In her book, there are no excuses for not cooking

Mireille Guiliano is petite, chic, slim. Precisely what you'd expect the author of the best-seller French Women Don't Get Fat to be.

She also is soft-spoken, perched on an upholstered chair in a hotel lobby chatting about her first cookbook, The French Women Don't Get Fat Cookbook (Atria Books, $27).

She is a woman on a mission, exasperated that we gulp food on the run, kick carbs to the curb and, most important, steer clear of cooking.

"My appeal with this book is to say to people: You are fascinated by food because you watch it on TV, but you're actually not connecting with food," she said, peeved we default so often to meals of prepared food. "To connect with food there's only one way: to go into the kitchen and cook."

While her previous books (French Women Don't Get Fat, French Women for All Seasons, and Women, Work & the Art of Savoir Faire) have had recipes, this book boasts 150 new ones, from a yogurt-based "Magical Breakfast Cream" to a strawberry parfait. Most can be prepared in less than 30 minutes.

The value of the book, especially for the cooking challenged, are the stories, tips and advice that Guiliano sprinkles among the recipes and menus.

"Recipes are just a guide. You can do what you want. If you don't have basil to put with your leeks and cheese dish, put parsley."

The "In Case You Were About to Ask" chapter focuses on the importance of walking, drinking water, and patience (when trying to change the cooking and eating habits of yourself and your family). And, she notes, our lack of a "connection to food and cooking is what prevents many of us from finding balance, harmony, and pleasure."

Mireille Guiliano (Meer-ray Julie-ano) grew up in a small town in eastern France not far from her grandmother's farm near Strasbourg ("where I got exposed to food, making cheese, and eating seasonally"). Her mother ran a little specialty food store ("like a little Dean & DeLuca"), working six days a week "and she was making three meals a day for the whole family."

She admitted she has been overweight (after a stint as an exchange student in the United States) and pressed for time (eating scrambled eggs or oatmeal for dinner or purchasing roast chicken from a Provence market). She was once spokeswoman for Champagne Veuve Clicquot in the United States.

At the moment, she's waiting to see how a movie based on her first book turns out (Hilary Swank is attached). It is, she said, "a way to educate people with a romantic comedy."

She's busy with book signings, a website, and politely listening to excuses for not cooking and mindless eating, after which she firmly lays down Mireille's laws:

"Eat only three meals a day. Each meal has three substances: carbs, protein, and fat," she said.

"You can have everything. But think about the three P's: pleasures, portions, and plan.

"Don't tell me you don't have time," she said. "There are very few things in our life that we can control and time is one of them.

"The plan takes a bit of doing, getting organized. But once you get going, you know, it's like flossing your teeth in the morning."