Is healthy living really healthy? Is la belle vie good for your health?

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Working and living in france has completely changed the way that I eat. My Anglo Saxon approach used to be driven by a focus on healthy eating which for my was fruit and vegetable focused eating only what is nutritious for my body. This meant eating far more in quantity than I do now as I deprived myself from what I enjoyed or I would binge eat bad foods, to ensure that I was satisfied. The french lifestyle is completely different from these extremes, it is much more balanced as the focus always falls on eating only what you enjoy. This in turn means a move away from diets, fast eating and binge eating. Everyday food should be an event, with a starter main and dessert/cheese option at every meal, not always taken up but a standard option as it is a meal not something to fuel you until the next time your stomach is grumbling. The size of these plates are much smaller than we see in anglo-saxon countries meaning that overall you do not eat more although it seems that way as you are trying more at every meal. It has more meaning and focus as you always share a meal as opposed to hiding away at your desk to eat it in 10 minutes. This provides an opportunity for discussion around the food that you are eating and drives reflection for future mealtimes. There is also a fourth unofficial mealtime that we do not acknowledge which is goûter or afternoon tea. Created for children to breakup the long period between lunch and evening meals, it is now more widely common in france amongst adults and makes for another opportunity to share with those around you, avoiding general solitary snacking.

These balanced mealtime options however are not focused purely on healthy foods, but enjoyable ones. Meaning that yes vegetables are often present, alongside meat as well as dairy and sugar with butter, cream and patisserie pay an important role in french cooking. However with a very small part of each food group you have a well balanced, satisfying meal that most importantly keeps you from snacking in between meals and as often the anglo-saxon diet encourages.

What is the most important for the french is the quality of the foods that you are consuming, which explains the move to organic in france that has now become a huge trend, with most restaurants, canteens, crèches and schools have organic options on their menus if not 100% organic. Making sure that you are eating clean foods is much more important than ensuring that it is 500 calories, without gluten or dairy and vegan only. Having said that the consumption of meat in france is incredibly high and newly recognised by the millennial and generation x populations as they encourage more and more meat free dishes. This is however alongside meat dishes and they do not deprive themselves of meat categorising themselves to be vegetarian or vegan.

When we consider quality this can be clearly seen with the meat and vegetable selection that is on often in the big supermarket chains as more often than not the standard is higher than you would see in most local butchers or vegetable shop in the UK. The French would refuse to eat anything that is too fatty, fad in taste and even appearance. If the food doesn’t look good why would you eat it, explaining the art behind french cuisine in restaurants. Therefore low quality foods that are high in sugar, fat and processed chemicals aren’t really consumed and high quality fats and sugars are eaten in moderation.

To contribute to a balanced way of life is exercise of course. In france the same as in the uk you have runners, gym geeks and yoga bods. However what is different is that going for walks or hikes is much more common as a way to spend free time. Anglo-saxons are much more consumer focused and spend their free time shopping, going to the cinema or pub. Whereas in france walking in the countryside, mountains, at the coast is much more commonplace as a weekend activity meaning that sports may not be high on the agenda of everyone but gentle exercise is ingrained in the way of life.

Therefore the move from the UK to France has shifted my focus from health foods to enjoyable ones. This is my advice for everyone following fad diets or labelled eating regimes, to make life sustainable for you and the planet you should eat what you makes you happy and harping back to the age old advice that stands true of everything in moderation. If that is gluten free vegan organic produce then great but don’t let yourself be limited by labels.