This post is part of a new series I created called Awesome Women Doing Awesome Things, and highlights an amazing woman I know who is going above and beyond and doing extraordinary things! Today’s AWDAT features Lora Krulak, an Amazon best-selling author, speaker, nutritional muse and the creator of the course Eat Like a French Girl, which will help you “ditch diets for good, nourish yourself and love the hell out of YOU again!” I met Lora through a women’s entrepreneur group I am involved in and was instantly amazed by her drive, determination and dedication to help women understand their bodies, repair their relationship with fitness and food and build a fun-filled lifestyle they love! Read on for some of Lora’s wisdom and, for more information on her products and services, visit her website here!
I miss Paris. Admittedly, Miami is growing on me – ocean breezes, being surrounded by palm trees, radiantly warm sunny days. The food is not nearly as good, the streets not remotely as interesting and the markets don’t hold a candle to those in Paris. But I’m a beach girl at heart and according to my dear friend (and winemaker) Piero Incisa della Rocchetta’s theory, the terroir of a place changes you. Being surrounded by water is inherently calming and grounding, and makes one more focused. Piero says that Venetian food is the most elegant in Italy because of the terroir. I like his theory. I do feel calmer and my cooking is most certainly taking an elegant turn.
I’m not so easy when it comes to food. I like to eat a particular way. I love my green juice, my big salads, my dips and my raw veggies to dip in them. I don’t really eat bread, I don’t eat meat, and can go weeks without eating any animal products at all, without even noticing. I am not a vegan. I’m an omnivore with very particular eating habits. This is not a very French way of eating – Mediterranean perhaps but certainly not French.
France threw me a curveball and eating was a challenge, to say the least. I tried every survival skill I could think of from my mental-toolbox. I tried going with it, embracing the French diet. I tried diet books from years ago. I tried eating only cheese and salad. I tried eating like myself. I even tried eating meat! But all this only made it harder.
I had my Aha moment one evening at the very chic Hotel Amour in the 9th Arrondissement in Paris. (I’ll tell you that story in my next entry) I’d spent the better part of a year micro-observing Europeans eat, and sourcing memories of eating and living around the world, and I came up with a theory. The French and Italians – Europeans in general – are thin and mostly without food issues because they take the time to slow down and enjoy real food. They eat with the seasons, and they use spices and herbs. They don’t really snack and they don’t mindlessly munch. They eat meals. This isn’t rocket science and I’m not the first person to come up with it.
In essence: Take the time to slow down, breathe and enjoy real food.
Like this post from Lora Krulak? Stay tuned for part II, later this week!