French Kids Eat Everything
How Our Family Moved to France, Cured Picky Eating, Banned Snacking, and Discovered 10 Simple Rules for Raising Happy, Healthy Eaters
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4.3 • 44 Ratings
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
French Kids Eat Everything is a wonderfully wry account of how Karen Le Billon was able to alter her children’s deep-rooted, decidedly unhealthy North American eating habits while they were all living in France.
At once a memoir, a cookbook, a practical parenting handbook, and a delightful exploration of how the French manage to feed children without endless battles and struggles with pickiness, French Kids Eat Everything features recipes, practical tips, and ten easy-to-follow food rules for raising happy and healthy young eaters—a sort of French Women Don’t Get Fat meets Food Rules.
Based on her family’s transformation, Le Billon shares the ten simple food rules that can help any parent raise a happy, adventurous eater:
Healthy Eating Habits: Learn why scheduling meals, not snacking, is the key to raising children who eat a wide variety of foods with enthusiasm.Overcoming Picky Eaters: Discover the “taste it” rule and other gentle, effective strategies to encourage children to try new foods without pressure or bribes.Joyful Family Meals: Transform dinnertime from a battlefield into a relaxed, happy social occasion that the whole family looks forward to.French Parenting Secrets: Explore the cultural wisdom, simple recipes, and practical tips that make food education a central, joyful part of raising a child in France.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Part cultural study, memoir, and children's food guide, Le Billon's book is a breezy but practical volume for hurried parents looking to keep their kids well-fed. A mother of two young girls (Sophie and Claire), the author recalls the year her family lived in Pl neuf Val-Andr , France, her husband Philippe's hometown on the Brittany coast. She compares North American eating habits (e.g., fast-food consumption, constant snacking) to French norms they learned along the way "French parents gently compel their children to eat healthy food. They expect their kids to eat everything they are served, uncomplainingly." In due time, Le Billon (Eau Canada) drafts a set of rules for her daughters, strategies she believes readers can easily follow as well parents should "schedule meals and menus;" "Kids should eat what adults eat: no substitutes and no short-order cooking;" and perhaps most importantly: parents "are in charge of food education!" Her tone is straightforward, generous, and gentle. That Le Billon concludes with a small collection of kid-friendly recipes including a Five-Minute Fish en Papillote and Clafoutis (sweet cherry souffl ) makes this kid-friendly foodie manifesto all the more accessible.
Customer Reviews
French kids eat everything
Great book for mothers that want to start to feed their kids healthy things. I love the culture aspect of it. I now know why the french act the way they do. I have lived over in Europe now for two years and have learned a few new things from this book.
Beautifully done
It is rare that you will ever come across a book that so beautifully captures the essence of both American and French food culture. Backed by statistics, and personal experience. This is a book that will inspire you to change. A must read for everyone.
French Kids Eat Everything
The book contains good ideas and valid observations based on my time spent in France. (And I noticed only one error in the French - hooray)! I couldn't give the book more stars, however, because I found it needlessly wordy and repetitive. People who turn to this type of book are looking for information with a little narrative - not the reverse.