Poisson d'Avril

It's April Fools in French. I saw this show on television about a new food trend called LE SPACE FOOD aka astronaut chow. They showed these tin foiled packaged foods that you nuke with flavors such as chicken provencal, vegetable soup etc. There were some typical and traditional French fare and a more Frenchified version of Macaroni & Cheese. They even invited the most celebrated French nutritionist to analyze the nutritional value of each package. Imagine the scene where this whole family chowing down on this liquified gooey food against the serene backdrop of their cosy dining room. The show wanted to make it appear that this is really the current trend and showed an entrepeneur who started importing these fabricated foods from the U.S. via NASA. In the end it was a joke but wait they actually got inquiries in where one can purchase these fake food. The French are switching gears and they want their food faster than you can say freedom fries ;)

Many friends and people I encounter ask me how I can live in the land of food and follow a regimented diet (regimented is really relative). People have this notion that you come to France and you will gorge yourself on foie gras, cheese, croissants and chocolates not to mention the beloved baguette. The French for the most part especially the ones who live outside big cities still eat and live with the season. This means that foie gras is only eaten during the Holidays, and not everyone eats crusty flaky croissants daily for breakfast. Here's an old French secret... The older French (over 75 yrs old) many of them have very little breakfast or skip it altogether. They have their tea, or black coffee and maybe a fruit and that's it until lunch. Lunch is the big meal of the day and dinner is usually light; a soup and salad or sometimes just soup. No wonder France has one of the highest population of octagenarians despite their fatty foods. But these fatty foods are from real food not margarine or some low fat, nuked and pasteurized/packaged foods. Some of these older generations have lived through one or two world wars. They tell me stories of how they had barely anything to eat during the war. Some were so traumatized they won't eat turnips and parsnips because it reminds them so much of the war. I'm always fascinated when I spent a lot of time with French people who are in what they call their third or fourth age (60 and beyond).

What's interesting among the seniors I've met who stay vital and not incapacitated most have always had some form of physical activity. One lady I meet and have tea with, walks at least 2 miles a day. I thought she was in her late 60's turns out she's in her mid 80's. None that I came across ever did any extreme or high intensity sports. Most walk, bike, garden in short, they just kept on moving rain, snow or shine.

So fellow CRONies, if one was to conduct a study on French longevity, specifically the ones who manage to stay healthy, independent and free from illnesses with all their mental acuity intact, I wonder if years of calorie restriction from surviving wars and food shortages kicked their cells into repair and regenerate mode for an important portion of their life. I'm not saying that all older French people are this way but I've come across plenty of them because we live in a region where there is a huge portion of the population who are beyond the age of 70 and lead very vital lives. The traditional French culture is slowly disappearing hence the double digit increase of obesity and chronic illnesses in the last two decades.

Thought that it might be interesting to share some of my French impressions about food and lifestyle. I will write more on this as I go along because the way the traditional French eat can be a great lesson in moderation and appreciation of food, flavor and taste-discerning decadence.

Back to my CRON/Raw/Paleo/IF mode. I was busy yesterday a.m. so did not have breakfast and was not hungry. When I do my IF, it's usually when I'm busy and food is a non-issue because of several things, I either ate later than usual the night before, or simply not hungry. I also like to be in a completely fasted state when I exercise in the morning and after exercise I like to wait at least an hour or two before I eat or sometimes I just wait until around noon. I like to hydrate lots in the morning with water and green tea.

By around noon, I whipped up some rawlicious spicy Thai wraps. Made from purple cabbage, ginger, bird's eye chilis, a bit of almond butter, lemon, a dash of agave nectar and mix everything in the food processor. I then use romaine lettuce leaves as wraps then topped it off with shredded carrots, bits of mint leaves, basil, coriander and slivers of ripe mango. I had a couple of wraps then followed up with my endive, grapefruit, apple, shredded carrots and pomegranate salad with a about 15 grams of chopped up walnuts added a dash of apple cider vinegar.

It was a gorgeous spring day so went for a long walk with sprinting and uphill runs with my dog. I felt really good. My mind and body were humming a sweet tune. Finished my packing and preparing for our upcoming trip to Egypt. I'm so excited to see the pyramids and spend some downtime on the beach. The Red Sea is suppose to have one of the most magnificent array of sea creatures. Looking forward to swimming and snorkeling alas sunshine loads. We've had a very long winter with lots of wet and cold days. Definitely get extra doses of vitamin D.

I snacked on a few of my home made dehydrated vegetable crackers with a bit of raw goat's cheese while I prepped my main and last meal of the day which was around 4 p.m. I made a huge salad. When I make my salad it's industrial size had 175 grams of greens; arugula, mesclun and kale. I love love greens all kinds. I like it super raw and crunchy. Can't appreciate greens that's been cooked esp. spinach yuck yuck! It was a pretty salad-I bought these giant tomatoes called heart of beef because they are huge and bright red! I added some endives, a bit of broccoli and cauliflower spruced it up with some sprouts. I steamed about 200 grams of organic salmon. A bit of balsamic, and a tablespoon of hemp oil, I sprinkled some shredded seaweeds instead of using salt then a bit of lemon juice. I just chopped up the salmon and put it right in with the rest of the salad. I enjoyed every mouth watering bite. Of course, I can't resist not sharing a sliver and a slice with our beloved magnificent M. The only dog I know who barks for broccoli ;) He eats his five servings of vegetables a day!

I had some avocados that were getting really ripe so I had to figure out what to make with them. I just made a batch of guacamole last weekend so that's out. I thought I'd make something decadent so I made my miam miam mousse au chocolat. I just blend the avos with carob powder with a bit of raw cacao powder, some water (I also use my home made almond milk or hazelnut milk) to keep it moving, hazelnut butter or any butter I happen to have on hand (a little goes a long way. I just use to put more nutty flavor), I sometimes use agave nectar, stevia or date paste again a little goes a long way. I blend blend until I get the consistency I want. Chill and serve. Once it's chilled the nutty and chocolatey fudgey flavor comes out better. I usually eat about 1 big spoonful for my decadent dessert which is about 25-30 grams. That's it and my sweet tooth is satisfied. After being raw for quite some time, I don't appreciate the taste of most desserts esp. the ones from refined sugar. I find them sickly sweet. The only sweets I eat are the ones I make or if it's raw desserts. Most of my desserts are fruits.

Please note I did not put amounts of the ingredients I listed above. I'll prepare a separate section with recipes because I want to share lots of them with you. Once I get use to going beyond posting ;) Learning curves...

Sleep is so very sweet when I'm not stuffed. That's why I like to eat early enough so that when my head hits the pillow which is usually around 10 or 10:30 p.m. I'm off to dream land zzzzzz.... Didn't wake-up until 7ish feeling so refreshed. I'll post more on why it's important to give the body as much space between eating and sleeping so the growth hormones can kick in to repair and rejuvenate the body while we rest.

I don't use an alarm. The only alarm I use are the church bells from the village chapel. When this bell rings I know I really had a long sleep! During spring and summer, bird chirping becomes my alarm clock.

Hasta la pasta for now. I'm brewing some ginger tea with orange flower blossoms and verveine. Thi is so nice and smells like heaven :)

Until my next post!

GG