Norwegian Groceries

I got all excited today when I found chicken curry salad in the grocery store here in Bergen. I hoped it would be like the yummy coronation chicken stuff in Scotland. No such luck - it's close, but too mayonnaisey. Way too mayonnaisey. I don't even like mayo. :)

But, I will probably eat it anyway. Norway is cementing the lessons I've been learning over the years about not wasting food, eating healthy, and doing so on a budget.

I've basically come to the conclusion that, if you eat modestly but still treat yourself to the things you want, like ice cream and chocolate and even meat a few times a week, and only cook at home, from scratch or whatever's cheapest, everything store-brand, you can manage here on $10 a day - $70 a week. Funny, that's about what I spend at home, but that's eating tons of ready made stuff, buying exotic stuff half for fun, and eating out essentially whenever.

That's not how it works here. I can't waste anything. I plan my meals and if I know that bit of cheese is going to go bad, I make a plan to get it in my stomach first. And things seem to go bad faster here, as well - is it lack of preservatives, or just my paranoia?

Anyway, it more or less works out that I get to make two-three 'big meals' a week. This means something with meat in it and maybe special ingredients. Something I will eat of of for two or three days. My favourites are different varieties of baked salmon (pesto that I can eat with spaghetti, or teriyaki with jasmine rice and vegetables), and the ever-good thai red curry with chicken, carrots, and bamboo shoots. This week I'm thinking of trying a Moo Kure. Looks like the cheapest meat here is ground chicken, and I could use that for Moo Kure or Larb. Definitely a consideration.

For breakfast I usually eat kefir with corn flakes and musli. I fill in gap and lazy meals with spaghetti and garlic bread, or fish sticks and potatoes, or shrimp sandwiches. Snacks are popcorn, peanuts, chocolate, a milkshake, and occasionally something Norwegian like waffles, lefser, or gingerbread cookies.