Conseil de Katrine: How to not grossir

Just say "no"

   The lovely lady we're living with was amused with how I was mystified I was when she told me that her nutritionist had told her that the formula to never gain weight was to eat baguette every morning (no, not a whole one silly) with fromage blanc.  She preceded to share her philosophy of eating with me, and because I find these sorts of things quite interesting, it was a fun story, and she is French (so I'm assuming her eating habits show a bit of French culture)--here you go! Voila Katrine's eating philosophy:

  Rule 1: Eat baguette with fromage blanc and grapefruit juice for breakfast.
I thought this was funny because I'm pretty sure in any discussion of dieting (dieting here being loosely defined as changing eating habits for weight-loss) that comes up bread is usually forbidden. The lady we live with (from now on Kathrine) told me that the secret is to alternate the type of baguette/ flour every day. This is super easy to achieve in Paris because there are endless combinations of flour that bakers put in their breads. Also, the flour that most bakers use seems to be a totally different quality than the flour in the US, because at home if I consistently eat bread a couple days in a row I feel ill and my throat gets all itchy. Here I've been eating bread every day and haven't had those side-effects at all--weird, huh?
Fromage blanc is difficult to describe because it's one of those French words that describes several different products (the worst word like this is "galette" which means anything in a round, flat shape that has a bready origin, ie: pancakes, rice cakes, tortillas, savory crepes, roti, etc.) so the fromage blanc Katrine was talking about is a type of white cheese that is very similar to cream cheese, but much lighter and delicious-er. I have recently discovered that fromage blanc also means something that comes in a form very similar to Greek yoghurt, varying in thickness. It was a surprise the first time I opened a fromage blanc thinking it was a yoghurt...definitely not the same thing...anyway, back to Katrine's philosophy! So, the reason that this is supposedly part of a good breakfast is because of the protein.
Grapefruit juice in France is not sweetened like the one in the US, I learned that the hard way when I took a big swig--what a zing! Consequently, I could see this being a legitimately healthy drink.

Rule 2: Patisseries are allowed--IF!
If you are to participate in partaking of one of my biggest weakness there are some guidelines (again, this is all according to Katrine).
1. Choose patisserie over viennoiserie.
I was confessing my weakness for patisserie to Katrine  and she reassured me that it was better patisserie than viennoiserie. Her logic behind this is that patisseries are usually smaller than viennoiseries and cost more, so you're more likely to indulge in something smaller less frequently. Also, the pâte (dough is the word best loose translation) is heavier in a viennoiserie (think croissant, eclair, pain au chocolat, chausson aux pommes) and it's yumminess derives from the obscene amount of butter that's in it and that it's raised with yeast. Katrine also was of the opinion that the cream fillings made a patisserie lighter (say what?) and also because they're usually made with baking powder instead of yeast. I personally have a hard time believing this because usually patisseries not only have cream but also have a pastry casing around the deliciousness...so wouldn't that be double? I was confused at this logic so I researched a bit and usually a mille feuille has 550 something calories and a croissant has 400 something calories....so I feel it's really much of a muchness.
2. If you are going to eat a patisserie you had better be walking the rest of the day or just eat one a month. Well, that made sense to me too.
3. If you eat a patisserie you can only have "salade" for lunch and nothing sweet for the rest of the day (this includes fruit...oops) and you'd better eat a very light dinner that has lots of greens.

Rule 3: Only eat cheese once a week.
According to Katrine cheese is one of the most deadly things in the world (her husband died of a heart attack, mind) because of how lourd (heavy) it is and also how you can feel like it's a good choice because of all of the protein it contains. However, remember that is all part of the dairy companies advertising and really it's very dangerous...even more so than patisserie?

Rule 4: Eat fat-free plain yoghurt once-twice a day, for dessert preferably.
To flavor your yogurt pile on the confiture (jam) or creme de marron (chestnut cream). Flavoring your own yoghurt makes it infinitely more healthy than the store bought ones (?). I would find this true minus the piling on of creme de marron, it is super tasty though!

Rule 5: Fruits are a dessert.

Rule 6: Have the main course of your meal be a vegetable.
 If you're Katrine this means a very well-cooked cauliflower, green beans, endives, spinach, or squash. Have a bit of meat, brown rice, or cauliflower/potato puree as a side if you feel like it. Note: French people are very into endives, I hadn't really heard of them before I came...but they're super yummy!

Rule 7:  No snacking between meals
...aww man! I am the snacking queen, I love to snack, it's the only way I stay awake in most of my classes and survive finals week, it's one of my hobbies. Katrine told me that from the sound of things it's good I don't smoke or else I'd be a chain smoker...well at least I'd be a thin person with lung cancer instead of a well-cushioned person with rolls of insulation...ok I guess being well-cusioned is a bit better.

Rule 8: Don't drink cold water.
You'll die. Your stomach will cramp up. Don't even try it. Cold juice is okay though.

Rule 9: Drink a non-caffinated tea after a meal for good digestion.
Well I am a huge fan of herbal teas so here, here!

Rule 10: Eat slowly
This rule is more from me observing her than her expressly telling me it, and it seems to be the general idea of most French people in her generation. A meal is about the company and enjoying the sensation of eating, so let it linger and relish  every mouthful.

Rule 11: Don't eat out a lot or buy lots of frozen dinner.
Two words for you: salt content. That and the part where frozen dinners usually have way more fat content that homemade things are pretty much the only things Katrine had against them. Because she's in the habit of buying frozen dinners she couldn't really say much about them without feeling silly.

Summary: Everything has its place in moderation

  I'll have to add more rules as she tells me them, because they are very interesting  to me not only in their paradoxes but also their sensibilities. I have decided to try out Katrine's food philosophy because I figure it can't hurt me any more than my current eating habits, and if it is the magic secret to being lean, well I'll just be enjoying my baguette with fromage blanc thank you very much!