BOOK REVIEW – French Kids Eat Everything

Where do I begin on this one? I mean, I have made a career out of making fun of the French. Their military, their socialist tendencies, their humanist points of view, the fact that they are anti-American, their elitist mentality in everything, and their culture. Well, all of their culture except their food of course….

Ah yes, the French and their food. No matter how inferior the French are in so many other aspects of society ;), one thing they have contributed (OK they have contributed a lot of things) is their views on food.  Auguste Escoffier set out to create the modern restaurant kitchens, and the now-classic French cooking methods. He introduced a robust sense of order, discipline, and almost military-like culture (oui Chef!) in the kitchens and instilled an expectation of excellence that is followed and respected today.

Brillat-Savarin, also of French heritage, was the founder of the “gastronomic essay.”  One of the first ever peple to write about food, its role culture and how to eat and appreciate it.

The French have taught us their classic sauces, how to roast and braise meat, bake bread, turn dessert into artwork, make custards, cremes, and so many more culinary techniques. They didn’t pioneer all of these things, rather, they formalized it, and taught the rest of the world why and how to appreciate it. They have their haute cuisine, gourmet lifestyle, the “paradox,” and why their kids seem to grow up less finicky about food. They seem to know something that we in the US do not.

I honestly don’t remember where I heard about this book, French Kids Eat Everything: How Our Family Moved to France, Cured Picky Eating, Banned Snacking, and Discovered 10 Simple Rules for Raising Happy, Healthy Eaters, but when I read the title I knew I had to read it. My big boys are not that picky (although Jackson can be…) and have been known to have lunch-table discusssions at their schools about lots of food they have eaten with me, mesmerizing anyone that would listen, about “foreign” foods like dumplings from Taiwan, grape leaf wrapped sticky rice in a Dim Sum meal, a steaming bowl of Pho, the difference between food from Italy and the food that Italian-American immigrants are known for and so on.  They know what challah, a boule and what a batard  is. Most parents have commented on how they are adventurous in eating and so on, and I simply tell them that it is because I exposed them to a lot of flavors every night at home, as well as when we are able to eat out and about. Simple as that. They have followed my lead (read: for the most part).

I have noticed, however, that many of the children in Suburb, USA around us have a hard time eating a lot of different foods. Some kids will only eat white food (milk, white cheese, pasta, etc.). While others won’t eat the food unless their is a cartoon character attached to the packaging (SpongeBob likes it, you will too!). Still others complain about spice, even black pepper. A lot of kids want their crusts cut off of their sandwiches. And the beat goes on.

So even though I was fairly secure in my food choices for my kids, especially when younger, I wanted to get some insight into the French. I was hoping that this book and the author, would show me through personal pain and gain what it was like to be an American in France (married to a Frenchman too!) and how her two daughters would respond. I was not disappointed.

The book was funny, honest, straightforward, insecure, and educational. The author was frank about her exchanges with her in-laws, other moms at school, teachers, and the community. She was also very upfront about her own kids, their reactions, tantrums, and emotional outbursts throughout their food in France journey.  I really enjoyed the family insights, but I also really enjoyed the the cultural and governmental policies that were shared. Things like what public shcool children would eat at lunch time, how their food “pyramid” differed from ours in the US, and other insights into France’s public policy. Of course a book about the French wouldh’t be complete unless there was plenty of ridicule directed at us Americans.

It goes without saying, that we have a lot to learn from the French in this arena. Sure, they probably always need us to teach them how to be soldiers, or get a man on the moon, and maybe the fact that they all take so much time off of work is why they appreciate all of our American technology, but one thing they have absolutely mastered, is why and how to eat, and then how to teach that to our children.

Here are the 10 tips for your child to eat like the French kids do taken directly from the book (with a little comment or two from me after).

1. French Food Rule #1 – Parents: YOU are in charge of your children’s food education. Me: This goes without saying right? Wrong. Too many parents in the US allow their kids to dictate what and when they eat. Kids should eat what parents eat and when parents eat. Don’t buy too many things from the frozen section at Costco just because you know that little Susie Chapstick will love it and you can avoid a tantrum. Bad on you!
2. French Food Rule #2 – Avoid Emotional Eating. Me: Hey, we all do it. When we are sad, mad, or glad, we eat.  That isn’t what they are saying though. You SHOULD celebrate with food but the French clarify that food is never a pacifier, a distraction, a toy, a bribe, a reward, or a substitute for discipline. Whew.
3. French Food Rule #3 – Parents schedule meals and menus.  Me: On demand feeding is NOT a French principle. Kids are to eat what the adults eat and there should never be substitutes or short-order cooking. We all know that a lot of American families cook separate food items for their little kids because they don’t think, or make, their kids eat what mom and dad eat. Shame shame.
4. French Food Rule #4 – Food is social. The French teach that you should eat family meals at a table with no distractions. Me: Eating in front of the TV is mostly a US phenomenon and most of us would agree that it is a bad habit.  Ronald Reagan said that “All great change begins at the family dinner table.” Can’t add much to that.
5. French Food Rule #5 – Eat vegetables of all colors in the rainbow. Me: one of the best things I ever did for my kids was introduce vegetables with similar names, yet different colors. Heirloom tomatoes, multi-colored carrots and potatoes, and so forth. Look, my kids still don’t like a ton of veg, but they eat it (again, still working with Jack) and even like certain veg more than others. For example, they really don’t like broccoli or squash, but when I roast it with a little olive oil and salt and pepper and garlic, it takes on a new experience.  The fact that the US is such a melting pot of cultures has a certain advantage in that we have a lot of  additional options our kids can be exposed to.
6. French Food Rule #6 – You don’t have to like it, but you do have to eat it.  Me: Back to rule 3, parents are in charge. Make your kids taste/try ALL of the foods you serve. This is good for their palette but even better for their attitudes. Kids remember….
7. French Food Rule #7 – Limit snacks. One per day (two max). Me: I am REALLY BAD at this one. I let my kids snack a ton. Why? Because I do. I am a bad role model. I love salty and sweet snacks later in the evening. At the office, when  the boss bring bagels, or doughnuts, or cookies, or veggies, or whatever…I eat them. I don’t stop very well either. Got to work on this.  I think the reason the French do this is so that the kids are just a tad more hungry going into the next full meal. If you are hungry, you probably don’t fuss as much about what is being served.
8. French Food Rule #8 – Take your time for both cooking and eating. Slow food is happy food.  Me: I really like this one. Several people in the community ask me why I go through so much trouble to cook each night, or especially when friends and family are over, only to have had the meal devoured so soon after.  I love to cook. I love the process, the zen-like experience, and it provides me great joy. Very few things leave me more satisfied than cooking a meal that people thoroughly enjoy.
9. French Food Rule #9 – Eat mostly, real, homemade food and save treats for special occasions.  Me: I like treats and I have a hard time not wanting a treat after each meal. We are creatures of habit, and another bad habit I have is wanting a snack, usually sweet, in the afternoons during work. Not sure how or why that happened but now I can almost set the clock to it as around 3:00 PM, I start thinking of sugar.  We eat mostly homemade food around the house and very little of it is processed. This was a long journey to reshape my pantry and fridge but the transformation is almost complete. I do splurge on Oreos and Peanut Butter Captain Crunch though. The knock off and “healthier” alternatives just aren’t good enough.
10. French Food Rule #10 – Eating is joyful, not stressful.  Me: This is a good one. Too many Americans treat eating, snacking, shopping for food, as a chore or a time where we struggle with guilt. There is literally no other country that is as obsessed with their weight, size, looks, diets, and fads then we are here in the US. It is pretty pathetic really.

Again, I don’t want the US to become France…in anything. But I am grateful for their culinary heritage, and the way they raise their children with respect to food.

Relax. Eat. Drink. Enjoy.