French Women for All Seasons: A Year of Secrets, Recipes, & Pleasure

I started with French Women Don't Get Fat and loved this book. It was not a "diet" book but a mind modification as to how to eat a smaller amount and be just as satisfied as if you had an enormous plate full of food. I ordered French Women for All Seasons, and am enjoying it as well. Although given the two choices, I'd go with the first book. Mireillle Guilliano is an engaging author with many anecdotes about her life growing up in France and living in New York. Her recipes are simple and delicious. Yes, some of the ingredients are not easy to find in the Midwest, but most are. She stresses eating the fruits and vegetables in season at that time, and finding quality fruits and vegetables at local markets instead of supermarkets. I've read one book by Anne Garonne and found it less than informative. If you want authenticity, read M. Guiliano's books. I also ordered her cookbook, but haven't gotten to it yet.

A quote form Henry Thoreau, "Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each. Let them be your only diet drink and botanical medicines". This quote places the entire book, "French Women for All Seasons" under the umbrella of our going green way of life - to keep things local, seasonal and affordable. Another quote which expands on "You are what you eat" - by gastronome Brillat-Savarin is, "The destiny of a nation depends on how it feeds itself". In a nutshell, living in the moment, enjoying the season you are in and considering your surroundings encompasses the high points of Mireille Guiliano's book. The book divides French habits from American. Where we Americans are all about excess and all-you-can-eat, Ms. Guiliano contrasts the differences. Eating just to eat or to avoid boredom, while tapping on laptops are not reasons to consume food. But those are rampant reasons to eat in America. In France eating is an event. Even sipping on coffee is pared down yet savored. Rather than a quad grande with extra whip, the French will partake in a demitasse cup of espresso and receive more gratification with fewer calories in more time. Montagne observed that gluttony is the source of all our infirmaries. Considering many Americans will eat, gain weight and go see a chiropractor to help their aches and pains, we are not that far from the truth. It's a proven fact that eating less, drinking more water and exercising daily will drop your weight, keep ills at bay and lead to better well-being. It's an easy equation and one we Americans avoid like the plague. Why don't we follow this routine? Why don't we take the stairs more than the elevator? Probably because we have so many options. Much like our excessive food consumption, we have no idea where to begin. Mireille Guiliano gives us a formula of how to WANT to live differently. She breaks it down into seasons. What's fresh? What brings back memories of that season? How it's more economical and supports local growers. Lots of yummy reasons to live in the moment and enjoy the season we are in. Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter are all addressed here. Guiliano discusses what is in season and what to look forward to year after year in that season. Harvest soups in the fall have a certain smell. A certain feeling comes from being cold and getting warm from the inside out. We all love it and Guiliano tells us how to achieve it year after year and ultimately live in the moment. ---Lisa Plancich, Etiquette Writer & Editor

OK, so I liked the first one well enough to buy the second book. The recipes in both are terrific. The ideas are charming and give you a window into French attitudes etc. If you (like Jackie Kennedy) think French is the last "correct" word in everything maybe you won't mind being told the correct way to tie a scarf around your neck! (she manages to fill several pages explaining how to do this in the second book) Problem is, the second one really adds nothing new. (but does have more terrific recipes and in it, she does refer to herself as a "little being"! which is worth the price of the book) Her video on Amazon advertizing the first book prominantly displays and the book outright advertizes "her" Champagne (which I noticed was sold in Safeway! so no la-te-da there) I just got the feeling that, in spite of the good recipes and some good ideas, both books were concieved as advertizing and have no doubt been profitable both for the company and for her. French Women Don't get Fat could have just as easily been titled "Upperclass Women Don't DARE get Fat" If Ms Beeton's cookery books in the Victorian era tought lower classes how to be middle class, the the popularity of these two books is due to middle class with money who want to social climb

During my maternity leave I had an odd obsession of living life like a French woman and this book helped me achieve that. I felt immersed in French fashion, cuisine and day in the life of a French woman. Great book and made me very happy.

Excellent recipes, easy and fast, written for the working person who likes good food. Most recipes don’t use too many pots and pans. The ingredients aren’t ridiculously expensive or hard to find. One piece of advice, DON’T change the recipes at all the first time you make them, even if you think you’ll hate it. The flavor of the finished meal is often completely different from the taste of that one hated ingredient. You might even realize cooked one way you love it!

Judging by the amount of French lifestyle themed books out there, one can safely say that to capitalize on one's French-ness while selling an idea may equate to capturing a good chunk of good old American change. Mireille Guiliano, in her sequel to "French Women Don't Get Fat," does just that; like an elder more sophisticated sister, she imparts age old secrets of femininity from her older and more food savvy culture. "French Women for All Seasons: A Year of Secrets, Recipes and Pleasures," allows Guiliano to indulge in a little nostalgia while making her point. No matter that most of what she advocates smacks of common sense passed on to all of us by our respective grandmothers, in terms of diet and style, nothing seems to fascinate the American world more than that proverbial "woman of a certain age," chic, thin, successful--- she is the president and CEO of a major champagne company--- and French to boot---her prettily accented English amply peppered with the appropriate French bon mot making whatever she says seem all the more charming and laced with worldly albeit not weary wisdom. As the title suggests, Guiliano uses a seasonal approach to life and food. Eating the best food in small portions requires knowing a little something about the marketplace. I may be able to purchase strawberries all year round, but do they taste as good as those obtained from a local farmer during early summer? If the taste approaches that of ambrosia, need I overeat, or will just a little explosion of taste suffice? Simply put, for Guiliano, better quality equals less quantity. Generally speaking, however, she advocates the 50 percent solution, where bisecting one's restaurant portion relegates a proper amount and two times the fun as the second half can be eaten as another meal. Regardless of the timelessness of the information gleaned from this second book, Guiliano strikes the right chord simply because she has a passion for life. She has a well-rounded existence where she does not fixate on what the latest diet fad, drug or food factoid is imparted from the likes of the Good Morning America show. Instead of reading or watching about other people's lives, she lives out her own, hence enabling herself to tell her story and give examples, good and bad, about her choices. Many reviewers have criticized Guiliano for including how-to information on scarf tying and for some advertorial comments regarding Clicquot wines. Again, the author here merely explains the accoutrements of her lifestyle; she wants only to indulge in her passion and to share it with the enthusiastic public who made her first book such a success. Bottom line? Guiliano's dieting secret seems relatively simple. In fact, in many popular dieting diatribes, the same underlying theme pulses underneath the portion control, recipe considerations and menu planning: get a life with a warm focus where food, drink and other pleasures enhance rather than conquer. Anyone who liked "French Women Don't Get Fat" will definitely enjoy and appreciate "French Women For All Seasons." Diana Faillace Von Behren "reneofc"

Having read FRENCH WOMEN DON'T GET FAT and having met the author, I found her second book very good and light reading, plus it gives the reader excellent points to consider about eating, exercise and life. It's interesting reading with the author's cultural perspectives between the French and the Americans that promote good health. I especially liked the section about wine. There are several recipes, too, that I will try. I recommend it for all francophiles and for anyone interested in their health. I like her style of writing and hope she will write another.

Mireille Guiliano does an even better job in this latest book than she did in "French Women Don't Get Fat." While reading, I kept thinking about how many readers will be able to "see" themselves in the kind of unconscious eating/living she describes. To me, if there is one essential lesson to be taken from this book, it is this: SLOW DOWN and begin to live and eat CONSCIOUSLY. It won't really cost you anything to do so, and it may just melt some unwanted pounds from your body. And, if it DOES cost you a little bit more in money, is it worth that to have a LOT more in health, slimness, and enjoyment of life? Good reading that teaches us a lot about good living!

I would recommend Madame to all my friends, especially those of us who need to lose kilos, while balancing family, work, and all kinds of daily burdens ...

This is the sequel to the book "French women don't get fat" Don't they?? Go to any Auchan hypermarket in northern France and there you will see wobbly French women pushing their trolleys!! Anyway this is a lovely book talking about eating foods in season and limiting yourself to small portions. The best bit is that the author is the reader so you have this attractive French voice echoing through the kitchen as you listen!

Another excellent book.

Yes, this is entertaining as well interesting. Don't think I'll take it all the way, but a bit extra French on the side definitely adds some pizzazz!

A great read that will keep you coming back for more and an insight into French culture , not just food.