Reflecting on "Julie & Julia"

Last night my husband and I went to see "Julie & Julia," which I found thoroughly entertaining as well as a real treat for the senses. I did have to suspend disbelief a bit, though. Throughout the movie, I couldn't help but wonder how someone could cook and eat all of that amazingly rich French food--all the butter, egg yolks, cream, bacon--every day for a year and not gain 50 lbs.! I mean, a duck encased in puff pastry? Hollandaise sauce? Raspberry Bavarian cream? (well, she ended up bringing that one into the office--or attempting to--but you get my point.) As lovely as it would have been to try all those delectable goodies, I kept wondering if the main characters were going to need a defibrillator before the movie was over.

OK, it was just a movie, but it was based on two true stories: that of Julia Child's time living in Paris in the late '40s/early '50s before she became famous and that of New York-based Julie Powell's year of cooking every recipe in Child's cookbook and blogging about it. I think it would've been a little more realistic to document Julie and her husband's weight gain over that year, but maybe they just have awesome metabolism.

Speaking of metabolism, the truth is that most French people do not have a weight problem for a variety of reasons that have a lot to do with what I am blogging about. Yes, they eat rich food sometimes, but it's usually in small, controlled portions. They tend to walk and bike more than Americans, so they get plenty of exercise. Plus, they use fresh, minimally processed foods and plenty of produce in their cooking. So the reality is, yes, French food can be rich and overindulgent, or it can be healthful and within reasonable eating guidelines. It's up to the chef--and the eater--to determine which side of the line it falls on. And if you haven't seen this movie, go! Not a whole lot of conflict or substance, but great fun.