Manger Sain: Eating Healthy in France

The beginning of a new year is a perfect time for starting afresh and making resolutions. For many French people, it’s an opportunity to try manger plus sain (eating healthier). Although France is known for its great cuisine and good dietary habits, French people are still interested in improving their diet. Let’s find out about eating well and discover the language of healthy eating in France.

Access to une nourriture saine (a healthy diet) is not only desirable, but it is a human right that every child should have, according to the United Nations' Convention on the Rights of the Child:

Tu dois pouvoir bénéficier d'une alimentation suffisante, saine et équilibrée

You must be able to receive adequate, healthy, and balanced nutrition

Caption 20, Marie et Sakhoura Droits des enfants

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Part of a healthy diet involves eating and drinking avec modération (in moderation):

Un petit peu de vin rouge... très sympa, donc on va aller juste à côté... -À boire bien sûr avec modération.

A little bit of red wine... very nice, so we'll just go next door... -To drink in moderation, of course.

Caption 31, Cap 24 Paris 2ème : Alessandro joue le Pique-assiette!

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Not only is it necessary to pay attention to quantity, but also to quality. For some, that means changing habitudes alimentaires (dietary habits) and manger bio (eating organic). (The word bio, short for biologique, can mean “organic” or “biological” depending on context.)

Manger bio, c'est vraiment changer ses habitudes alimentaires.

Eating organic is really about changing one's dietary habits.

Caption 19, Alsace 20 Pourquoi le bio est-il plus cher?

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Manger bio requires choosing des produits bio (organic products) over produits conventionnels (conventional products):

Donc vous allez être pas seulement dans le fait que "Je me fais plaisir en achetant des produits bio et je remplace les produits conventionnels"

So you're not only considering the fact that "I feel good about myself when I buy organic products and I replace conventional products"

Captions 34-35, Alsace 20 Pourquoi le bio est-il plus cher?

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Health food advocates recommend increasing one’s consumption of céréales complètes (whole grains), like the ones listed below, to achieve un équilibre alimentaire (dietary balance):

Donc on va revoir son équilibre alimentaire avec davantage de céréales, complètes, avec des légumineuses

So we're going to check again the balance of our diet with more grains, whole grains, with legumes

Captions 37-38, Alsace 20 Pourquoi le bio est-il plus cher?

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They also recommend reducing la consommation de viande (meat consumption):

Réduire sa consommation de viande hebdomadaire

Reducing your weekly consumption of meat

Caption 41, Alsace 20 Pourquoi le bio est-il plus cher?

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French people are now embracing la culture végane (vegan culture). According to Amal and Caroline, there has been a big shift in attitude toward meat. They explain that the Parc de la Villette, which used to be the site of a slaughterhouse, is now the site of a vegan festival held every year:

C'est le lieu de rencontre des festivals qui prônent la culture végane

It's the meeting place for festivals that promote vegan culture

Captions 82-83, Amal et Caroline Le Parc de la Villette

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Not everyone is prepared to become vegan, but many are willing to reach a compromise. In the video below, Lionel cooks a delicious “dual” pizza with une partie végétarienne (a vegetarian part) and a part with meat, and he stresses that it is made entirely with produits naturels (natural products):

Alors je précise que... elle est faite complètement à partir de produits naturels.

So I'd like to point out that... it is made entirely from natural products.

Captions 14-15, Claude et Lionel La pizza

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On en a fait deux parties : une partie végétarienne et puis une partie avec des lardons et du jambon.

We made two parts: a vegetarian part and then a part with bacon cubes and ham.

Captions 38-40, Claude et Lionel La pizza

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Being human, we compromise and are prone to forget our resolutions and give in to temptation. In the following video, Lionel was enticed by a delicious barbecue and decided to reporter son régime (postpone his diet) for now:

Je ne sais pas. Ils feront du barbecue. Je crois que je vais reporter mon régime.

I don't know. They will be having a barbecue. I think that I am going to postpone my diet.

Caption 35, Lionel et Chantal "Faire barbecue"

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To help you to digérer (digest) this information, here is a summary of the vocabulary from this lesson:

manger sain: to eat healthy

consommer en moderation: to consume in moderation

la consommation de viande: meat consumption

une alimentation saine et équilibrée: healthy and balanced nutrition

les habitudes alimentaires: dietary habits

un régime: a diet

végan (masculine), végane (feminine): vegan

végétarien (m.), végétarienne (f.): vegetarian

les produits bio(logiques): organic products

les produits conventionnels: conventional products

les céréales complètes: whole grains

Whatever your dietary preferences may be, Yabla has a wealth of food-related videos to help you achieve un mode de vie sain (a healthy lifestyle). You may also like to get A Free Sampling of French Food and Drink Words. Please stay tuned for our next lesson on what a bad diet looks like in French!