Have you ever wondered if your child will outgrow his or her pickiness? Or wished you didn’t have to tote reusable containers of cheddar bunnies with you wherever you go? Or despaired at the crumb-filled backseat of your car? Or dreamt of having adult conversation at the dinner table – when the kids are there? If so, you’ll be thrilled to read Karen Le Billon’s French Children Eat Everything {And Yours Can Too}.
Le Billon, a Vancouver-based professor and mum of two, moved to Brittany in France (her husband’s homeland) for a year, where her daughters’ picky eating was cured, snacking was banned and she discovered 10 simple rules for raising happy, healthy eaters.
After experiencing culture shock, initially resisting and then being won over by the way things were done in France, she returned to Vancouver and experienced reverse culture shock when faced with school lunches here. This inspired her book, which details her experiences, challenges in changing her kids’ approach to food and eating, and the French Food Rules she developed; rules so ingrained in the French they’re not written down anywhere, but are simply a commonsense part of the culture and education. Check out the French School Lunch Menus on her blog for a little culture shock of your own.
In France they view picky eating as a phase, rather like the “terrible twos”, and something that will pass. And teaching your children to eat well is like teaching them to read; you do it in small steps with loving but non anxious support, assuming they will eat well one day just as you naturally assume they will learn to read. They also don’t believe in snacking, except once a day in the afternoon, and never in the car. And children are expected to sit at the dinner table for much longer than they do in North America, all the while displaying good manners and letting the adults converse.
We could go on and on, but suffice it to say French food also focuses on local food that’s in season and everyday meals are quite simple, healthy and made with a few (good) ingredients. Though not a cookbook, the book does include a handful of recipes and we’ve tested a few of them with success chez nous. Here’s the recipe for our family’s new favourite fast and easy dessert, Les pommes au four, for your gustatory pleasure.
The best part of Le Billon’s journey, which was by no means easy, straightforward or instantly successful, is that she lays it all out so you can adopt these food rules without having to move to France. Which isn’t to say we wouldn’t mind a spell in Paris to get us off on the right foot…or should we say, pied.
French Children Eat Everything {And Yours Can Too}: karenlebillon.com