Mireille Guiliano's diary

Haven't you always wondered what a food writer, particularly one who writes on French cuisine, eats? Friday Flavours asked Mireille Guiliano, author of French Women Don't Get Fat, to maintain a food log for a fortnight

Mireille Guiliano maintained her diary from March 4 to 18, 2007. She starts off from New York City ...

Sunday - NYC
Breakfast: Yoghurt/croissant/ coffee (croissant is often a weekend indulgence and a treat, so I use my early morning walk to go to a bakery and surprise my husband upon return ... and so we each had a croissant and shared a pain aux raisins, (1/3 for me, the rest for him).

Lunch: Veggie soup and leftover salmon piece, slice of pineapple.

Dinner: It's Edward's day as I'll be travelling, so I make one of his favourite meals - grilled steak and small fingerling potatoes boiled and served sliced with olive oil and salt, some broccoli for greens and pear/apple honey compote with one small shortbread cookie. (I made a big batch of the compote so he can have some for dessert next week.)

Monday - NYC - overnight flight to Vancouver
Breakfast: oatmeal with blueberries (I have stacks of bags in my freezer bought last summer at the farmer's market), slice of whole wheat toast with butter, coffee.

Lunch: Pea soup, green salad with nuts, shaves of parmesan and lots of parsley, 1/2 grapefruit.

Dinner: Leftover tuna (last Saturday's dinner) with mixture of steamed peppers with mustard and olive oil dressing, slice of whole grain, an orange for dessert.

Night flight: no dinner on plane. Lots of water and herb tea before sleep.

Tuesday -Vancouver/Victoria
Arrive 2 in the morning. Nap at hotel till 6am

Breakfast: two small ones: Pre TV interview means breakfast high in protein: a few almonds, one yoghurt with 1/2 teaspoon honey and 3 dried apricots, coffee. Later with journalist at hotel: one poached egg, 1 slice wholewheat toast, cup of espresso

Lunch: At airport. Was told they have good places, but they all look/smell horrible to me. Can't wait till dinner though and ... spot an ice cream place (never had Canadian ice cream and order a small vanilla/chocolate).

Yummy, but not a place I enjoy eating ice cream or anything for that matter, and I do miss my veggies.
Lots of water on short flight.

Dinner: Early, after interviews and book reading/signing. I'm truly starving (note: ice cream does not make it for me as a meal) and invite my local publicist to join me.

She's delighted to pick a place with oysters (she read my books for sure). I try the local oysters (embarrassed to learn she doesn't eat shellfish) then trout with sweet potato puree and green veggies.

The bread is warm and home made, and we skip dessert after one too many slices of that bread (did we finish the basket? Oh wow, where is my 50 per cent solution today)?
Back at the hotel, I eat a clementine.

Wednesday - Return to Vancouver
Strange day with my schedule.

Breakfast: After a nice long walk along the river admiring the first cherry blossom of the year, feel great for a bowl of corn flakes, half a banana, a piece of toast and coffee.

Lunch: I'm being interviewed while doing a cooking demo from my book: leeks mozzarella with basil. Big hit as I serve it (the layers of colour look appetising, and I do get to taste a small portion with a slice of bread.

They use organic leeks ... so sweet, wonderful (what a difference!). No time for dessert ... oops, actually next was a TV taped interview where we went to market and I was to purchase a meal for a picnic ... ending with a chocolate truffle after dessert as all the guests will be chocolate lovers.

The young reporter was dying to eat something so we open the little box of six truffles, and each of us had one (yummy!) though she wanted me to have another one, but I declined (I know she wanted another one but couldn't really eat it by herself in front of the camera crew! All men).

She also gulped it down in one piece, a large one ... needs to learn how to savour ... but maybe she had not eaten lunch ... or breakfast, or both!

Dinner: Was actually two ... one being a reception at cooking school where a chef prepared half a dozen of appetisers from my book and I had to taste to OK. Small tartines of eggplant tapenade, raw fennel and goat cheese, scallops with leeks and tiny quiche lorraine. All delicious.

Second part back-to-back was a dinner for a group of business women: small tartine of shrimp followed with duck (my recipe with honey) and stewed fennel, 1/2 cooked pear with for me a dollop (please note: some guests helped themselves to 1/3 of a cup ... of chocolate sauce and pepper).

Again, a few gulped it down like it was the last meal of their life. We all tend to eat too fast, don't we? The meal was very satisfying.

Thursday - Vancouver, NY
Breakfast: I have a late am flight and it's a gorgeous day, so I take a long city walk (first visit here and no time to see anything) and then can't resist to have one of my favourite Four Seasons hotel breakfasts: ricotta/lemon zest pancakes with maple syrup.

Surprise: they don't have it on the menu, but the manager says they'll make it for me as it's a signature dish. Important to start with some fat and protein: a slice of a local hard cheese and two slices of (meat) from the buffet. I savour the pancakes: airy, lemony, plus a cup of coffee.

Lunch: On the plane so I eat nothing, but mid-afternoon I have papaya and kiwi which they offer (alas my travelling supply is gone) and green tea.

Dinner: At home finally, but my husband has a business dinner, and it's already 9pm, so I have (thanks to my freezer) a big bowl of buttersquash soup, a salad of haricots verts left over, one yoghurt and 1/2 grapefruit

Friday - NYC
Breakfast: The weather is lovely, and I've missed my early walk in the village, so I am up extra early for an extra long walk.

Thin slice of cheese, oatmeal with grated apple, slice of buttered toast, coffee.

Lunch: Salad with broccoli (I missed my greens), yellow peppers and can of sardines, nice vinaigrette,
1 slice of whole grain, kiwi.

Dinner: Lamb with thin sliced potatoes cooked in duck fat (I always reserve it when making duck breasts), spinach, 1/2 grapefruit (finishing a gift of a carton of grapefruit and oranges from Florida).

Saturday - NYC
Breakfast: Yoghurt, cranberry scone, coffee.

Lunch: Lentil soup, salad of mushrooms/nuts/cherry tomatoes, slice of whole grain, Mitsu apple.

Dinner: After a merry-go-round week feel too lazy and tired to cook, so ate at neighbourhood restaurant: spaghetti bolognese appetiser, veal with broccoli rabe and polenta, shared a torta della nonna.

Sunday - NYC
Breakfast: 1/2 grapefruit, scrambled eggs, wholewheat toast, coffee.

Lunch: Mixed green salad with tuna and baguette, tangerine.

Dinner: Sautéed codfish, carrots, brown rice ... and my husband goes around the block for ice cream, a treat before watching A Year in Provence on DVD at home. Now that's how I enjoy ice cream, and I don't store it at home, guess why?

Monday - NYC
Breakfast: Sliver of cold cut and cheese, bran flakes with 1/2 banana, coffee.

Lunch: Pea soup, endive/beets salad, grapefruit.
Long afternoon walk before dinner with friends at a fancy restaurant.

Dinner: Winter vegetables with truffle oil and delicious sour dough and olive breads, chicken with cepes mushrooms and faro, tiramisu (gave a big tablespoon to a guest who didn't want dessert ).

Tuesday - NYC-Paris
Breakfast: Treat for my husband as I won't see him till Saturday ... so I went for croissants (I had a mini) and we shared a slice of brioche pain perdue (so delicious) covered with sliced almonds, yoghurt, coffee.

Lunch: Minestrone soup, more grapefruit (end of it for me as I'm off to France for 2 weeks)

Dinner: Early in the plane, but brought my own: few walnuts and almonds, half a sandwich of meat and cheese, tangerine. Verveine tea and short night sleep after a good read.

Wednesday - Paris
Early arrival in Paris ... quick shower and off to business breakfast at La Duree near home:

Breakfast: Yoghurt (in glass jar ... amazing taste, I miss that in NYC, although I make my own to satisfaction), scrambled eggs served in a soup dish (is this globalisation ... looks like a 6 egg-portion, can't eat more than 1/3 of it), mini Viennoiserie basket and I can't resist the pain au chocolat and croissant, with a cup of cappuccino. Long walk in the Luxembourg Garden.

Lunch: Mache salad with cherry tomatoes and fresh goat cheese, Normandy apple.

Dinner: Shrimp with mixed greens, baked potato, pear.

Thursday - Paris
Breakfast: Two prunes, yoghurt (glass jar! I could eat this three times a day), 1 slice baguette au levain, coffee.
Lunch: Endive salad with blue cheese, apple slices, walnuts and a rye roll.

Dinner: With friend at restaurant. Amuse of pea soup, fougasse and veggies tian.

Foie gras with toasted brioche, dorade grille, cheese course (three), skipped dessert but ate one of my friend's macaroon and two tiny, tiny petits fours.

Friday - Paris
Breakfast. Two more prunes (good for system when travelling and changing countries), yoghurt, slice of wholewheat bread, coffee.

Lunch: Caviar restaurant I love and where I don't order caviar but their duo of herring (one in creme fraiche is to die for) on a bed of greens with a side portion of the freshest haricots verts.

Was going to pass dessert but couldn't resist their recommendation of fraises des bois (yes, that's wild strawberries) and raspberries, no sugar needed ... they come from Malaga, Spain and a dollop of ...more creme fraiche (vive la France!) et voila. I could almost like globalisation on days like this.

Coffee with, you guess it, a chocolate truffle (oh my gosh it's so good ... I could eat more, but won't).

Long walk back to the Left Bank.

Dinner: Veggies soup, mache salad, another good apple (eat local helps ... these come from nearby Paris and are still delicious at the very end of apple season).

Saturday - Provence
Breakfast: Yoghurt, half a banana, slice of whole wheat, coffee.

Lunch: At a restaurant with husband. Salad of white asparagus (first of the season so I can't resist) with croutons, penne with cepes and cream sauce, panna cotta (OK but not worth finishing) with big, glorious looking strawberries (from Spain) but almost tasteless. Forget globalisation!

Dinner: Spinach salad, cheese (all fresh goat cheese from Provence) with local olive bread and fougasse, mixed fruit salad with mint.

Sunday - Provence
Breakfast: It's vacation, it's Provence and the local bakery has a wonderful selection of viennoiserie in mini: croissant, pain aux raisins, pain au chocolat. But first a piece of brousse, that Corsican cheese so hard to get anywhere, coffee.

Lunch: Restaurant before "chiner" that's antique/brocante shopping all afternoon.

Eggplant/tomato/zucchini salad on a bed of greens and topped with poached egg, blanquette de veau (veal) a la provencale (no cream but wonderful herb broth), strawberries in a saffron marinade and mint and a tiny meringue, coffee.

Dinner: Yoghurt, apple/pear compote.