Paris with food restrictions

https://www.healthfitnessrevolution.com/10-healthy-french-foods/

L’Arpege is expensive but you should be able to find heart healthy choices there. https://www.alain-passard.com/ Another place that should have menu items that could work for you is Le Mesturet: https://www.lemesturet.com/en/menu-restaurant-le-mesturet/. I also think that you need to look at modern French places and Mediterranean-inspired spots like Hebe, for example; these places tend to avoid the more traditional types of French food. I love L’Arcane in Montmartre and I think it could work for you: https://www.restaurantlarcane.com/menus Most restaurants that I have been to have some fish dishes, lentils, etc. You should be able find healthy choices on many menus. Menus are posted outside of restaurants so you can look at them and see if there are choices that work for you.

As an added idea- make some of your own meals. Paris is full of markets and shops where you can source either healthy pre-made or items such as bread and sliced meat to make sandwiches, buy salads, etc. to enjoy on the go or back at your room.

I do this a lot due to dietary restrictions everywhere I go and it works well. In Paris I did all lunches this way and a few dinners

I just thought of another place that has options for you: Cafe Varenne. https://menuonline.fr/cafevarenne/carte-restaurant I happen to know that they will serve the sauce on the side and remove the poached eggs from dishes with them — both of which were done for my son. If they will do that for a teenager, I don’t see why they would not do that for an adult.

Plenty of French people build plaque, too. Luckily, the large bullion restaurants are serving some old-fashioned dishes with a lot of vegetable: tomato, leeks, mushrooms, grated carrots, crudites (raw vegetable plate) all with vinaigrette. Stick to tomato-based sauces as found in the south of France. Traditionally, France had the highest consumption of fruit and vegetables in Europe. Serving all the high-cal first courses and cream/egg based desserts at ordinary restaurants started around the 1980s. You'll find lentil and white bean dishes, both traditional. At an Alsacian brasserie, you can get fish with a saurkraut side--no, it's nothing like that awful acidic stuff in other countries. You can also order chicken in a white wine sauce, traditional of Alsace. Not every thing is a cream sauce. Get fruit for dessert-- it's sold ripe here. But having a bite of your travel partner's dessert won't be the end of the world. Try couscous, with chicken or a vegetable couscous, a falafel (a few fried fava bean balls in the falafel won't send you over the edge. In fall, you'll find marinated fish with marinated potatoes. Of couse, it's raw oyster season with a glass of crisp, dry white wine.

I have someone in the household here in France who is supposed to be following a Mediterranean diet. We do the best we can and allow treats. My cooking is with olive oil; I avoid beef, lamb, duck, and pile many vegetables into dishes. French cooking is still delicious beyond cream sauces and pastries.

Don't be stressed or depressed . I had stents installed four years ago , and staying on a healthy regimen has not been difficult . We are in Switzerland now after a month in France , and it has not been hard to deal with this at all . The occasional croissant , won't do damage and at breakfast I only eat egg whites , as I do at home . Dinners are usually salads with a bit of bread and other low fat additions to round things out Two weeks in Paris , and one brasserie dinner , is the kind of routine we follow .

I see Bets elaborated on her post, I can only add , the last paragraph looks like my wife wrote it . Our sentiments exactly .

You may check the Happy Cow website, which lists vegan and vegetarian restaurants, along with restaurants with vegan/vegetarian options.

https://www.happycow.net/

Food is important to the French, they are subject to all the same health problems as other Western countries, and they can be especially careful what they eat and what they serve. On occasions, I have seen the weekly menu for a French school lunch. Four courses, different on each day, comprising a starter, main course, dairy course and desert. Food is invariably locally produced in the Departement where the school is situated. I think the French phrase is "Je ne supporte pas" followed by the name of the item you cannot eat. Follow it up with "malheureusement" = unfortunately, and you will get some sympathy. As has been said, avoid the expensive places serving richer dishes. Many places have different menus with different prices, and it's a matter of choosing the one with dishes that suit you, rather than going for the cheapest.

The salad composee will be your friend with lean proteins and lots of veggies e.g. a salad nicoise. These are lovely and very available for lunch and some places for dinner.

I know you were particularly looking forward to French cuisine and you've gotten some great suggestions already. I would only add that Paris is also an amazingly cosmopolitan city with a wealth of cuisines represented, many of which will have plenty of heart-healthy options on the menu. A chicken or vegetable mezze from an outstanding Lebanese restaurant, for example, or maybe a vegetable and fish dish from one of Paris' wonderful Vietnamese restaurants. It might also be a chance to try cuisines not well-represented in the United States (North African, Senegalese, Syrian) many of which lean into vegetables and meat-light ingredients. I haven't been to Paris in over a decade, so can't make specific recommendations, but perhaps others can... I'm confident you can still have a wonderful (and delicious) trip!

I’ll just add that I’m vegan so don’t eat butter in addition to other animal products. It is pretty easy to avoid!

Your hotel breakfast will have baguette and usually really nice jam plus some kind of fruit.

This will be easier than you think!!

There are many outstanding fish/seafood restaurants in Paris, and not everything is cooked "meunière" or "beurre blanc"! It could be an option.
Also, occasional treats are unlikely to derail this type of diet, as far as I know.

Thank you everyone for the great suggestions!

funpig - I forgot about ratatouille so thank you!

JHK - thank you for the excellent recommendations. I checked the menus and there is a mouth watering item (pressed artichokes) on the LeMesturet menu that I need to check out. Also, will try out Cafe Verenne.

Mary57 - great idea as we will be in the Rue Cler area so will be plenty to choose from. Picnic time!

Bets - all of your wonderful ideas sound delicious. Thank you!

Steven - thanks for the words of encouragement. This is very new to me so it was nice to hear from someone with experience.

Dave - will check out the happy cow website tonight. Thanks!

Bob - thank you for the phrases to use to explain my situation. I appreciate it.

Janetravels44 - will look for the salad composee. Thank you.

historiangifford - great idea. Time to try some new ethnic cuisine. Thanks!

Pam - was so upset about the croissants I forgot about baquettes! Thank you.

Balsco - will be sure to have a small treat or two during my stay. Can't be 100% good all the time as that is a recipe for failure.

Again, my thanks to this wonderful community for all the helpful tips!

Diane