Everyday French Meals

What are your food dreams?

Are you imagining fluffy croissants with fresh jam and a cup of coffee for breakfast? Are you dreaming of a a buttered baguette with sliced meat and cheese for lunch? Are you lusting for that satisfying dinner of bread, meat, vegetables and more starchy goodness?

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, then France is the place you need to go.

Everyday cooking here is a masterpiece and the food tastes divine. Now not every host family works the same way, so you are going to find some variation in what is made in each house, just like back in the States. For example, in my home stay, I have a bowl of chocolate cereal with a croissant every morning which looks like this:

My everyday breakfast at my homestay. Yes that is Nesquik. It is awesome.

Now lunch is a casual affair as a student; usually I end up taking a sandwich, some pretzels and Nutella and a water bottle. However, sometimes I splurge a little bit and get a classic French lunch.

Scallops and risotto for my introductory meal to Grenoble!

Dinner is also interesting and comes in many different stages. First you have the aperitif stage which consists of a salad and small finger foods. Such as the following trays of finger foods:

Aperitifs: brie and bread, salmon spread on blinis, charcuterie, cucumber sandwiches, and tomatoes

Next comes the main entrée of the meal which involves a meat, a starch and a vegetable (unless you're my host father who hates vegetables). The meal below hits all of those boxes with bread, spaghetti and a vegetable/meat sauce, also known as one of the yummiest dinners I have had here in France!

Spaghetti and zucchini

Then, finally, your day ends with dessert. In my opinion this is the most important part of the day and should always be kept sacred. Here you also have stages, the first being the cheese and nut round. In my family, they rotate the types of cheeses in the house and I've found Brie to be my favorite so far! Next you have the yogurt/flan/pudding round where you must choose wisely between the available choices since there is still another round to go! Finally you're nearing the end of the dinner and you're at the ice cream/fruit/cookie round. In this round you might get a mini-cone or a chocolate bar or something definitely sweet, which is the best thing if you have a sweet tooth and the worst thing if you are trying to eat healthier. Either way, when in France try everything that is put in front of you, unless you are allergic of course then stay far away. I hope that if your travels land you in France that you take the opportunity to try every food imaginable! It's always a treat!

Lisa Brice is the Fall 2015 CEA MOJO Blogger in Grenoble, France. She is currently a junior at Baldwin Wallace University.

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