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J**D
Just What I Was Looking For!
I just finished reading this book and I loved it. I bought this after finishing 'Bringing Up Bebe', and I wanted more tips on how to get my child to enjoy more foods. I also wanted to change my own food habits, so this was perfect for me. I hate how I eat and I hate how the way my family eats has affected their health negatively. I am still young and in good health and I want it to stay that way. I don't enjoy eating and food much, because I like to eat and just move on to the next thing as fast as possible. I now realize that by taking my time to eat and to cook healthy meals, I can de-stress and enjoy my life more. Slowing down to enjoy food and family is just what I needed.I am sure that a lot of people (especially Americans) will probably not give this book as good a review as it deserves, because there are a couple of parts in the book that pretty much say that everything about the way Americans eat (as well as some other Europeans and Canada) is so very wrong. I am inclined to agree 100%, because if nothing was wrong with how Americans eat then our childhood obesity rate wouldn't be what it is. But I can see how some people might be ready to get all upset about somebody telling them that their eating habits are wrong. So unless you want to and are willing to make a big change in your eating habits for the sake of your child, don't bother reading this book. It is the slap in the face that I needed and what I think America needs, but is too lazy and complacent to accept.So far my family and I have begun changing our lifestyles, little by little, to follow the 'rules' in the book. It has been amazing. We have had several meals 'the French way' and we have enjoyed them immensely. My daughter is very young (just started solids) so this is the perfect time for me to have read this book. She will never know how bad me and her dad used to eat, and how bad our habits were. I think its great that I will never have to go through a time with her where she will refuse to eat things. Her dad and I are not picky eaters at all and I can't stand to have meals with picky eaters, so we are willing to do whatever it takes to keep her from being like that. The changes we have made so far are small, but we are working slowly towards our goal of eating the way we should at every single meal.This is a great book if you are looking for a lifestyle change that will help you and your kids eat healthier and lead more enjoyable lives. If you are willing to put forth some minor effort to change and you really try at it, its not that hard. I lead an incredibly busy life and this has actually simplified it a lot! The recipes included are great and the anecdotes are funny. It is a fun book to read. I highlighted and underlined a lot of passages to read again. The rules are simple (not rigid) and easy to apply to everyday life, even if you don't live in France. Any family and any person can follow them super easily.------ UPDATE ------I just wanted to update my review now that its been several months since I closed the cover. My daughter is now a a busy toddler and is eating more 'big girl' foods. I wanted to revist this review just to say that this book has definitely made a lasting impression on me, my parenting, and my life. This has helped me so much. Currently my family is very busy and we barely have time to do anything, much less take the time to cook nice dinners, but somehow we have been able to carve out time here and there to use dinner as a time to connect, even if we aren't always able to do that with every single meal. We are still working on a lot of the main principles outlined in the book, since its hard to undo 20 something years of 'bad' eating in a few months or weeks. We are just doing what we can, when we can, and its working for us.I really appreciate the many anecdotes in the book and the funny stories now that my daughter is a toddler and has learned to say, 'no', and 'I don't want any'. Often when I offer her new foods she shakes her head and dumps it in the floor. And yes, sometimes it is frustrating but eventually she will try a bit after offering her the food several times in different ways. My daughter doesn't like certain textures so we have to work with her on that, and this book has given me the knowledge that she won't always hate sticky foods, its just a phase and eventually with work she'll get over it. I now know that sometimes you have to try something 100 different ways before you like it.My husband and I have applied this to our own eating habits. He hates squash so I have tried to get him to try it in various dishes in order to test the theories in this book and I do think they work. I have prepared squash for him in almost every possible way, and while he does not like every single dish he does enjoy some of them. Also we have cut out or cut down on a lot of bad eating habits like eating fast food and take away, foods with high fructose corn syrup instead of real sugar, and foods with other nasty chemicals. Now we try to eat as much organic food as possible and as clean as possible.We also prepare almost everything ourselves so we control how much sodium and sugar is in everything. I make almost all of my daughter's baby food, and we are lucky enough for her to attend a daycare that is very much like a creche in some ways. All the kids eat the same food (unless they are allergic) and the teachers encourage them to try new foods and to take time and enjoy eating. They also encourage table manners and healthy eating. They sing songs and read books about eating healthy foods every day, they have play kitchens where they pretend to make healthy foods. They also give the parents a menu of everything the kids eat so we can keep track of their nutrition too.My daughter has eaten a ton of things that most toddlers I know would NEVER eat. She does enjoy a bite of pizza or a muffin here and there. And in the future I have no intention of telling her that she can't have a burger or chicken fingers from McDonald's if she wants it. I just don't want her to think that high calorie food the only yummy food. She needs to know that an apple can be just as yummy as a slice of cheesecake and that a refreshing glass of cucumber water can be as delicious as an ice cold Coca-Cola. I was not raised to appreciate that in moderation EVERYTHING can be enjoyable equally. I was raised to think that indulgence was the best way to enjoy food. Now I realize that a small brownie tastes better than a big one because its a special treat instead of an everyday thing.Obesity can lead to so many health problems like some forms of cancer and heart disease. I don't want that for my daughter. I have seen what these things can do to individuals and families because many of my own family members suffer from these medical issues. It is hard enough when a person is afflicted with a medical problem that they have no control over whatsoever, but to have a medical problem that could have been avoided if you practiced healthy habits its so much worse because it leaves you with regret. Many people don't know that there are alternative ways of living and doing things because they simply do not make the effort to find out. This book and this lifestyle is one of those alternatives for those who are willing to do the work to change.I'm not judging people who have medical problems due to weight because I love dearly some people who do, and I myself am still struggling to get my pre-pregnancy figure back. I know that being a healthy weight isn't just about eating right and exercising, there is a deep psychological aspect that has to do with how we are raised and how we feel about ourselves. I know that and I want to be sure that I do everything within my power to make sure that my daughter is not affected by some of the negative things that impacted me and my eating habits, most of which were definitely psychological.I'm not saying this is the only way or the best way to eat or live your life, but it has worked for me and I think it could work for a lot of other people if they were willing to try it.------ UPDATE ------For those who are interested, I've started a blog about how I've been using these rules to help my family and myself eat better. Since I read this book I've lost 100% of my pregnancy weight, and I am now 10 pounds lighter than I was when I got pregnant, and still losing. My daughter is now 18 months old and eats very, very well.[...]<- in case this URL doesn't work, its duncanfamilyeats dot blogspot dot com.
C**S
A wonderful, eye-opening book
This book is a must-have for an American parent. We started out feeding our child homecooked, good meals, eating as a family, and limiting treats and snacks. Somewhere by age 4, she was eating mostly crackers of various types, cheese sticks, and other junk. Worse of all, the family dinner table had become a battleground. She would refuse just about anything except what was familiar and usually processed. It didn't help matters when our own family members, meaning well I'm sure, began filling our pantry with "good" food for her...microwaved processed meals. So long as it said "organic" or was somehow marketed as healthy, it was okay. It really wasn't.Americans snack constantly. Most of their calories are from junk, "fake" food. Most restaurants are some variant of Fast Food (especially Chili's and Olive Garden types, that cook prepackaged meals passed off as real dishes), and they eat out a LOT! Kids are constantly walking around with some bag of something in their hands. Corporations have caught on and pacify parents with things like "Organic Fruit Rollups". And we have fallen for it hook, line, and sinker. Schools especially, even Pre-K, where the kids are fed Animal Crackers as a morning snack and corporate marketing tools are drilled into them.We tried several books that typically resulted in bribery, punishment, reward, or becoming a line-cook and making separate meals for the kids. It seemed ridiculous because we were eating so much better than our own child. Other parents were of little help, because they all had the same problem with no solutions.By instituting some of the rules outlined in this book, we've changed our household dramatically. We stopped the fighting. We cooked good meals and started eating together, more slowly, enjoying conversation. We eliminated snacks from our house. We encouraged her to try everything, but didn't force her to eat it (a "taste" was acceptable, it would reappear on her plate some other night). One snack a day, between lunch and dinner, and only fruit/yogurt/cheese/applesauce/etc. Desserts were for special meals and occasions (where it had previously been a reward for choking down a sliver of carrot). If she didn't eat, fine, the plate was taken away when the meal was over and she could wait until her next meal. No snacks! (Very quickly, she finally stormed into the kitchen, took back her plate and happily ate everything she had 20 minutes ago declared "yucky!") We started formal dinners once a week to have fun dressing up the table. She was encouraged to help with the cooking more. Eating is supposed to be FUN and enjoyable!Finally, we changed ourselves. We took the time in the morning to make meals and eat together, as well as the evening dinner. We stopped letting ourselves get frustrated, because we knew that we weren't starving her (plenty of yummy food was being served), and eventually she would eat when she got hungry and realized that no, a cookie or box of crackers would never be coming.I recommend this book to every parent.
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