There’s something magical about the way the French eat food. In France (pardon the generalization), people don’t seem to diet or deprive themselves, they appreciate quality of produce, real ingredients, developed flavours, and they take the time to savour long, lavish meals in an unhurried and sociable way.
I don’t believe there exists a ‘French paradox’, because I don’t believe that rich foods such as cheese and butter are nutritionally unsound (quite the opposite, actually), nor do I think that cholesterol will give you heart disease. So it’s unsurprising to me that the French are ahead of us Australians (and British, Americans and Kiwis) when it comes to avoiding obesity and the associated conditions of nutrition and lifestyle.
The dietary habits of the French are ingrained from infancy, and food appreciation is an integral part of childhood education in French schools. This article by Karen Le Billon,Why French children are happy eaters, says it all. Follow the link to read it in full, as I’ve cherry picked my favourite parts below.
Why French children are happy eaters
By Karen Le Billon, author, French Children Eat Everything
“…My children got the full benefit of a French food education, as well as the elaborate three- or four-course meals on offer at lunchtime, which really surprised me at first. The menus at the school’s canteen were astounding. Every meal begins with a vegetable starter (whether that’s a green leafy salad, grated carrot or beet salad), which is then followed by the main, warm dish, which has a vegetable side. Then there is a cheese course and dessert, which is fresh fruit four times a week and a sweet treat on the fifth. Three- and four-year-olds eat things such as creamed chestnuts, spinach, turkey cordon bleu, mussels, roast guinea fowl, and radish salads.
One of the first things that struck me when we moved was how important food was to the parents. When they would pick their children up they wouldn’t ask what they had learnt that day or whom they had played with, they would ask what they had to eat and whether they enjoyed their lunch. The French teach children to eat just as they would teach them to read. They also put more thought into expanding their children’s palates and teaching them to love new foods (or at least love trying new foods).
But not only was it what they were given to eat but also how they ate. They got 30 minutes to eat and an hour to play afterwards, so lunch is very leisurely and relaxed. There are also staff there to oversee the children and make sure they are eating properly. The children soon learn to encourage one another to try new things; it’s fascinating. By the time they’re seven or eight, French children have become remarkably competent eaters.
In France, school menus follow guidelines set by the French Ministry of National Education. They all follow a set structure. The meals are similar across the country yet they are highly varied because one of the requirements is that you can’t have the same dish more than once every two months. The menus at our local school were typical of these school menus all across France, which goes back to the question of taste: the French believe that children can like strong tastes and they introduce them early on. The French Academy of Paediatricians recommends that the first foods given to babies are not bland cereals but rather things such as leek soup, endive or chard.
Ten years ago, France was going the same way as North America and the UK: it had the greatest number of McDonald’s restaurants of any European country, and kids were eating more snacks and junk food – but it quickly acted. It banned vending machines and fast food and junk food in schools, it tightened the regulation of school lunchrooms, and it implemented a lot of reforms that have resulted in the meals pupils now enjoy.
France has already had a kids’ food revolution and it has now decided that teaching children to eat well is an essential rule of schools, in the classroom and in the lunchroom. I’m hoping that this will happen in other countries. In the meantime, there are lots of things that parents can do to make mealtimes a more enjoyable experience for all. Although healthy eating starts at home, it’s difficult for parents to do this on their own and there needs to be a broader social conversation. But this is a good way to get started and I’m confident that what has occurred in France can happen elsewhere, too.”
The dietary habits of the French are ingrained from infancy, and food appreciation is an integral part of childhood education in French schools. This article by Karen Le Billon,Why French children are happy eaters, says it all. Follow the link to read it in full, as I’ve cherry picked my favourite parts below.
Why French children are happy eaters
By Karen Le Billon, author, French Children Eat Everything
“…My children got the full benefit of a French food education, as well as the elaborate three- or four-course meals on offer at lunchtime, which really surprised me at first. The menus at the school’s canteen were astounding. Every meal begins with a vegetable starter (whether that’s a green leafy salad, grated carrot or beet salad), which is then followed by the main, warm dish, which has a vegetable side. Then there is a cheese course and dessert, which is fresh fruit four times a week and a sweet treat on the fifth. Three- and four-year-olds eat things such as creamed chestnuts, spinach, turkey cordon bleu, mussels, roast guinea fowl, and radish salads.
One of the first things that struck me when we moved was how important food was to the parents. When they would pick their children up they wouldn’t ask what they had learnt that day or whom they had played with, they would ask what they had to eat and whether they enjoyed their lunch. The French teach children to eat just as they would teach them to read. They also put more thought into expanding their children’s palates and teaching them to love new foods (or at least love trying new foods).
But not only was it what they were given to eat but also how they ate. They got 30 minutes to eat and an hour to play afterwards, so lunch is very leisurely and relaxed. There are also staff there to oversee the children and make sure they are eating properly. The children soon learn to encourage one another to try new things; it’s fascinating. By the time they’re seven or eight, French children have become remarkably competent eaters.
In France, school menus follow guidelines set by the French Ministry of National Education. They all follow a set structure. The meals are similar across the country yet they are highly varied because one of the requirements is that you can’t have the same dish more than once every two months. The menus at our local school were typical of these school menus all across France, which goes back to the question of taste: the French believe that children can like strong tastes and they introduce them early on. The French Academy of Paediatricians recommends that the first foods given to babies are not bland cereals but rather things such as leek soup, endive or chard.
Ten years ago, France was going the same way as North America and the UK: it had the greatest number of McDonald’s restaurants of any European country, and kids were eating more snacks and junk food – but it quickly acted. It banned vending machines and fast food and junk food in schools, it tightened the regulation of school lunchrooms, and it implemented a lot of reforms that have resulted in the meals pupils now enjoy.
France has already had a kids’ food revolution and it has now decided that teaching children to eat well is an essential rule of schools, in the classroom and in the lunchroom. I’m hoping that this will happen in other countries. In the meantime, there are lots of things that parents can do to make mealtimes a more enjoyable experience for all. Although healthy eating starts at home, it’s difficult for parents to do this on their own and there needs to be a broader social conversation. But this is a good way to get started and I’m confident that what has occurred in France can happen elsewhere, too.”
