Book review: French Kids Eat Everything

I first read this book when my son was born around 2016/17. I love Le Billon’s emphasis on variety and eating slowly, no short order cheffing, little to no snacks and conversation over meals. I think she may even have inspired our blind tasting day (adults too) and the ‘deceive food flavours’ experiment - omg try describing tastes?! Describe the taste of a sweet potato or baconyness?! All of these words that have never been featured any let alone dinner conversation.

Other ideas like having them mix their food together themselves or starting new foods in soup form so they can get used to the texture just didn’t work for us still just eats everything at once then the next so mixing isn’t an option and still hates soup! Also allowing kids to reach for a piece of fruit but anything else they have to ask for permission has never happened in our house - but we’ve only one and we ourselves don’t snack so it’s never been a thing?

I love her idea ‘make water is a food group’ either drinking only water or eating your veggies for it too, ‘make the table festive’ is still one our favs including setting and designing our dinner’s menu to accompany it, ‘fill your kids up with real food before they are served treats’ just makes sense (and we don’t avoid desserts.. there’s just not room every night but sometimes they’re nice?). Oh and ‘use butter instead of ketchup (fat is an essential nutrient)’ wasn’t our choice - he used to eat sticks of butter when he was little and now loves to make his own ketchup?

Mostly I love the tips and tricks in Le Billon’s book and remember them being useful when you feel like this he’s little person has pulled the rug from under your and your usual eating plans. And maybe my kid is French (?) but it turns out he’s naturally gravitated to her ‘rules’ and our own family habits have become his so I think I’d add leading by example in there? Eat what and how you teach!