Wednesday 15 July 2015

Nordic diet in Oslo

Before I depart to Oslo, I know nothing about "Nordic diet". Honestly, I didn't even check. All in my mind is just SALMON, SALMON, & SALMON. Well, it's true! I had salmon almost everyday!
Salmon gives good source of fat which is high in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, particularly well known for Omega-3 fatty acids, essential fat to our body.  
Ta da~~~ SALMON!
Nordic diet is actually a traditional style of eating in few countries, namely Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland. Nordic diet greatly emphasizes on several foods including plentiful of

berries, fruit and vegetables, whole-grain products, low-fat dairy products, oily fish and rapeseed oil.



Their blueberries were so sweet, no sourish at all! I bought this from a grocery store at about NOK 27 (approx. RM12 +).
 In Malaysia, it may cost me up to RM30 for 225g. So cheap, right?! I bought their raspberry too, about the same price as blueberries. Unfortunately, I forgot to snap the tasty raspberry.
Berries are very common food in Nordic diet. It's also the essential part of their diet which provide
plentiful of antioxidants, fiber, low in calories and high in vitamin C. Antioxidants help to prevent cell damage and aging. Berries are also believed to keep us mentally sharp too.

At least a plate of fruits & vegetables every morning. Red cherry tomatoes tasted sour but yellow cherry tomatoes were just sweet and tasty!
Vitamin C helps iron absorption and boost up immune system. Also, it helps in collagen formation in our skin, I think most ladies would love this function the most!
Heart shaped cherry tomato! So lovely... 
It's my first time to see such a GIANT mushroom!
Mixed fruits and vegetables for my daily breakfast.
Moreover, having plenty of fruits and vegetables that rich in fiber and potassium help in management of hypertension or high blood pressure.
Creative way of eating Nordic breakfast. A slice of wholemeal bread with wild berries yogurt topped with walnuts, honey corns, sunflower seeds and almonds. Of course, side dish of sweet cherry tomatoes!
Wholegrain is also part of the important component of Nordic diet. It is rich in fiber, vitamin B complex, magnesium, phosphorus and manganese. Fiber plays a very essential role in diabetic management, which helps in stabilizing blood glucose level, prevent further complications.
A bowl of well garnished cereal breakfast with low fat and wild berries yogurt!
Vitamin Bcomplex includes vitamin B-1 (Thiamin), vitamin B-2 (Niacin), vitamin B-3, vitamin B-5 (panthothenic acid), vitamin B-6, folate (folic acid), biotin and vitamin B-12. The main function of vitamin B-complex is to support our body metabolism and nervous system function, including brain. Other than that, it also helps to maintain healthy red blood cells.
I love this Danish bread! It's tasty, and soft! Unlike other bread, I can't really accept hard bread.
Each type of vitamin B contributes differently in energy metabolism. Folate (folic acid) is more commonly known by the public due to its importance for women who are at child-bearing age.Sufficient intake of folate before and during early pregnancy would help to prevent neural tube defects among newborns. 
Also, a plate of protein: yellow cheese, bacon (it's so delicious!), smoked salmon, turkey breast ham, and some stir fried vege(my daily choice for vege, because it's served hot, typical Asian's style).
I don't really fancy butter, but their butter were in flower shape!
Soft egg
Egg is a good protein source that provide complete protein to our body needs. However, for people with high cholesterol, you will need to limit egg yolk for not more than 3-4 a week. 
Other than salmon, Norwegian brown cheese is also their local well-known food! I'm usually not a cheese lover, but this is just so yummy!
Brown cheese, brown in colour, very rich and it tastes a bit like a rich peanut butter. 
Cheese is a processed dairy products made from milk. Cheese, similar to its original source, has complete protein, good calcium, phosphorus and zinc.However, due to its sodium, saturated fat and cholesterol content, I would advise to have it at moderation. 

Mixture of foods. I like their potato, soft and sweet. Also, their cracker-like pastry(the middle one). It went well with the brown cheese. 
So, below are some food samples that combine Nordic diet concept. Basically, their meals are very light taste, almost no seasonings added. They are very good in making use of spices, herbs and vegetables to enhance the taste, rather than sugar and salt. 
Shell fish wrap includes a lot of veggie with crab meat and prawn, NOK89 (approx. RM40.50).
Salmon pastry, include fresh salmon, wholegrain bread and sunflower seeds. Healthy lunch, NOK68. No other seasonings were added
Typical Nordic diet: bread with veggies and prawns, NOK45 (approx. RM21). No seasoning were added, only lemon juice.
Aside of that, I had a berries smoothies, NOK25 as the bread was just too hard to bite. 
Smoothies are very common in Oslo, you can see smoothies stall everywhere in the city. In fact, their smoothies are the cheapest beverage in Oslo, is even cheaper than mineral water. You may find it available at convenient stores, grocery stores, and in some of the metro stations.
Citrus chili chicken pizza from Peppes Pizza. It was a small pizza, 30cm diameter. Ridiculous part is, I finished all of them at once! NOK198 (approx. RM90). It was really delicious, and very different from Malaysia's pizza. 
Their pizza crusts are soft yet dense in texture, making a huge different from the usual type that I have in Malaysia. One thing that impressed me was, they garnished it with fresh parsley (if I'm not wrong). This is something that never happen in Malaysian's pizza. Right, they have a lot of onions in the making of pizza. Their raw onions tasted sweet and smooth, rather than spicy.
This was the only Asian food that I had in Oslo. Spicy pork topped rice, which was served hot, felt so warm when I had it during cold and windy weather. It was my first time to have my meal in a park, it's just so relaxing and cooling! 
A glass of white wine served during the conference, smooth and sweet. 
Wine, appears to be an alcohol beverage that would probably the common beverages for Norwegians. They could begin their day with wine and end their day with wine, too. Wine, at moderate intake, has certain benefits to our health. Based on several studies, occasional and moderate intake of ONLY 1 glass wine consumption may help to reduce the risk of getting heart disease, stroke and diabetes. But, bear in mind, provided having it OCCASIONALLY and 1 GLASS at a time. Otherwise, heavy drinkers would end up with more health issues and alcohol-related problems, eg. fatty liver, overweight, obesity, heart disease and etc. 


Due to their Nordic diet, I can hardly see overweight or obese Norwegians. If you would like to have healthy and slim body, you may also have Nordic diet in Malaysia! Just grab more veggies, fruits and whole-grains, it would really help.
Next, there will be more coming up for attractions in Oslo! Happy reading!

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