Our library group just finished reading and discussing _In Defense of Food An Eater's Manifesto_ by Michael Pollan.

I think I'll be more careful about what I eat from now on... for the sake of my health.

I recommend this book, even if it only serves as a pep talk to help people put themselves on a more healthy eating track.

Pollan's premise is that not everything we eat is really "food". It's almost shocking to think that more isn't being done to remedy this situation.

On the cover of the book, a short bit of advice appears. It says:
"EAT FOOD. NOT TOO MUCH. MOSTLY PLANTS."
Sounds deceptively simple. The complicated part is knowing what Pollan's idea of "food" is and what isn't. The source and composition of the food is all important. According to Pollan, that's what makes it "food".

See the following related topic in this group at: ====>
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1591...
The subject-title is:
"How Dining Out Resembles Art".

I think the French have the dinner time down to an art and i have never seen an obese person in the many times I visited France. nina

Nina wrote: "I think the French have the dinner time down to an art and i have never seen an obese person in the many times I visited France. nina"

Nina, yes, Pollan discusses the French as well as other nationalities and their food habits.

Now that my awareness has been raised, I do notice that many of the folks coming out of MacDonald's are overweight. To think I used to love their Big Macs! I still do, but when I think of the fat calories they contain, I try to restrain myself.

Joy H. (of Glens Falls) wrote: "Nina wrote: "I think the French have the dinner time down to an art and i have never seen an obese person in the many times I visited France. nina"

Nina, yes, Pollan discusses the French as well a..."

I really enjoyed and learned a lot from Mireille Guiliano's book French Women Don't Get Fat. As a French woman now living in America she's able to see the issue from both sides, the more so because it was as a teenage exchange student in America that for the first and only time in her life she developed a weight problem. Her book is as much about a general attitude towards life and life style as it is about specific eating habits, although it addresses those too and offers suggestions about how to change or moderate unhealthy ones, and she shares some of her favorite recipes as well. I love this one for Chicken Au Champagne - elegant, healthy, and yummy too!

http://www.mireilleguiliano.com/chickena...

Margaret wrote: "I really enjoyed and learned a lot from Mireille Guiliano's book French Women Don't Get Fat. ... Her book is as much about a general attitude towards life and life style ... and she shares some of her favorite recipes as well ..."

Margaret, thanks for the book recommendation. Sounds like another good book with a pep talk to get us to eat healthier foods. I never outgrow my need for pep talks, especially when it comes to healthier eating.

I shall send that recipe link to the e-mail box of the cook in our family (my husband). He likes to try new things. And I don't mind the champagne it calls for. Either will he! :) Thanks!

PS-I reserved the book at our library just now.

Margaret wrote: "Joy H. (of Glens Falls) wrote: "Nina wrote: "I think the French have the dinner time down to an art and i have never seen an obese person in the many times I visited France. nina"

Nina, yes, Polla..."Thanks for reminding me about that book, French Women don't Get Fat..I meant to read it several times and forgot all about it..I visited my daughter in France off and on for eleven years and am always intrigued by anything French. nina

Nina wrote: "I visited my daughter in France off and on for eleven years and am always intrigued by anything French...."

Nina, the French language has always intrigued me because I studied it in H.S. and college. Now our son has moved to Canada and has learned to speak fluent French at the University of Montreal. It's so strange to hear my own son talking fluent French to his friends on the phone when he visits us. He's going to Paris next month. He was there in 2001 as well. I've always wanted to go, but it's too late for me. As I've gotten older, I've developed a fear of flying. You are fortunate to have been to France so often.

I wish I had studied the Italian language more than I did. I also wish I had studied Spanish. These days I've lost my motivation to work at learning another language. Otherwise I might pursue it. Right now my interest is "books" (in English). :)

Joy H. (of Glens Falls) wrote: "Nina wrote: "I visited my daughter in France off and on for eleven years and am always intrigued by anything French...."

Nina, the French language has always intrigued me because I studied it in H..."Joy,I would have taken French in school rather than Spanish if I had known I'd have three grandchildren born in france with perfect accents. Spanish didn't come in handy in that case..I took it two years in high school and one year in college and could get by reasonably well at that time; however, by the time many many years later in my visit to Mexico it was barely helpful..You do lose it if you have no practice, I found. After visiting friends in Italy we came home and bought Italian tapes trying to better our understanding of that language but that too was not productive when no one is around to communicate with in that language..My husband took four years of Latin in high school so he could translate the written Italian language fairly well. But we were lucky as we toured Italy with Italians after attending the marriage of their son..I have been blessed to have had friends or relatives in almost every country I have visited..it is soooo hot here I wish I was someplace else now but not anywhere hotter..Is there such a place? The heat index outside now is 105 to 110 degreesand my poor flowers are suffering..nina Whew!ps I have ordered "A Murder Most English," from Netflix..don't know if it is cottage or not.

Nina wrote: "... I have been blessed to have had friends or relatives in almost every country I have visited ... I have ordered "A Murder Most English," from Netflix."

Nina, you've been so fortunate to have travelled to so many countries. When I studied French, I thought it was the most beautiful language, but after I studied Italian, I realized that it is even more beautiful than French because, when spoken correctly, the Italian consonants are so crisp and the vowels are so mellifluous. As my Dad used to say, that's why so many operas are written in Italian. :) (After all, the composers were Italian!) (lol)

Below is the link to the Netflix description of the movie you mentioned:
http://www.netflix.com/Search?lnkce=iwsc...

I loved your father's quote..I have sometimes wondered why the operas were in Italian..Do you ever miss listening to Pavaorati? His very first concert in the US was at Park University which is a hop skip and a jump(across the MO river) from us. Interesting that he picked this small college to perform..He got a standing ovation from the students and others who were attending that night..nina

Joy H. (of Glens Falls) wrote: "Nina wrote: "... I have been blessed to have had friends or relatives in almost every country I have visited ... I have ordered "A Murder Most English," from Netflix."

Nina, you've been so fortuna..."I looked up the movie on the link you provided and also found a movie that I really really liked The Remarkable Journey of Mary Bryant. nina

Nina wrote: "I loved your father's quote..I have sometimes wondered why the operas were in Italian..Do you ever miss listening to Pavaorati? His very first concert in the US was at Park University which is a h..."

I always enjoyed listening to Pavarotti sing on TV.

I've seen several live opera performances, but the one I remember most vividly is the one at the Cincinnati Zoo Opera, an opera pavilion in the middle of a zoo. The opera was "Carmen" and I can still remember hearing the lions roaring in the distance. That was in the 1950s. The Zoo Opera doesn't exist anymore. According to the link below, it moved in 1972 to the Music Hall.
http://www.cincinnatiopera.org/content.j...

Nina wrote: "I looked up the movie on the link you provided and also found a movie that I really really liked The Remarkable Journey of Mary Bryant."

Below is the link to the Netflix review of that one, Nina. ====>
The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant (2005):
http://www.netflix.com/Search?lnkce=iwsc...

Your recommendations are usually good. So I'm putting it on my Netflix queue.
I see that it's a true story.

An opera set in a zoo sounds memorable; literally with the lions joing in. nina