Day 4: My Favorite Book

If anyone is like me who has a love affair with delectable treats then this is a great book for you.  These french women are geniuses!!!  I read this years ago & it makes me want to dine with the french every night & enjoy their guilty pleasures while staying slim.  Did you know they don't use fitness clubs like we do in America?  They walk!! Go figure.  They also use meal time as a social event & their portions are they tiniest ever.  But I took on this challenge before.  I lost pounds in a short amount of time & found that if I savored every bit while chewing slowly...I got fuller faster :)  I ate till I was satisfied & not full.  That's how those delightful women keep their shape.  There was no diet, they say the trick is to walk everywhere, buy fresh foods, plan out meals for the week, have dinner parties & they love the sweet pastries...but they also don't over indulge.  It's portion control.

The American way is so much fast food, greasy, eat till your stuffed type of culture.  But I really found the french lifestyle so much more appealing.

Eating for pleasure instead of trying to get full...now that's a wonderful dining experience.  They say you should count to 100 for each bite.  I really couldn't live up to that challenge it was more like 25 seconds tops but I found out that if you really taste the flavor, the food is so much more delightful :)

Now what sounds more appealing:  Eating whatever you like till you are satisfied while losing weight? Or Eating 6 Cheesticks behind your personal trainers back?? Doh! I didn't do that I promise!!!  I think there's a lot America can learn from the french.

I must admit...a busy American life of work, entertainment & life in general got in my way but it's a brand new year & I LOVE LOVE LOVE this lifestyle.  I'm bringing this back into my life & lovin all the recipes Mireille Guiliano shares in the book. 

 Belle trouvaille!!!!

http://frenchwomendontgetfat.com/

Here are some of my favorite recipes :)

Baked Apricots

INGREDIENTS

16 apricots, halved and pitted
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 ounces dry vermouth
3 ounces honey

Yield: 6 Servings

RECIPE

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Lay the apricots skin-side up in overlapping rows in an ovenproof dish. Mix the vanilla with the vermouth, and pour over the apricots. Drizzle the honey over, and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, until the apricots are tender.

Allow to cool, then chill. Serve with crème fraîche or whipped cream (on top of yogurt is another option).

Duck Breasts with Strawberries

This recipe is a summertime play on the “Duck Breasts with Pears” recipe included in The French Women Don’t Get Fat Cookbook. It’s a chic dish and so easy and quick (less than 15 minutes) to do.

INGREDIENTS

4 (6- to 7-ounce) duck magrets (breasts)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 pound strawberries, sliced
2 tablespoons butter

RECIPE

1. Pat the duck breasts dry and score the skin diagonally at 1-inch intervals with a sharp knife to create a diamond pattern (be careful not to cut into the meat); season both sides with salt and pepper.

2. Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and add the duck breasts, skin side down. Cook for 8 minutes, allowing the fat to render and the skin to become crisp. Turn over and cook for an additional 4 to 5 minutes for medium rare. Remove from the pan, cover, and rest for 10 minutes.

3. While the duck breasts are resting, melt butter and cook sliced strawberries. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper and serve on duck breast with a shallot compote