Being a California girl, I was practically raised at the health food store. Mom would make her weekly trips with us in tow and I grew up reading labels on packages. Needless to say, sugary cereals for a morning breakfast has never been part of my routine.
Fast forward a few decades and it has been quite a challenge to buy foods in France without a whole lot of stuff that does not do the body any good. When I read labels on food items here I am surprised how many things are filled with unnatural items. What ever happened to healthy granola?
Milk and cream is a staple in the French culture. It is as though someone stands at each package pouring milk into things that would not normally have milk in it at home. Taboule or hummus with milk, n'est pas? As a former dairy addict, I know how good it all is, but since I recently discovered I am allergic to dairy it has limited my diet quite a bit. Oh no, what's a girl to do?
Then there is the sugar problem. When I arrived, I tasted the most delicious homemade mirabelle jam. Mirabelle is a white plum that is a specialty of French fruit growers. After the first bite, I admitedly began eating this stuff out of the jar. You couldn't keep me away from it. I was told that only the natural juices of the fruit were used as its sweetener. After finishing the jam, I ventured to the grocery store to buy some more and discovered that every single jar had sugar as the first ingredient. I was disappointed, but had to have my mirabelle. I took my first bite and all I could taste was the sugar. It certainly wasn't the same or nearly as good as the homemade stuff. I frankly had to give it away.
A word about sugar: it certainly has a place in the Universe, but when one douses the natural sweetness of fruit with sugar, what is the point? So, my search for something to eat in Paris continued.
Thankfully, Naturalia came to the rescue! My hero! With 43 stores in the Paris area, this health food store is breath of fresh air to those conscious about what goes inside and outside your body. Yippee! Granola that is all natural, fruits and vegetables that are pesticide free and skin products that will make body want to sing fill this store. Hallelujah, Paris is going healthy!
This store promotes "les ingredients de la vie" (ingredients for life) and they truly have it. Many products are from fair trade vendors and everything is only made with whole products, no crazy additives that you can't pronounce here. It might be a little more expensive than a regular grocery store, but who cares...You are WORTH it! Just look for the familiar beige on brown sign and enter into delicious and healthy goodness.
For more information, please visit http://www.naturalia.fr/ (sorry it is only in French) or just check out one of the many stores
Thank you for reading and bonne journée.
Fast forward a few decades and it has been quite a challenge to buy foods in France without a whole lot of stuff that does not do the body any good. When I read labels on food items here I am surprised how many things are filled with unnatural items. What ever happened to healthy granola?
Milk and cream is a staple in the French culture. It is as though someone stands at each package pouring milk into things that would not normally have milk in it at home. Taboule or hummus with milk, n'est pas? As a former dairy addict, I know how good it all is, but since I recently discovered I am allergic to dairy it has limited my diet quite a bit. Oh no, what's a girl to do?
Then there is the sugar problem. When I arrived, I tasted the most delicious homemade mirabelle jam. Mirabelle is a white plum that is a specialty of French fruit growers. After the first bite, I admitedly began eating this stuff out of the jar. You couldn't keep me away from it. I was told that only the natural juices of the fruit were used as its sweetener. After finishing the jam, I ventured to the grocery store to buy some more and discovered that every single jar had sugar as the first ingredient. I was disappointed, but had to have my mirabelle. I took my first bite and all I could taste was the sugar. It certainly wasn't the same or nearly as good as the homemade stuff. I frankly had to give it away.
A word about sugar: it certainly has a place in the Universe, but when one douses the natural sweetness of fruit with sugar, what is the point? So, my search for something to eat in Paris continued.
Thankfully, Naturalia came to the rescue! My hero! With 43 stores in the Paris area, this health food store is breath of fresh air to those conscious about what goes inside and outside your body. Yippee! Granola that is all natural, fruits and vegetables that are pesticide free and skin products that will make body want to sing fill this store. Hallelujah, Paris is going healthy!
This store promotes "les ingredients de la vie" (ingredients for life) and they truly have it. Many products are from fair trade vendors and everything is only made with whole products, no crazy additives that you can't pronounce here. It might be a little more expensive than a regular grocery store, but who cares...You are WORTH it! Just look for the familiar beige on brown sign and enter into delicious and healthy goodness.
For more information, please visit http://www.naturalia.fr/ (sorry it is only in French) or just check out one of the many stores
Thank you for reading and bonne journée.
