but that's another blog post for another time...)Mindful eating also means sitting down to enjoy your food at a table, not eating on the go/in a car/in a hurry/on a couch in front of the TV. Even when out to eat at a restaurant, the act of eating shouldn't be treated like a task that you're accomplishing - it should be a pleasurable event. Take your time. Chew slowly. Put your fork down between bites. Split the dessert. Amusez-vous bien! (Enjoy yourself!)
3. Quality > Quantity
Eat good, satisfying food but don't overindulge. Say no to" all-you-can-eat buffets" and "super-size's". French cuisine often involves butter, bread + dairy (all thing we've been trained to stay away from) and yet obesity doesn't run rampant in France the way it does in America.Give yourself a healthy portion size, not a heaping portion. Don't go in in for seconds or thirds. Have a few squares of good quality dark chocolate, not an entire bag of m + m's. Find balance. Skip the bread basket at dinner, but get the pasta dish, don't have both.
4. Enjoy The Process
Take pleasure and pride in what you choose to feed and nourish your body with. Try to switch from "what am I going to eat?" as a saying laced with dread and annoyance, to one of excitement and joy. Talk about what you're going to make, take care with selecting the ingredients. Buy only what you need for the next day or two so there's no possibility of waste or "back of the fridge" mystery items.The food you purchase should have a short shelf life. It should be real and perishable, not highly processed and able to withstand the apocalypse. Keep things exciting and new. Improvise and experiment. Thumb-through a beautifully made cookbook rather than frantically scrolling through Pinterest. Choose things in season. Cook with someone you love.
5. Lunch > Dinner
In French culture, (and other cultures it would seem too) the largest meal is eaten at lunchtime and dinner is typically lighter and later in the evening. It's actually easier for our bodies to digest food during the day, while we're active and awake, rather than late at night while our bodies are winding down. And it has been researched that consuming a large meal late at night, so close to when you sleep, can actually be detrimental for your health overall.Doesn't treating yourself to a well made meal and a restorative break in the middle of the workday sound much more enjoyable and romantic than shoveling down an overpriced cafeteria salad while at your desk? (May have done that today. Not proud.) And eating a large lunch will actually help deter that afternoon slump of low energy and the I-can't-possibly-work-anymore-is-it-5-yet-oh-god-its-only 2:30-feeling, which always leads to poor snacking decisions.
6. Make It Special
This one goes along with the "mindfulness" bit, in that you should make eating a pleasurable experience. Use real silverware, real bowls, real napkins. (This is also good for the environment, bonus points.) Pour your drink out into a glass, don't drink from a bottle or can. Think about what you are eating, smell + savor every bite. Play some music. Arrange the meal in a beautiful way. Enjoy the company you're with, enjoy your own company.I think we can all benefit from making the tiny moments in life more romantic and beautiful. Slowing down, enjoying life for what it is while it's happening. Otherwise life will just pass us by and moments will blend into one another and we'll feel constantly in a state of ennui (discontentment, boredom, displeasure). Sure there'll be more dishes to do in the end, but I think it's worth it for your self (and for the planet really) in the long run.
And shouldn't we all be invested in our own "long run"? We should enjoy every single moment and not rush through life just trying to get to the next moment and then the next. (She says as she listens to a podcast, while writing a blog post, and intermittently scrolling through Instagram. *Sigh* I'm working on it okay?)
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The French way of eating relies on a balance of making good choices, in healthy quantities, and taking pleasure in the occasion.
My eating habits now consist of snacking on various bits all day long, at my desk, until I go home and overindulge on a much too large dinner that I don't even pay attention to because I can't tear my eyes away from my 200th viewing of Jim and Pam's wedding episode. Where 's the pleasure in that?
So if you're looking for me, I'll be over here practicing my Parisian-diet and singing to my baguette a la Anna Karina in Une Femme Est Une Femme.
