The Norwegian diet is related to their location on the globe. Up in the frigid arctic waters where they are situated exists an abundance of seafood and wild game which takes up a big portion of their dinner plate. Breakfast was fairly typical European with lots of breads, jams, fruit, eggs, meat and fish. We did notice Middle Eastern influences through an abundance of falafel huts. We also spotted Chinese, Thai and Italian food.
Part of traveling is to immerse yourself in the culture of the place you visit. Food is a HUGE part of all cultures and thus traveling. We went into our vacation knowing that this trip was not going to be food-based. This was a loss, but we focused on the fun, positive aspects of what we wanted to experience. We were there to hike, take the train, relax, see the fjords and celebrate 10 years of marriage. We tried to look at eating as a necessity, not necessarily a luxury.
Before we left, we got a loner International phone from Verizon so that we would have the Internet for information and navigation. It proved to be very helpful. Yelp, though not as prolific, does exist in other countries and can provide suggestions for where to eat. We also packed instant oatmeal, apples, pears, trail mix and lots of granola bars.
In Oslo, we found a lovely quick-serve salad and sandwich place where you could choose your own toppings, this made our first lunch simple. For dinner, Yelp told us about a vegan buffet called Vega Vegetarisk Restaurant that was absolutely delicious. I have still not been able to figure out how they made their eggplant casserole so good that I had to close my eyes while I ate.
The first morning in Oslo, we made sure to stop by the local supermarket and picked up water, bread, peanut butter and some Pringles. Pringles are not good for you. They are made from something sort-of like potato and have tons of sodium, but they are so good. We never eat Pringles at home; this purchase was purely nostalgic. On our honeymoon in Tahiti, we didn’t have a lot of money, so we went to the store and found that Tahiti carried paprika Pringles, a flavor foreign to the U.S. They are scrumptious. Smokey, sweet, tangy. We hadn’t had them in 10 years and Norway is a fan of the paprika flavor. I think we went through 3 canisters. They were perfect and vegan. Who knew?
Paprika Pringles
Our stash of fruit and granola from home plus the peanut butter and bread did provide a few meals when we couldn’t find something suitable. I was surprised that we did find lots of vegan options at the restaurants as well as many friendly people who were willing to cook us food we could eat. Here’s a rundown of the meals we had:
- Breakfast was almost always toast with jam, coffee and a piece of fruit. On a few occasions we had oatmeal. We did manage to find soy yogurt and soy milk at a few select grocery stores.
- Falafel on tortilla (weird that it wasn’t on pita) with veggies. We requested no yogurt (Tzatziki) sauce. Served with fries.
- We cooked spaghetti with marinara and steamed broccoli the evening we stayed in a place with a kitchenette.
- Vegan chili and vegan tomato soup with whole grain bread.
- Thai Red Curry and Pad Thai both with tofu.
- Veggie sandwiches with mustard on whole wheat with fries made special by request.
- Italian night: cheese-less eggplant pizza, pasta puttanesca, green salad and bread. The owner got very into us being vegan and offered to make lots of food. We ate up.
- Veggie burgers with home fries and a big salad from a vegetarian restaurant with vegan options in Bergen (Pygmalion…thanks happycow.net). We ate here twice.
Pygmalion Dining Room
We had one evening where we waited too long to find food and became too picky. At 10p.m. Phillip ran to the local 7-11 and picked up veggie spring rolls. We ate that at the hotel with our assortment of store bought food. Another night we stayed in a remote fjord city where all the restaurants were closed and the supermarket shut down at 3p.m. Dinner was fruit and bread dipped in peanut butter.
Sidewalk Market with Fruits and Veggies
All-in-all we did pretty well. You have to be willing to speak up and receive some funny looks. Here are my 5 tips for sticking to your diet in a foreign country:
- Do research beforehand. Know the restaurants that may accommodate your diet.
- Bring stowaway snacks that travel well and can become a meal in a pinch.
- Talk with the locals. Tell them what you can eat, take recommendations. It is helpful to know the words for the foods you don’t eat. In our case: meat – kjøtt, Eggs – egg, cheese – ost, butter – smør.
- Look for restaurants foreign to the country you’re in that you know serve dishes you can eat.
- Forgive yourself for slip-ups. You are on vacation after all.
In all honesty, I cheated twice. The first time was in Bergen after we checked into our hotel and the manager told us that they always have tea and homemade cake in the dining room. Yeah, I had to try that. It was brownie-like and wonderful. We stayed there three nights and I only had cake once. The second time was at the Italian restaurant that made us all the great vegan food. The owner stepped out and a waiter who didn’t know our dietary restrictions brought us some custard as a gift for dessert. I didn’t want to disappoint and had a bite; it was so worth it. Phillip, he didn’t cheat at all.
What helps you stick to a diet while on vacation?