The CHOCOLATE & VICODIN blog book tour reaches the end of the line today with its last stop. Check out the interview and review at Sheesh with The Merry, who you might remember better from Cranky Fitness. Big thanks to everyone who took part in the tour!

The blog tour has been lots of fun, and their are still a few opportunities to win a free book if you visit the posts listed in the full blog tour itinerary here. In addition to the blog tour, several other blogs have been kind enough to post reviews and host their own giveaways. You can find out more about them on this post and this post on my news blog.

Don’t forget, you might win an iPod or gift certificates to Amazon or iTunes simply by spreading the word about the book here!

I’ve got one last radio interview scheduled for tomorrow on LA’s public radio station KPCC during the Patt Morrison Program at 5:40pm EST or 2:40pm PST local time. Please note the time as it has been changed from the time I originally announced. I also want to thank Flyleaf Books in advance for letting me use their landline for the interview. They are the shiznit.

After that, the bulk of my book promotions will be done and I can catch up on all the web design work I’ve been neglecting. (Dear clients, I am so, so, so, so, so sorry.) I’m grateful for all the press and media attention the book has gotten, but talking about my headache so much has really made the headache flare up. So, I will be sorta glad to go back to my life of relative anonymity and quietly read all the nice emails chronic pain sufferers have been sending me. Those messages alone make the book worth writing.

Thank you to everyone who has helped support the book! I really appreciate it.

I got to chat with Jared last Thursday on a conference call with four other bloggers: Courtney from My Dallas Mommy, Julie from Wii Mommies, Mindi from Moms Need to Know, and Jessica from Fringies…Knitting with One Needle. I also want to apologize to them because I was the moron who kept accidentally hitting buttons with her cheek for the first 10 minutes. As I said, I’m thirty now and can no longer operate technology.

The roundtable nature of the interview created a nice conversational atmosphere, and we got to learn a lot about Jared, his foundation, and his training as he prepares to run the New York City Marathon on November 7. (Good luck, dude!) Jared seems like a nice, down-to-earth guy, who’s still grateful for all the opportunities Subway has given him. Here’s what he had to say on a variety of topics, based on my notes and questions he answered from all the bloggers. (And I admit, I stole most of my questions from your comments on my last Jared entry.):

How do you maintain your healthy eating and training schedule while traveling for Subway gigs?
“It is by far the hardest challenge,” Jared said. When you travel, especially for business, you have to remember you’re not on vacation. You have to make healthy eating a priority. Jared tries to ask about what restaurants he’ll be eating at so he can prepare in advance. He orders sauces and dressings on the side, but the key is to stay “mentally strong.”

You’re very recognizable as the Subway spokesman, but do you ever eat at competitor’s restaurants like McDonalds or Pizza Hut?
Jared laughed and said he doesn’t go to any quick service restaurants because they don’t serve food he wants to be eating. He also said that he’s aware that the Subway spokesman probably shouldn’t be seen at those places. “You don’t want to see me under the golden arches.” However, he wanted us to know he doesn’t eat Subway for every meal. When he eats out, it’s at sit-down restaurants.

How did you become the Subway guy?
Believe it or not, Jared didn’t have a 5-year-plan or 10-year-plan to become the Subway spokesman. He was a business major at Indiana University when a friend wrote an article about his weight loss for the paper. That led to more articles and television interviews until the Subway spokesperson opportunity came up. When he graduated, he had to decide if he wanted to keep pursuing the Subway gig or get “a real job.” He decided to stick with Subway as long as it was still fun and he wanted to do it.

When I trained for a half-marathon, I had to take some days off for injuries. Have you faced any obstacles like that in your training?
Yes, running is completely new to Jared, but he knows you have good days and bad days. The important things is to have the mental will to push through the bad days. He’s fortunate that he hasn’t had any knee problems like I did from damage I did when I was overweight. He’s come to like running, and plans on continuing to run 5-8 mile distances after the marathon. He’s never gotten the runner’s high, but he loves the feeling of accomplishment he gets at the end of a long run.

What has training for the marathon been like?
“Twenty-six miles is a very, very, very long way to go.” Jared has been building up to the distance and has successfully completed several shorter races, including a half-marathon. He says he breaks it up mile by mile. He allows himself 20-30 seconds of walking at each mile. That’s time he uses to drink fluids and mentally recharge. He’s also got a watch with GPS, heart monitor, and pace intervals that he uses to monitor his progress. He’d like to finish the marathon in about 5 hours, but his real goal is to simply complete it no matter what his time.

What advice do you have for other who want to lose weight?
Phase 1 is losing weight. Phase 2 through infinity is keeping the weight off, which is much harder than Phase 1. “Until they create a carrot stick that tastes as good as a mozzarella stick, it will be difficult.” The key is to find exercise that is fun to do and not a chore.

Congrats on your recent marriage! Is your wife a runner? Does she go on training runs with you?
Jared’s wife is not a long-distance runner, but she leads an active life. Sometimes she’ll run a mile with him on a training run and then turn back home. She’s been very understanding of his training schedule. Jared admits, “I’ve seen my trainer this year a lot more than my wife.”

What are some of the best experiences you’ve had as a result of being the Subway guy?
Jared’s gotten to attend the Superbowl for several years, which he loves as a big sports fan. He also enjoys meeting with Little League teams. He got to meet President George W. Bush when he was in office, and Bush told him that at the Texas ranch he’d often ask the secret service guys to run out and get him Subway sandwiches. Jared also got to meet President Obama before he was president, but after the Democratic Convention speech that made him famous. Jared was walking down a hallway and recognized Obama, but wasn’t going to bother him. A few seconds after they’d passed he heard Obama say, “Jared?” They then had a conversation and Obama said he likes how Subway is toasting their subs now.

Can you talk about your foundation?
The Jared Foundation aims to stop childhood obesity. Jared particularly emphasized that he wants to find techniques that actually work, and not just ideas that sound good but have little impact. They’re starting a pilot program in Indianapolis (where Jared lives) in which they’re handing out pedometers to school children and challenging them to reach a certain number of steps.

You’ve been doing this for around 11 years now. What question do you get asked a lot that you’re absolutely sick of answering?
Jared laughed and said one common misperception people have is that he only eats Subway. He wants us to know he does eat other foods. He also feels lucky that people still care, and he hasn’t had to get a “real job” yet.

And where did you get those cool specs?
Jared laughed. “They’re Burberry.”

Thanks to Jared for taking the time to talk to us! As part of the Subway Commit to Fit program, I’m giving away a $25 Subway gift card. To enter, post a comment below listing what your favorite Subway sandwich/cookie/wrap/salad/whatever is. You must be a US resident to enter. The contest ends at 11:59pm on Thursday, November 4, 2010. Winner will be drawn randomly. For more information about the Commit to Fit program and for a chance to win up to $26,200, visit the Subway Facebook page.

The title of this book made me wary at first, but I decided to give it a chance because I’d heard a segment on This American Life with the author a few years ago that I liked about the topic of his last book, Money for Nothing: One Man’s Journey Through the Dark Side of Lottery Millions. Thankfully, what I got was a light-hearted, self-deprecating, weight-loss memoir written from the male perspective, which is certainly the under-represented gender in weight-loss tales.

Ed Ugel’s weight problem becomes an issue when he gains 43 pounds in a year due to depression brought on by various life problems. After his wife complains of his loud snoring, he’s diagnosed with sleep apnea. His weight-loss is largely motivated by the desire to be rid of the CPAP machine that helps him breathe through the night, but is so uncomfortable and odd-looking that it frightens his daughter.

We follow Ed as he slowly eases into his new routines, loses weight over the holidays, suffers relapses and binges, pretends to order for two in the drive-through, but keeps seeing his trainer, playing racquetball, and struggling through it all in a way most anyone who’s lost weight can relate to. During the process, Ed realizes he’s a food addict who uses food like a drug. Ed is also a foodie, which his dietician says gives him the best chance of keeping the weight off because foodies have the skills to make their meals taste good. Ed’s comments about food addiction vs. being a foodie, and how one doesn’t necessarily mean you’re the other, were particularly interesting.

Superficially, this book reminded me of Jen Lancaster’s Such a Pretty Fat, which is another book that was pitched on the promise that the author would lose weight for it, though Lancaster and Ugel have their own distinct styles. Specifically, there are a lot more poop jokes in this one (it must be a guy thing?), and I admit I skipped the section about colon cleansing because I DID NOT WANT TO KNOW.

Ed was super-kind to take the time to answer a few questions for me below. You can buy I’m With Fatty: Losing Fifty Pounds in Fifty Miserable Weeks at Amazon and visit EdwardUgel.com for more reviews, upcoming book events and more.

Speaking as one author of a weight-loss memoir to another, did you obsess over looking as thin as possible in your author photo like I did? I found myself Googling the phrase “how to look thin in photos” the night before my picture was taken.

Oh. Lord. Yes. Not to mention, once I heard that I was booked on the Today Show…with the HD camera—nightmare. I thought long and hard about wearing a burka to the taping—that or hiring an actor to play the part of Ed Ugel for the national TV audience. Still, in the end, my book is about learning to accept that person looking back at you in the mirror every morning, no matter how many chins he/she might have. Doing all this media and book tour appearances has actually been quite cathartic. Standing there in front of people and saying, “This is me, for better or worse,” has been a long time coming. Frankly, it feels great.

How did you choose the title I’M WITH FATTY? At first glance I thought the title might be intended to bash fat people, but after I read the book I saw it more as a reflection of the negative feelings you had about yourself after your bout with depression and the 40-something-pound weight gain that came with it.

The title of the book is a hard one to wrap my arms around. That word, “FATTY” is so polarizing, so deeply rooted in a lot of folks psychology—especially mine. It’s meant to shock you, to catch your eye, to make you wonder what the heck this book is about. Moreover, it’s also a recognition, an admission of the character I’m often guilty of playing. Hey, look at me, the lovable chubby guy…. If I call myself Fatty, maybe you won’t say it and thus, you won’t hurt me. So, I’ve been with Fatty for a long time. I guess it’s safe to say he’s my alter ego.

Frankly, I think the title of the book may turn some people away from giving it a shot, which is obviously unfortunate. Moreover, I have a hard time with my daughters knowing that word in another context other than a negative one. You see, in our house, we don’t use that word, “fat.” I’m very sensitive to people throwing around a word that is hurtful to many folks—including people in my own life.

In short, I have a certain amount of guilt/baggage about the title. I hope my girls, when they’re older, will understand what I was trying to do with the title. But, it was NEVER meant to bash, hurt, or embarrass heavy people. To the contrary. Heavy folks are my people. And, quite frankly, I feel very protective of people with weight issues.

While you don’t explicitly say this in the book, it’s implied that you sold a book proposal to write about your year of weight loss, which is why the Fatty Project became your job. Accountability is one of the pillars of weight loss, but did this additional pressure to lose weight help or hinder you? Both?

I think it both helped and hindered my year. I was well aware of the fact that this was a very white collar approach to this issue. Most folks can’t take a week, much less a year, to focus on their health. Throw in a personal trainer and nutritionist, and expensive health club etc, and you really run the risk of making my story un-relatable to the average bear out there working full time, trying to make ends meet.

Still, I went to great lengths to make sure folks knew that this book wasn’t a “how to” or a guide to weight loss etc. If anything, this book is a how-not-to. This is a memoir, my story, my year. It’s a candid, unfiltered look into the chaos of my relationship with food and myself. It doesn’t pretend to be anything else.

What I wanted people to relate to wasn’t my method of weight loss, but rather my story, my situation, my emotional mindset. I think that’s why folks are having such a strong reaction to the book. No one is saying that they want to achieve their weight loss goals in the same way I did. They’re laughing at how much of themselves they see in my story.

You write about how your weight was causing tension in your marriage, particularly because of the snoring and sleep apnea it was causing. I sometimes have readers who ask me how they can encourage a spouse to lose weight or at least get them to be supportive of their own weight loss attempts. Do you have any advice about that based on your own experiences?

Do your very best to marry my wife.

I’m lucky to have a patient, psychologically minded, compassionate loving, wife. However, I’ve often said that she’s in quite an unenviable situation. No one wants to police their partner about what they eat. It’s a very touchy thing, telling your husband or wife that they don’t need another serving of potatoes. Those kind of comments are often shaming, embarrassing, and cause for either party to find themselves being stabbed in the hand with a fork.

What finally got me going in the right direction was when my wife was able to show me that my eating was becoming a medical situation. It took her off the hook, so to speak. She wasn’t just nagging me. She was trying to save my life. Finally…with a certain amount of kicking and screaming, I let her help me help myself.

The weight-loss blogging world is predominantly female, much like the Weight Watchers meeting you attend at the end of the book. Do you have any advice for guys who are hesitant to join groups like Weight Watchers or to start weight-loss blogs?

In the few weeks since the book was released, I’ve heard from a few handfuls of men who were drawn to the book because they’d heard it was funny, or had it handed to them by their spouses who all but demanded that they read it. To my great surprise and pleasure, men have ended up walking away with a lot more than they’d bargained for. Men are saying that its both funny and relatable. But they’re also thanking me for giving voice to these issues from a male perspective. There’s a shocking lack of male voices in this arena when it comes to published books etc.

Yes, issues of weight loss and body-image have always been dominated by female writers, TV personalities. But, I think that’s been a disservice to men and women alike. I’ve been praised for giving a male voice to this issue, but there are several male weight loss bloggers who I’ve become aware of, that are writing interesting, thought provoking stuff about their own journeys in this space.

As far as men joining a group like Weight Watchers, all I can say is that it changed my world view about this entire issue. And, I couldn’t have been more wrong in my belief going in that Weight Watchers was a place for women. To the contrary. Men are not only welcome, but we also have a lot to learn about our own body image issues from those very same women with whom we believed we had so little in common.

By the end of your project, you’ve learned new things about yourself, like that you’re a food addict. Do you think you would have come to these realizations without having written the book? Or did writing serve as some sort of therapy, much like weight-loss blogging can be?

Incredible therapy! As you well know, writing, especially long form (books), is a very lonely enterprise. To say the least it’s a marathon and you literally need to train yourself to be able to do it. However, one of the benefits of spending all this time alone is having the luxury of being able to really think about this issue from all the angles. You’re literally being paid to think. And, despite all the things I’ve said about it being lonely and missing having colleagues etc., what a wonderful gift, to be able to look inward like that about something that’s so important to me. Was it therapy? Yes. Would I have come to these conclusions on my own? Perhaps in time. Although, looking at yourself and telling yourself the truth is not one of my strengths. I think I needed the time this book gave me to find my way to those deeper questions…much less the answers.

Ok, seriously, how did you lose weight over the holidays?

Can you believe that? Insane. For me, the holidays came at a time when all hell was breaking loose on this project. As you know from reading the book, I didn’t get out of the gates very well. Frankly, I’d fallen on my tushy a few times and, by the time the holidays came around, I was running out of mulligans. I’d run out of excuses and time. I simply had no choice.

Thanks again for your time, Ed! Good luck with all your book promotions!

I hate to cook, so does raw food hold the answers? Find out after the jump.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book to review.

When I ate at a raw food restaurant for the first time two weeks ago, my dining mates started to look at me funny. “Are you ok, Jennette?” I told them I was fine, but the quietly panicked looks in their eyes suggested I might be wrong about that. I went to the restroom and when I looked in the mirror, I saw a splotchy, red-faced woman. Holy crap! No wonder they were freaking out! Someone dug an antihistamine out of her purse and I was fine, but it probably wasn’t the best introduction to the raw food lifestyle.

Regardless of that experience, I decided to take the opportunity to review Raw Food: A Complete Guide to Every Meal of the Day, a book that was recently released in America after its original release in Sweden. After taking a glimpse at the pages and pages of full-color photos, I think I’d still buy the book even if it were still in Swedish.

I want to eat the pages. See this little girl below? I imagine her saying, “Oh, would you like some apple pie? DENIED! You cannot have it because I ate it many months ago and there is only this photo left to torment you!”

The whole book is like this, beautifully laid out with full-color photos making the recipes look worth all the chopping, sprouting and food processing their preparation entails. Raw food refers to any dish that was made without heating the ingredients to above 104 degrees. Proponents of the raw food lifestyle report that it makes them feel much healthier and more energized.

The book encourages you to eat raw your own way, breaking the raw lifestyle into three phases so you can ease yourself into it slowly and to your level of comfort. This is good, because I can’t see myself buying algae at the supermarket. To keep the book accessible to newbies, they purposely did not include any recipes that require a dehydrator. They do list lots of gadgets you can use if you are so inclined, which tempted my gadget-loving soul. They come up with creative uses for some tools, like using a cheese grater to slice radishes or cucumbers, and using a coffee grinder to grind spices.

The disadvantages of raw cooking appear to me to be the amount of prep time required to create many of the dishes. If you adopt a raw food lifestyle, a lot of planning seems to be necessary so you have the right fresh ingredients on hand to work with. The authors also mention that you can grow your own sprouts and soak nuts in advance, though if I tried that I’m afraid the cats might enjoy it more than me. The authors also warn that some people develop headaches and fatigue when switching to the raw lifestyle, though the effects are usually temporary and lead to increased energy later.

After reading about the raw food lifestyle, I felt like I’d traveled through an exotic foreign land. I doubt I have the patience to adopt the diet myself, but I will probably try out some of their recipes when I am willing to work on my knife skills. I don’t like to cook, and technically this isn’t cooking! The book also answered one of my great unanswered questions: What are those weird seeds available at the exit of my local Indian restaurant? The answer: Fennel seeds!

Author Erica Palmcrantz was kind enough to take the time to answer a few more of my questions about the raw food lifestyle. Our interview appears below. You can buy Raw Food: A Complete Guide to Every Meal of the Day on Amazon.com.

I’m not a big fan of chopping fruits and vegetables. Are there any kitchen gadgets you can recommend that help quicken food preparation?

A mixer and a food processor are very usable and make the raw food preparation very fun. If you have this there will be very little chopping.

How can I work on my knife skills to become a faster chopper?
I think if you put more attention in your chopping and think how wonderful it is to prepare the amazing food, then you will be less bored when you chop.

While I love to eat, I don’t love preparing food. Is it possible to prep a lot of raw ingredients at once over the weekend to be used during the week?

Food prepared à la minute is always the best but it is better to prepare in advanced than not doing it at all! Snacks, nutmilk and dressings you can always store in the fridge for a couple of days.

Is there a way to preserve chopped vegetables in the fridge so they don’t lose nutrients and flavor?

Put the vegetables in a sealed container or a plastic bag if you pre chop them.

Does the raw food lifestyle simply require that you spend time each day on food preparation?

When you get more use to making raw food you will see that your daily preparation of food is like a meditation and you want to spend time on food preparation because it gives you so much energy back.

In the book, you specify that raw food is any food that hasn’t been heated about 104 degrees. What happens to food at 104 degrees that makes it lose nutritional value?

You have something called living enzymes that over 104 degrees will looe is “aliveness” and 60-80% of all the nutrients will be lost in the heating process.

Similarly, how does freezing food affect its nutritional value?

Freezing is a good option, even thought it will lose some of its nutrients and this is also for the living enzymes. It is very much depending of the freezing process, if you pick your berries yourself and hurry to freeze them or if you buy freeze dried fruit and veggies.

In the book you recommend that you start the day with a glass of water with lemon in it. Is there a particular reason for that, or is it just a way to ensure you remain hydrated during the day?

After sleep it is important to give your body water to keep you hydrated and the lemon will do your body more alkaline and give your immune system a boost. – you recharge your body for a amazing day. Also by drinking water you will prepare your stomach and inner organs, by telling “food is coming soon”!

Your book shares many success stories about people who eat raw food and feel much better for it. Are there any people with medical issues that should be warned that they may not be able to adapt to a 100% raw diet? If someone has a bad reaction to going 100% raw, are they usually able to do at least 90% or 80% raw?

I talk about going raw your way. You shouldn’t do things that a doctor not recommend or do something that doesn’t feel good in your body. Always listen to yourself and your reactions. By sustaining a 80 % raw food diet you can see a big difference in your energy and vitality.

Is it harder to eat a variety of raw food in the winter when there aren’t as many fruits and vegetables in season?

Yes, to get sun-ripened fruit and vegetables that are grown locally are hard to find, you can either increase your food with the food that actually are organic and locally grown such as, root fruits, kale and cabbage. Normally you also eat more nuts, seeds and dried fruits during winter time. You can always sprout and this will give you a lot of energy. Even superfoods that are high in nutrients can be consumed under the cold periods.

Thanks again for you time, and thanks for the beautiful book!

Thank you – may your journey in life be happy and joyful! Go raw – your way.

Elizabeth came to Paris almost a decade ago and never really left. While she was studying abroad, she fell in love with a Frenchman, eventually married him, and slowly learned how to make a life in the city of lights. Her story is told in her new book Lunch in Paris: A Love Story, with Recipes which includes dozens of recipes that marked special moments during her transition. These include recipes for seduction, meals to warm you up when your apartment doesn’t have central heat, and slimming summer recipes for the bikini days of French vacation.

I talked to Elizabeth about her book and particularly about what anyone can do to make their kitchen more “Frenchie.” You can catch up with her on the Lunch in Paris Facebook fan page.

Q: One of the most obvious traits of French cooking that I noticed in your book was the tendency to buy fresh fruits, vegetables and meat at markets. Is it easier to find open air markets in France than in America? And how does cooking with fresh ingredients affect the quality of the final meal?

I think the most important thing I’ve learned while shopping and cooking in Paris is that if you start with good things – you don’t need to do much to them to make them taste great. A little olive oil, a hot frying pan and an open bottle of white wine and you’re good to go.

Outdoor markets are everywhere in France – it’s a tradition that has really endured, and it has become my favorite form of “window shopping”. I feel like farmer’s markets are becoming easier to find in US – sometime they cost a bit more, but I’d rather buy less, and use quality ingredients. One of the great things about the markets is I’ll often buy a fruit or veggie or type of fish that I’ve never seen before. Browsing encourages my sense of adventure and experimentation.

Q: In the book, you mention how much you like sea salt, which is different than the salt most Americans probably use that comes in a cardboard cylinder with a spout. What is sea salt and what qualities make you prefer it?

Sea salt is simply the leftovers from evaporated sea water. Regular table salt is often from underground sources that have been mined and chemically treated – which strips the mineral content. I prefer sea salt because I find it has a less chemical taste to it. I love the coarse sea salt (as opposed to fine grained), because taking a pinch from a jar gives you more control than shaking or grinding. It’s also beautiful stuff – the tiny crystals make me feel like I’m sprinkling my food with tiny diamonds.

If you are using table salt in a recipe, you should start with a smaller amount. Because table salt has very fine grains – there’s a lot more in terms of volume than you get with coarse sea salt. Here’s a good link that explains some of the differences.

Q: The selection of vegetables at the market seemed to vary from what we have available in America. For instance, you had great trouble locating parsnips, but leeks and celery root seemed to be plentiful. What was it like learning to chop and cook new vegetables and to make do without some old favorites?

Discovering new foods is probably my favorite thing about living in France. Celery root – which looks like a brain – is a particularly smug Paris discovery. Peeled, boiled and mashed with a few potatoes and a bit of milk and butter, it’s the best mashed potato dish I’ve ever tasted.

Sometimes homesickness kicks in – and I feel like I want to make something EXACTLY like my mom used to make in the US – that impulse usually ends in tears – and a big pot of something simple and French, like onion soup with melted Swiss cheese.

Q: When it comes to meat and fish, the French seem to prefer cooking with the whole animal. In the book you talk about buying fish who still have glassy eyes staring back at you, and in one chapter your friend cooks a wild boar. Some American cooks might be intimidated by this. How difficult is it to learn how to cook and debone a fish or cook with a whole animal?

I too grew up with my meat and fish under saran wrap at the local Shoprite – so going to the butcher and fishmonger was a real revelation for me. I like food that I’m a bit afraid of – I love to try new things. There’s usually no need to do what I did – getting fish guts all over your hands – any respectable fish place will do it for you. With fish, cooking the whole animal actually makes your life easier – as the skin protects the delicate flesh from drying out. It makes quick methods like broiling a real option. One weekday meal we eat all the time at home is whole sea bass (head, eyes and everything) – drizzled with a bit of oil olive and a pinch of sea salt – 5 minutes on each side under the broiler and it’s done. I call it French “fast food”. (If there’s no whole fish at your supermarket – try an Asian supermarket – they often have several varieties.)

With meat, I think the key thing is not to be scared to point and stare – and ask questions. Treat a trip to a butcher like a field trip – it’s so sexy to watch them wield those huge knives. They will take care of the deboning, and usually the guy behind the counter will have some great suggestions about how to cook what you buy.

Q: When I was in Paris, I remember seeing rows of street vendors not far from Montmartre who all had huge jars of Nutella on their carts. You mention that your step-father, Paul, became a big fan of the chocolate-hazelnut Nutella. Why is Nutella so popular in France?

The French don’t eat much “on the run” – and a crepe filled with chocolately Nutella is one of the great exceptions. Maybe it’s like peanut butter and jelly or smores – a childhood taste that you never quite outgrow. I grew up studying for my final exams with a jar of Pillsbury vanilla frosting and a plastic spoon – I feel like the Nutella habit could become I bit like that. Thank god, I don’t love hazelnuts, or I’d be in real trouble.

Q: I was horrified to learn that the French don’t bake Christmas cookies. Are cookies unpopular in general in France? If so, what do you eat in their place?

Yup – they’re weird that way. The first time my husband saw the blue icing on the Christmas cookies, he got a bit freaked out – his comment was: “Why would anyone want to eat blue food?” That said, the French have their own wonderful Christmas traditions. They often serve a Bûche de Noël – a cake made in the form of a Yule log – it can be made with mousse or ice-cream or custard – very yummy. Every Christmas morning my husband makes a big stack of crepes – which we eat with jam, yogurt, Nutella, or sweet chestnut puree. My favorite is a plain crepe (warm!) sprinkled with sugar and a squeeze of lemon.

Q: Were there any recipes you had to leave out of the book? Was it hard to decide what to include?
I tried to include things that I make a lot, and that hold nice memories for me. The recipes in the book are the meals that really helped me discover France culture. For example, I never liked mayonnaise until I tasted a homemade version in my mother-in-law’s kitchen. The tagines (North African stews), which I learned from my husband’s godfather, are what I often make for a party. They are definite crowd pleasers – and taste even better made a bit in advance. There are also a few family recipes from the USA. My grandmother passed away last year, and I’m so glad I finally got down a reliable recipe for her wonderful spaghetti sauce with pork ribs – it just feels like home to me.

Q: Are there any plans for another cookbook in the future?
I have a six month old son, and at some point I’d love to write a children’s cookbook with him as my little sous-chef and taster. I’m always amazed sitting down at family meals in France – French kids eat everything – anchovies and smelly cheeses and such – there’s no hiding the spinach in a brownie!

Thanks, Elizabeth! And congratulations on your latest creation which took nine months to cook up, your new baby! You can buy Lunch in Paris on Amazon or visit her Facebook page here.

Today we talked food – tomorrow is romance. Elizabeth’s blog tour takes a sexier turn tomorrow – an interview with the Yolanda Shoshana, the Luscious Lifestyle Diva!

I also had to drive downtown to the public radio station to tape a short interview for this week’s Definitely Not the Opera, a weekly show on Canadian Public Radio. I do not live in Canada, so I hadn’t heard of DNtO before, but I downloaded the podcast beforehand to get a sense of the program and I think I’m going to stay subscribed. Each week they take on a theme and collect stories and interviews with people related to that theme. This week the show is called “Peep Show,” and no, I’m not going to reveal some shady past as a stripper. This week’s show is about our fascination with other people’s private lives, so I got to talk about blogging and why I decided to put my life out there for everyone to see.

When I got to the studio, I noticed that the technician operating the sound equipment (who would have to listen to my entire interview in which I talked about how isolated and unhappy I was when I was morbidly obese) was obese himself. Good thing this wasn’t AWKWARD. I got through it, even though my voice started to croak at moments, either from the cold weather or an impending cold. All in all it was a rather fun experience, even if I got lost trying to find my way out of the building.

If you want to listen to the interview, here’s the info they sent me about it:

As for hearing the item, the easiest way in the U.S. (or anywhere else outside Canada) is via our podcast, which is available from our website here (or in a chaptered version from iTunes here). This week’s podcast will be available there Saturday morning.

And if you’d like to hear it live (or know anyone in Canada who would), we air across Canada on CBC Radio One Saturday afternoon from 2:00 to 4:00 (local time in each time zone)… and there’s live streaming here. Your segment will be on in the second hour of the show, so probably around 3:30 (local time).

And finally, if you know any Sirius Satellite listeners, we’re also on Sirius Channel 137, Saturday at noon and 10:00 p.m. (ET).

Update 12-12-09: The podcast is up! You can download the mp3 here. My interview starts around the 50 minute mark. It came out really well, even though I say “you know” a million times and sound a bit croaky. Oh well, there’s always room for improvement!

Where did the idea for “Back to the Fridge” come from? Is it because Marty McFly tries to order a Tab soda in “Back to the Future” and you recount in your book that you hate Tab soda?

Wow, that’s a connection I don’t think even James Burke could have made. Well, done! Unfortunately, that isn’t the case. To be honest, I initially wanted to call it “Tales from the Fridge” but that was already taken. Serves me right for not starting my blog back in 2002.

It actually turned out to be a good name, though. One thing I never saw coming was the shear number of movie references I make in my posts. I’d love to say I planned this all out to tie in with the movie allusion in the blog title, but then I’d be lying.

Early in the book you tell of a day you stepped on the scale and the number rolled over 200 pounds. This is a touchstone moment in many people’s lives. Why did this number motivate you?

The number itself, of course, is completely arbitrary. If I were weighing myself in kilos, stones, or even peanut butter jars, then some other completely arbitrary number would have taken on mystical significance.

But that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? Whatever that mystical boundary is for you, crossing it is that slap in the face— the realization that you’re no longer what you thought you were. It’s a “Moses moment”: you know, where you feel like you’ve been pulled out of denial. Har har.

In the book, you recount the time you walked the Chicago marathon. You also say if given the choice between a marathon or a cheeseburger, you should pick the cheeseburger. What if they put the cheeseburgers at the end of the marathon? What would you do then?

That’s actually an easy question. You see, the place where the marathon ends is generally announced beforehand and is easily accessible by car.

Seriously though, what was it like to walk a marathon?

Relatively insane. For one, you go a lot slower than even the slowest runners. And for me, I went slower than most of the other walkers. It took me about seven and a half hours of non-stop plodding to cross that line. My legs and butt hurt for days afterwards.

But the experience! I may have complained about it at the time, but I can only look back on it with amazement. I mean, at what other point in one’s life can one eat nearly unlimited bowls of Honeycomb cereal and fresh strawberries, for months on end, without any guilt?

Do you draw smiley faces and frowning faces on your weight charts at home too? They add flare.

Nope. I just save that for my adoring public. I got the idea early on after I dropped a couple dry graphs in there. I thought the data was important, but unfortunately, it just looked like data. Nobody wants to look at that. It immediately hit me: these graphs need some life. I’ve gotten more comments on the graphs (both in the book and on my blog) than I ever expected.

What do you hope people get from your book? Is there a certain message or feeling you want to convey to people?

My greatest hope is this. When people read the book, they get an overwhelming sense to tell ten friends to buy it too. The message is, “Charlie needs some incentive to write more.”

But seriously—and yes, I do get serious once in a while—the message I want to send is in two parts. The first part is in the subtitle of the book itself, and How This Book Won’t Help You on Your Next One. My book won’t because no book will. I think far, far too often we’re counting on the rest of the world to solve our problems. We’re looking for silver bullets, miracle ab machines, and cases Acai berries to mend our souls. The second part is simple: you’re not alone. It’s easy to feel alone in this game. It’s easy to feel like you’re the only one battling this nemesis, or the only one who gives up too quickly, or the only one who can’t tie your shoes without a struggle. I combine the two best medicines out there: laughter and commiseration. How can you beat that?

Thanks, Charlie! To win a free copy of Back to the Fridge, leave a comment on this post by 11:59pm on Sunday, April 19th, 2009 telling me the weirdest thing that is in your fridge right now.

You can also catch up on yesterday’s tour stop at Lynn’s Weigh, and don’t miss Monday’s stop at Biggest Diabetic Loser

So, the lovely Eva helped put everything together and you can follow the tour below. If you haven’t already bought a copy of Half-Assed: A Weight-Loss Memoir, you’ll have several chances to win one at the stops below. Thank you to all the bloggers participating!

Monday, January 19 – MizFit Online (video)

Tuesday, January 20 – Morgan Gets Thin

Wednesday, January 21 – This Mama Cooks (Guest post)

Thursday, January 22 – John is Fit (review)

Friday, January 23 – Escape from Obesity (interview)

Saturday, January 24 – Lynn’s Weigh (interview)

Now Americans have a chance to buy Shauna’s book without paying for .01% of a tank of jet fuel because it’s recently been released in the USA. Or you can read to the end of this entry for details on how to win a copy. I checked in with Shauna to see how things have been going since she became a published author and how she went from blog to book in the first place.

Thanks, Shauna, for taking the time to thoughtfully answer my questions! Now, about that free book…Today Shauna is appearing on every radio station in America (and a couple in Canada). Please pray for her and hope the telephone cord is long enough to stretch to the bathroom and the fridge, otherwise she might not survive. To win a free copy of the book, please leave a comment on this entry by 11:59pm on Friday, January 9th with the title of a song you think the DJs should dedicate to Shauna. A winner will be randomly chosen. US entrants only please.