Food is Tradition

信條4：吃要吃出傳統

Although you'll certainly find a few cupcakes in France food fads don't hit like they do on our side of the Atlantic. Deep down the French know what they are supposed to eat: whole grains fruits and vegetables dairy and protein. Sure the supermarket has over 100 kinds of yogurt but 100 kinds of yogurt is much better than 100 kinds of sugary breakfast cereal.

在法國，雖然你也會看到紙杯蛋糕，但是流行食物在法國遠沒有在英國這么風靡。應該吃什么，法國人心里都明白：全麥食品、水果、蔬菜、奶制品和蛋白質。確實，法國超市里酸奶也有上百種，但是100種酸奶總比100種含糖谷類早餐好得多吧。

Because food is tradition there are certain classic staples that remain part of the culture. You'd be hard pressed to find a French person who doesn't know a thing or two about cheese and wherever you are in the country if you just take time to ask it won't take long to learn what the regional specialty is and who in town makes it.

因為這一信條，在法國的飲食文化里，有幾種經典主食至今仍占重要地位。法國人里面，很少有人對奶酪一無所知；而不管你在法國的哪個小鎮，只要你愿意花時間去問，費不著你多少功夫就能知道當地的特色菜是什么，以及鎮里面誰會做這道菜。

Food Isn't Treated as Unlimited

信條5：吃要吃得有度

Most of us even broke 20-somethings have the ability to buy way more food than we need. Compare this to places where almost entire household incomes go to sustaining a family and you begin to see the disparity. Unfortunately because it's hard to resist a good thing even though we don't need everything that we're able to purchase we still have a tendency to consume it and that means larger portions and more of them. French people eat until they are full and then stop. Those French women consuming all that heavy cream and butter? They do it in moderation knowing their personal limits.

我們中很多人，就算都過了20歲了，買食物時還老是能買一堆吃不上的。如果你和那些只有能力滿足溫飽的家庭比比，你就知道差距何在了。有些東西雖然我們有能力買，卻根本不需要。不幸的是，好東西總是難以抗拒的。因此，我們總是忍不住無節制消費。法國人吃東西，卻是吃到飽就不吃了。你看那些法國女人也是大口大口吃奶油、黃油？人家那是有節制地吃呢，人家知道自己的度在哪里。

Food is Joie de Vivre

信條6：吃要吃出情趣

Everyone has to eat so why not enjoy the moment preferably with friends? Eating with others has not only emotional benefits but also means you're not sitting in front of the television alone mindlessly moving your hand from chip bag to mouth. Food is meant to be enjoyed; given the time it took to get from the earth to your plate it deserves to be enjoyed.

既然每個人都得吃東西，那何不好好享受這一時刻，和朋友們一塊吃呢？和別人一起吃不僅有益心情，還意味著你不會是一個人對著電視、無意識地把薯條塞到嘴里。食物就該是拿來好好享用的，就憑著它歷時長久才從地里面到達你的盤中這一點，它就值得被好好對待。

Want to be more French? Don't just whip up a coq au vin or grab a croissant with your coffee for breakfast tomorrow. Eating French isn't about the specific dishes it's about the entire process. Think about what you eat where it comes from and enjoy the process of consuming it and who you're eating it with. In fact c'est simple.

想要更像法國人嗎？別以為會做酒悶仔雞、或者早餐吃羊角面包配咖啡就很法啦。法國式飲食講究的不僅是吃什么，還在于整個吃的過程。好好想想，你吃的是什么，它從哪里來，你和誰一起吃，再好好享受消化的過程。實際上，C'est simple（譯注：法語“這很簡單”）。