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Published: October 10th 2007
There is such a substantial difference in the way people think about health here and in the States. We have pills and special powders and bars and shakes and support groups. I would be lying if I said those things do not exist here, but they are far less prevalent. Instead, on every snack food - every bag of chips, every package of cookies, every can of Coke - is a label that says two things: (1) limit intake of snack/junk food; (2) do not eat between meals. Those things are written without fail, just like warning labels about moderate consumption of alcohol are on every can of beer and the Surgeon General’s words of warning appear on every package of cigarettes.
Since mealtimes are also social times and time to spend with those you love, they tend - lunch especially - to last a couple hours and be quite filling. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day, so there is no need for an afternoon snack before dinner. Meals are also substantially more balanced here. Even school lunches have an entrée, a plat, and a dessert. There are vegetables, meats, cheeses… and dessert is usually a yogurt or a bowl of fruit, unless it’s a special occasion.
When I went to have lunch in the cafeteria of my school with the Directeur, we had a salad with a light vinaigrette dressing, a tiny slice of quiche lorraine, an omelette with bacon and ham, and three peach halves in syrup for dessert. There are also water pitchers in the cafeteria, and everyone generally just has water with lunch. There is also milk and flavored water available.
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Beau
non-member comment
Temptations
I bet we could eventually get into the habit of eating as well as the french if we didn't have all the temptations that we do...and i imagine that money is the only reason we have those temptations, dontcha think? people know that they can make money by making/selling all this horribly uunhealthy food because they know people will buy them. I still ultimately blame the people who buy it though, because there's nothing wrong with having every option in the world available, only with the choices you make...but anyways, here's hoping the french never give themselves as many options as we give ourselves. it just makes things easier that way. =)