French Women Don’t Get Fat and a gift of non-vintage champagne are sitting on my dining table, about to be illuminated by the morning sun.
I plan to re-enter Mireille Guiliano’s food story and her world of NOURISHING leek soup, DAILY walks to the market, buying and cooking ONLY ENOUGH for today, TAKING TIME to be conscious and enjoy your food, always MOVING, walking, taking the stairs instead of the elevator – effective strategies for an inspiring change of pace as spring arrives and we all want to get outside, refresh the closet, and store or give away the heavy winter clothes.
I first saw this little gem of a book on my friend’s bedside table; I was cat- and catering company-sitting for her while she went to a family reunion. Unfamiliar with French women writers, I thought this would be light, probably superficial, reading. Not so.
There is real wisdom here as she tells her story of coming to America as a young woman to study, and then having to suffer humiliation and the consternation of her family when she returned to France, fat and unhealthy after two years of SAD, our standard American diet. What to do?
The mirror is telling me that this would be a very good time to revisit the principles of healthy eating she shares, with a spring fast and a glass of champagne!
Ah! I like Champagne, but it doesn’t like me. I don’t do “sparkling” except in my wardrobe: Fizzy and Cold and Indu have learned to respect each other from a distance. I will always choose warm or room temperature good food and drink, but I love the spirit of her writing, and I like good wines. The author of this book, longtime spokesperson, president and CEO of Champagne Veuve Clicquot, Mme. Guiliano is very informative about how French women enjoy wine often and sparingly and always with food, looking askance at our American way of guzzling great quantities of chilled Chardonnay by itself, or before a meal.
Now that spring is here, I’m listening to my body, feeling the energy waking up: time to dial down the jars of hearty homemade soup and open up to another kind of bounty. I’ll continue to steam and saute as I don’t do well on a raw foods diet; in summer, I’ll add a little salad and those gorgeous ripe stone fruits. But for now, more glorious vegetables – perhaps no grains at all – occasional beans in a soup, very well cooked – and I am going to try Tom Franco’s super green drink.
My artist friend Tom of the Berkeley Firehouse Collective cultivates a natural flow of energy and support for his work with the practice of meditation and the right food. He made his Green Drink for us in a Vita-Mix – it was so yummy: kale, chard, spinach, mustard greens (any dark leafy greens) with a good olive oil, flaxseed oil, nuts, and fruits to make it taste good. That day he had pineapple and berries.
Tom spoke about taking his consciousness higher and having a day filled with creative energy, inspiration and joyful productivity. Now who wouldn’t want some of that?
So here we go, Effective – and Simple – Strategies for a Spring Change of Pace:
- WALK every day to my favorite whole foods market
- SELECT just the right amount of fresh organic produce and other foods for today’s meals. No “week’s worth of groceries”, so the walk back up the hill won’t be too hard, either.
- MAKE the Super Green Drink (and this may replace our regular home consumption of dark leafy greens cooked in organic chicken stock with ginger and garlic, TBD)
- ENJOY walking, I do.
- Enjoy food shopping, I do.
- Enjoy preparing your food, I do.
- Enjoy eating – I do!
- Leek Soup for 48 hours – slightly diuretc and very nourishing, full of essential vitamins and minerals, then Steamed or Sautéed Vegetables – read on to find out what else, and
- Enjoy a small glass of very nice wine
Sante, mes amis.
