Thin for Paris

 Do you try to get thin for Paris or wherever you're headed on a trip?

 Usually I have a 3-month window to yo-yo, procrastinate, dream without actually doing it. This time I just have 2 weeks to move mountains. Not happening.

 I don't like feeling like a hippo in Paris. I did see lots of them on book jackets, sculpture in front of musee d'Orsay, on this doormat where I'm staying - a constant reminder, ahem.

 It's not as if Paris cares a hoot whether we're thin. Though it would be nice to think we could wolf down lots more pastries knowing they would do less damage

 Last trip was the 1st one where I didn't gain any weight. I changed some eating habits thanks to The Power of Habit combined with Bringing Up Bebe.

 I ate fruit compote instead of pastries. Fr Girl had a fit when she heard I was buying it,

'It's so easy to make!

How could you do that?'

There are tons of compote recipes at Clotilde's Chocolate and Zucchini.

 The Power of Habit tells you how to replace a troubling habit with a new more beneficial habit if you set up the cue-reward-routine.

 I found I could resist the siren call of meringues,
 

 If there was compote de pomme nearby. There often is in Parisian patisseries.

 I could be satisfied with no afternoon sugar lows in the process.

 Page 64 of Pamela's book spells it out regarding my baking traumas.

'All this (weekend) baking doesn't just yield lots of cakes. It also teaches kids how to control themselves. With its orderly measuring and sequencing of ingredients, baking is the perfect lesson in patience. So is the fact that French families don't devour the cake as soon as it comes out of the oven, as I would. They typically bake in the morning or early afternoon, then wait and eat the cake or muffins as a gouter(pronounced goo-tay)-the French afternoon snack'.
 

 I had a chance to test this out. Someone suggested putting the leftover madeleine batter in the pan and FREEZING IT! Then simply defrost and put in the oven 8-10 minutes.

 The 2nd batch of madeleines came out better than the 1st batch. But how NOT to eat them in one fell swoop?

 Illustration by Katy Couprie

How to space them out, eating ONE-a-day at afternoon snacktime/gouter and not feel deprived? After all, 'French kids snack only once a day' says Karen Le Billon.

I found I could do it!  Big Merci to Power of Habits + Bringing Up Bebe. I now have a tin full of madeleines waiting for gouter time.

That was before Ooh La La Confectionary sent us a box of candies from CapeTown yesterday. The delish calissons are gone. I ate all 12 of them in one fell swoop. The best laid plans of 'bears' and men oft go astray.

*update: Sat afternoon I made a 'betise'. In a weak moment I downed THREE madeleines, then fell into a comatose sleep. We will not even discuss the delicious nougat from S.Africa :(