The Omnivore's Dilemma: What Should We Eat for Dinner?

I was incredibly excited when Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals showed up at my local library. I had been on the wait list for almost a month and a half, and I was becoming impatient. I know I sound a bit dramatic, but I'm very serious when I say that this book made it incredibly easy for me to change my diet and I haven't had any problems, worries, or regrets since.

"If washing an extra plate seems a bother, how does it compare with getting fat?"

I've already discussed how difficult it was for me to eat less. Mireille also has her sections on how you should eat less and stick to three meals a day. She also introduced the idea of courses to me.

I generally only think of courses as things in fancy restaurants. Sometimes I would groan because I wasn't sure how I could manage to eat a salad with heavy dressing, a giant pasta dish, and then a chocolate dessert. But even though I was worried about my stomach exploding, I always managed to eat everything and enjoy it. This was not the same thing.

The French word menu not only means "bill of fare," for which la carte is the more common term in France, but also "little"; and by its use in relation to food, we mean to suggest our sense of small offerings. The essence of French gastronomy is to have a little of several things rather than a lot of one or two.

Let us consider the French plate. It's strange for us to have a whole meal on one dish, stranger still to see any plate covered with food. The arrangement of a course in the center of a plate is part of French enjoyment. Changing plates not only compels you to concentrate on what you are enjoying at that moment, it slows the meal down, improving digestion and promoting contentment. The faster you eat, the more you'll need. If washing an extra plate seems a bother, how does it compare with getting fat?

"Round Up the Usual Suspects"

During my fast, I was supposed to meditate on all the reasons I was unhealthy and figure out why I wanted to change. I didn't think too long. I knew I wasn't doing it for someone or something (like the black dress I bought over Christmas), I was doing it for me. I was tired of being unhealthy, it's as simple as that. (Plus, I was slightly horrified by what was happening to my food.)

My Version of a Fast.

So a big part of French Women Don't Get Fat are stories from Mireille Guiliano's childhood, as well as stories about her friends. She starts off explaining how she came to America to study as a student (and again when she studied in Paris) and became overweight. I'm sure her story is one that many people can relate to: a love affair with chocolate and pastries. She has this wonderful doctor (whom she refers to as Dr. Miracle) who gives her all sorts of advice about what to do. He also sounds a bit like a psychologist... I'm pretty sure my doctor would just tell me to go on a diet and move on to the next room. Maybe prescribe some diet pills, I don't know.

Opting in to the French Paradox.

So after Michael Pollan told me everything I've ever eaten was wrong, I decided I needed to start over, adopt a French grandmother and learn to cook.

I researched quite a few French cookbooks before deciding on Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking.* Apparently the woman knows what she's talking about.