French Women for All Seasons: A Year of Secrets, Recipes, and Pleasure [Paperback]

The French Woman is at it again. Her style and approach to life and food is so optimistic and real that one can not help but be charmed and uplifted. Different from the first book, this one has new recipes and meal plans and some gems of wisdom on how to stop mindlessly stuffing our mouths full of tasteless junk. I've already started to incorporate her "50% Solution", the concept of eating only half the portion you're given or sharing an entree with a tablemate. Her idea is that if you stop midway through a meal and reflect on how you are feeling, instead of eating the "whole enchilada" just becasue it's there, you will realzie that you are more than content. In doing so,you'll shave off a lot of calories and if this habit becomes a routine yout waistline will get slimmer. This isn't a "diet" book and it's not going to help you take off the extra pounds before Christmas; however if you follow the general principles you will lead a fuller life and realize that happiness is not found on a dessert plate.

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!

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"

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