Wednesday, February 22, 2012

French Friends and Another Product

Here you have a "trick" picture to tease you into my fascinating story. . .
Some time ago I wrote a blog about the people who make life a daily pleasure. They're the ones, like my pharmacist friend, Christine, who assure a mundane pharmacie visit for aspirin or more Avène spritz-y water is fun and gossipy.

In different ways the necessary though boring chores like taking shoes in to be repaired, buying milk, picking up a cereal baguette, running out to get obscenely delicious (waaaay too much cream, Monsieur Duflos is from Normandy) Pommes Dauphinoises for a dinner party or grabbing the latest magazines are always, always a pleasure, an adventure waiting to happen.

Another of "my" completely natural, life-changing (!) products. Seriously.
However, in my post about "relationships," which is what we have with all of these people; I forgot to mention Rachel. Rachel and her family own a fascinating health food epicerie where we do lots of our shopping for eggs, cereal, almond milk (dee-li-cious if you've never tried it) and luscious jams without sweeteners of any kind for example.

My-Reason-For-Living-In-France and I have just started a diet and on it we are allowed to have fructose as the sugar of choice. Thinking Rachel would have a pure product of some kind, we turned to her for our sugar substitute. Although she carries fructose she refused to sell it to us and instead recommended/insisted we try Xylitol.
Who knew we could eat birch bark?
If you're not familiar with it, let me just say: It's brilliant. It looks like sugar, tastes like sugar, you can cook with it, it can be consumed by diabetics, it's completely natural -- wait until I tell you what it's made out of -- and has 50 percent fewer calories than the real deal.

Yep, I'm pushing another product, but remember I'm running a not for profit organization in this space. Every time I find something new -- at least to me -- I have an overwhelming urge to rush home to my computer to tell you.

Xylitol is made from the "ecorce de bouleau" or the bark of birch trees. I highly recommend it. And that one side effect you might discover if you Google it? Rachel assured me that she cannot imagine anyone consuming enough of the stuff to be "bothered" by the possible "laxative effect," which is clearly, though minutely mentioned on the label: "Une consommation excessive peu avoir des effet laxatifs."

Voila.

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