Sunday, February 19, 2017

Dreaming of France -- Healthy Food


Thank you for joining this weekly meme. Grab a copy of the photo above and link back to An Accidental Blog. Share with the rest of us your passion for France. Did you read a good book set in France? See a movie? Take a photo in France? Have an adventure? Eat a fabulous meal or even just a pastry? Or if you're in France now, go ahead and lord it over the rest of us. We can take it.
This week, because of some borderline medical test results (nothing serious), we have started getting serious about eating healthier.
If we already lived in France, we'd be eating healthier, so we might as well get a jump on it. But I expect it to be a bit more challenging here in the U.S.
In France, we'll visit the market a few times a week and buy whatever is fresh.
Do you think these oranges came from Spain?

These potatoes and peppers look firm and fresh.
We're trying to eat more whole foods, cutting down on carbs and sugars.
Salad seems to always be a part of a French meal, traditionally after the main course, although some restaurants have begun to serve them before the main course, more American style.

That's not to say that we will only eat fruits and vegetables. We'll definitely indulge in French specialties, such as these galettes served with hard cider.

Galettes are similar to crepes but they are made with buckwheat rather than white flour, and they are savory instead of sweet. These galettes might have been filled with cheese, ham, potatoes, eggs or a variety of other fillings. 
I hope I've convinced you to start thinking about more whole foods, as my family embarks on healthier meals. Tonight, we had garlic butter haddock filets, baked sweet potatoes and green beans. 
Thanks for playing along and please visit the blogs of others who join in too.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have some inspiration for you: last week, I wrote about the fresh, local winter produce at the market. The ground doesn't freeze here (Carcassonne), so the local truck farmers operate all year. https://francetaste.wordpress.com/2017/02/14/eating-seasonal-produce-winter
I had a separate post with a recipe for Swiss chard: https://francetaste.wordpress.com/2017/02/17/pillows-of-swiss-chard-bliss
I have more recipes lined up for cooking with winter vegetables.

Louise said...

The markets in France are amazing aren't they? I try and eat whole foods as much as I can, certainly when I cook at home- I do live with a mostly vegan son so that helps a bit. It's still difficult, even vegan food isn't always healthy.

Philippe F. said...

Bonjour Paulita! J' espère que votre santé s' améliore. Certainement un" coup de fatigue " après un hiver rude dans votre état de l' Ohio.Au sujet des oranges sur l' étalage du marché, je pense qu' elles arrivent d' Espagne car on peut lire sur l' ardoise: " ORANGES à feuilles EXTRA ESP ( ESP = Espagne )". le prix affiché est de 0,80 €/kg (0,85 $/kg)ou 1,50 €/ 2kg (1,59 $/ 2kg ).A l' arrière de ces oranges il y a un autre étalage d' oranges à JUS venant du Maroc au prix de 1 €/kg (1,06 $/kg).//Hello Paulita! I hope your health improves much better.Surely you are just so tired after a difficult winter in your state of Ohio. About oranges on the market shelves, I think they come from Spain as we can read on the chalkboard: "ORANGES with sheets EXTRA ESP (ESP=SPAIN)".The displayed price is 0.85 $/kg or 1.50 $/ 2kg. The stall of oranges in the back is "juice oranges" from Maroc costing 1.06 $/kg.Here in France Spring is coming ( 18°c in Occitanie with sunny weather for all this week!). Bonjour de Lyon.

Paulita said...

Francetaste, I can't wait to read your posts about the winter produce and your Swiss chard recipe.
Louise, Thanks for playing along. Yes, I found out that when I gave up meat, I was actually eating more carbs, which wasn't good for me.
Philippe, Thanks for the encouragement. My health is fine, but my husband needs to take more care. An early spring, here and in Occitanie, should help with that.

our life in france said...

Hi Paulita, You are being good and preparing for your new life here in France, we live very rurally and so there arent so many options as you would find in the bigger cities, that said we can still be naughty and eat the wrong things, we are diabetic and so have to be a little careful....just a footnote I have been experiencing problems with my blog and may not have seen your comments on there as for some reason they are hidden

Paulita said...

Roz, Thanks for visiting. Sorry if technology is erasing my comments. I'm still thinking about you though!

Jacqui Brown said...

We now have a tiny market in our tiny French village- I love it. It is so much easier to eat seasonally when you market buy rather than supermarket buy. Good luck with the healthy eating, stay away from the patisseries though!

Anne in Oxfordshire said...

Also known as Breton Galette as a Galette can be a cake too. I first had a Breton crepe in Montparnasse. .It was delicious . Thank you for your lovely comment in my blog . Take care Anne.

Paulita said...

Jacqui, My hope is that if we are eating healthier overall then we can splurge on those patisseries.
Anne, Thanks for sharing the Breton Galette. I don't imagine we'll ever be finished learning about food in France.

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