10 French Antioxidant Foods by Ruth Paget
When I moved to France as a young woman, I was happy to learn that the French eat many antioxidant foods that remove free radicals that cause cancer in addition to drinking red wine, which they claim reduces breast cancer when combined with Camembert cheese.
I still eat these foods in California where I live now to help with “digestion” as the French say:
1-Homemade Yogurt
I use a yogurt machine made by Mueller to cook 8 pots of yogurt. I buy Euro Cuisine Yogurt Culture from Amazon and add it to six Horizon organic whole milk packages to make my own probiotic yogurt. The cooked yogurt goes in the refrigerator overnight to further solidify. The taste of yogurt made this way is slightly sour and perfect with the addition of jam or fresh fruit.
2-Maille Mustard from Dijon
I make my own vinaigrette with Maille mustard (part red wine vinegar, 2 parts olive oil, and 2 parts Maille mustard). I use this vinaigrette on salads like the following:
-baby greens
-grated carrot salad -sliced tomato salad
-tuna-black bean-roasted red pepper-black olive-pepperoncino salad
-pasta salad
3-Dark Chocolate Hot Chocolate for Breakfast
4-Dry and Fresh Mushrooms
The French eat mushroom quiche and sell it frozen at the grocery store. I tend to eat mushroom-cheese pizza in the U.S. as a quiche substitute. I also make mushroom soup and sauté mushrooms to go with steak.
5-Pain d’épice de Dijon
Gingerbread made with delicious spices sometimes called antiseptic such as cloves, ginger, and cinnamon.
6-Carte Noire Coffee
Coffee brand of strong Arabica coffee to sip after dining.
7-Sauerkraut for Alsatian Flavor
Sauerkraut with caraway seeds and seeds does taste really good with a cold wheat beer, hefeweizen.
8-Curry Rice
The French at one time had a colony in Pondicherry, India and have retained “curry” as a spice. Cooked rice with one teaspoon of curry and butter is a nice side with chicken or fish.
9-Ratatouille
A delicious vegetable stew made with olive oil, garlic, onion, eggplant, zucchini, peppers, tomatoes, thyme, and rosemary. Ratatouille is excellent with baguette slices to soak up the cooking juices.
10-Chocolate Mousse
Mousse made with less sugar and more dark chocolate becomes a strong antioxidant.
These foods have the added benefit of being delicious as well as good for you.
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
