Day in, day out.
You might wonder: Why? Why eat this, every single day?
The Norwegian tradition for this meal, called packed lunch goes way back. A slice or two of whole wheat bread, with cheese, jam, or liver paste topping it.
Traditions
This lunch actually originates from a breakfast initiative named The Oslo Breakfast, which started in the early 1930s. At this time, Norway was not a wealthy country, and there was a lot of poverty in the country and its capital. The Oslo Breakfast was a program run by the government that provided a free meal to school children.
Most of the time…
2. You are not done once the book is published
It all started with an idea, as most things do. I struggled with finding modern, simple-looking children’s books that could help teach my son about colors. So I decided to make my own during my second parental leave.
I teamed up with my best friend and illustrator, and together we started the process of creating a children’s book series including a yellow book, a blue book, a green book, and yes, you guessed it, a red book.
Naive Journalists
It was an incredibly fun project, and we had a blast making the books. Once it was published (self-published), we patted ourselves on…
Even in snow and rain.
You might have heard about Scandinavians and their obsession with fresh air. It’s a tradition that goes way back, and it starts early. Get fresh air every day, and stay outdoors as much as possible. There’s an old saying that goes, “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.” Meaning, dress up (preferably in layered wool) and get outside.
Latte-Parents
It is not uncommon to see newborns bundled up in their stroller and left outside to nap. Some parents even go as far as leaving the baby in their stroller outside a cafe with a baby monitor while they…
Here‘s mine
I have an intense fear of rats. It’s irrational, it’s ridiculous, but for me, that fear is so, so real. Rats are terrifying.
So when I decided to move to New York City to study, my greatest fear wasn’t that I’d get robbed, that I wouldn’t fit in, or that I would miss my homeland, or that no one would understand my accent. It was all about the rats.
See, I had read somewhere that the city had more rats than people. I am not sure if it’s true anymore, or if it ever was true, but I am not…
Plus how it went when my family and I used our feet instead
While living in an urban area, my family and I went car-free for two years. By car-free, I mean that we didn’t own or lease a car. There were cold and rainy days where it would’ve been nice to ease into a vehicle with a roof, but the positives from being without one really got to me.
We stressed less
Having a car might open up more possibilities to going places and doing things, but by not having one, you’re sort of stuck where you’re at. Hate it, or love it. You don’t have to rush anywhere.
Our weekends were often left open…
The social aspect of baked goods
You’ll find standing kitchen mixers in almost every kitchen in the Nordic countries. Not because the citizens here are all bakers or stay-at-home parents having all the time in the world to perfect their beloved rye or sourdough bread. The kitchen mixers have a special place in the kitchen, from traditions and built on an appreciation for baked goods. And, perhaps more important, social gatherings and friendships.
Buns and bread. That’s what the kitchen mixers are primarily used for in the Nordics. The standing mixers themselves don’t really do more than mix the ingredients for you. Flour, yeast, olive oil…
Whether you plan it or not
A few years ago, my family and I relocated from Scandinavia to America. In Norway, where we used to live, we had a small apartment with a couple of belongings we loved. Nothing fancy, not a lot.
It was actually pretty doable and easy to pack down everything we owned in a couple of suitcases and head overseas.
The stress started once we got into our apartment in America. Our new living space was twice as big as our old apartment, and suddenly, our few belongings looked very small and out-of-place. I started stressing over if I should add this…
And how they can improve your quality of life
It looks adorable, doesn’t it? The charming old, quaint houses on a cobblestone side street. Almost like a colorful puzzle. This is an old photo I shot years ago when visiting a town in the northern part of Denmark. These homes are unique in American eyes, but for a Scandinavian, it is simply just another town and another row of homes. This picture represents Scandinavia in so many ways, and I’ll let you in on why.
The bike
First off, the obvious one. The bike.
Bikes are used as a transportation vehicle all over Scandinavia. If you’re in a city, odds are…
And save those eggshells
You have probably heard of zero-waste cooking. It is a concept where you literally have no waste left behind after cooking a meal. This includes parts of the ingredients you’re using, and also packaging. When practicing zero-waste cooking, you will use every single part of everything, one way or another.
Zero-waste cooking sounds so good, but it also sounds really, really hard to implement. As much as I’d love to help our planet it seems incredibly challenging in my household of 5 to manage zero-waste cooking while on a busy everyday schedule.
This is where low-waste cooking and low-waste foods…
What to expect / what not to expect
It doesn’t even sound real, does it? I mean, goat yoga. I thought my friend was joking when she told me she went to a yoga class involving goats nibbling on her back the other day.
Therapeutic
It might seem like one of those trends that aren’t really going to stick around, but goat yoga has had a fairly decent increase and become more popular over the last few years. According to an article by U.S. News & World Report, goat yoga is a thriving fitness trend and has been since 2017.
