a slow food guide to iceland

This is part three in my Iceland series. You can check out my Iceland style and Iceland hiking guide as well. But today…it’s all about food, the stuff that fuels all my travels.

You can also peruse my Slow Food and Hiking Guide to Provence and my Slow Food and Hiking Guide to Andalucia.

Food in Iceland is seriously good. Delicate, revered, off-beat-nutritious. Surprised? Me too. You might have heard of the Nordic Cuisine scene? I touch on it here. In Iceland it’s followed with much parochialism and the Slow Food movement here is loud and proud.

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Catfish with puréed peas (grown by the chef’s grandad), “may beets”, mushroom foam and dulce at VOX restaurant

Once more I’ll do this guide as a series of pictures, mostly because Maria’s pictures are so wonderful and they tell thousands of words. If you want to learn more because you’re heading that way, two ideas:

If you eat at one place only…

Make it Vox at The Hilton in Reykjavic. Chef Fannar Vernharðsson is a passionate Slow Foodie. Every single ingredient in his joint is Icelandic. So much so, they don’t even use olive oil. He grows most of the ingredients himself (or his Grandad does, see dish above). He hangs and cures his own meat. And he takes time to come chat through his

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five things to do with apple cider vinegar

I traveled recently. You might have noticed. I traveled with some truly odd things. One of the oddest was a bottle of apple cider vinegar.

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photo by Ditte Isager

To qualify for a spot in my pack, an item had to have a dual purpose. As a minimum requirement. Well, ACV certainly passed the test.

Read here about what else I packed to travel.

People often ask me, however, what the big deal is with ACV and what one is meant to do with it. Well, I’m here to say I can name five things…

1. Drink it with warm water in the morning and before meals

I take a tablespoon in slightly cooled, boiled water as soon as I wake up, and again before dinner.

Why? Personally, it gets my appetite going (in the morning) and it gets my juices fired up ready for food (before dinner). Having an autoimmune disease, I lack the crucial HCL required for proper digestion. ACV kicks in and does the job of the missing acid. That said, everyone can benefit from the practice – it alkalises, and as I’ve said before, disease is unable to exist in an alkaline system.

The more you alkalise, the better you are.

Here’s some stuff to know:

* ACV works by correcting acid issues. It acts as a buffer in the body – the acetic acid reacts with base or acid compounds to form an acetate, therefore rendering them chemically bioavailable for the body’s utilization.

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i love copenhagen style: a perve

When I was in Copenhagen a few weeks back, Marija and I came up with a great way to meet locals. Especially the men.

Seen my Slow Food and Biking Guide to Copenhagen yet?

We would approach, explain that I’m an Australian journalist and that the two of us were doing a small photo essay and could we take their photo. Well. It worked. The Danes are notoriously reserved (not shy or necessarily cold; they just keep to themselves), but once you approach them first, they’re really rather open and warm and chatty. And not judgy of a stupid tourist antic like the one I describe.

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UM. Some of you might recognise these from somewhere? Those Danes…stylin’!

And so, a photo essay evolved.

The men are very handsome in these parts. We were dumbfounded. We named the phenomenon: CopenhagMen. And we coined our series of photos: “CopenhagMen with…”

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nuts are less fattening than you think

Sometimes I read things too interesting not to share. I came across this interesting read about calories in Scientific American. It involves nuts. And backs up much of what my body has been telling me for years. To illustrate today’s read – and to celebrate what you’ll learn below – I’m sharing another recipe from my I Quit Sugar Cookbook, for those of you who don’t have all 108 in a nice easy format. Activated nuts!

ACTIVATEDNUTS nuts are less fattening than you think
image via Marija Ivkovic

Here’s why you should activate your nuts. (Yes, I laugh every time, too.)

Want the recipe? Scroll below.

Inspired to buy the rest of the cookbook? Click this button below.

gb nuts are less fattening than you think

But for now…some interesting stuff to chew on…

I’m anti-calorie counting. It’s just not the way to eat.

For one, it’s miserable. When I’m miserable, I eat more.

For two, the “calories in calories out” formula just doesn’t make any sense. Surely our bodies are more complex than that?

For three, I eat close to double the amount of calories an adult woman is meant to. I can tell you, I need every one of them. I don’t fit the maths. Ergo, I abort the maths.

But now I read this: the way calories are calculated is completely unreliable. This explains why I can eat a lot of high-calorie food and it really doesn’t seem to have an affect on my weight. While sugary, carby foods do.

Some factoids from the article:

* The calorie counting formula was developed over a 100 years ago. Surely things have been updated since then? No?

* Some veggies contain a lot less calories than listed on the label. Cell walls in some plants are tougher to break down than those in others. If the veggie has more of it’s cell walls broken down we take more of the calories from the guff inside. Cooking ruptures most cell walls (so cooked veggies have more calories, generally); but in very fibrous vegetables

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a hiking guide to iceland

Another country, another guide. Thinking of going to Iceland? Do. Why? To see the landscape (hike, ice climb, frolic in a Fair-isle jumper on moss-covered lava fields aka this video), to eat the food and to just absorb the kookiness of the place. I’m going to do a three-part post, kids, because there’s too much to cover. First up was Wednesday’s guide to kooky Icelandic style. Today, it’s all about the hiking.

QYFUbyL a hiking guide to iceland

I’ll do this as a series of pics and tips. Cool? The magical Marija, once again, took the snaps.

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First thing to know: Iceland is so set up for tourists. Various tourism boards fall over themselves to help you. For free. You will find dealing with things at info centres a delight. We did. And found ourselves buying gifts for the staff to thank them. Ditto the tour guide company we dealt with. We went with Icelandic Mountain Guides. They didn’t just set us up on a few guided trips, they emailed us to advise on great places to eat in town, suggested unguided walks and secret hot springs to explore. Just because. And always with a joke.

They also run – you ready for this? – hiking and knitting tours…with elves.

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how are we all so brave?

I came across this image by Manhattan-based writer and illustrator Maira Kalman via Maria Popova, one of my favourite bloggers. I, too, ask myself this, with tears in my eyes: how are we all so brave? Because, God, we trip. The whole of humanity is constantly tripping and hurting and failing and trying to make things better. … Read more

Icelanders are kooky

Iceland is one of the weirdest places I’ve ever been to. As in weird-good. I spent 10 days here and got seriously disorientated. When I travel I absorb factoids – cultural ticks, fashion quirks, mannerisms etc. When I visited Iceland a week or so ago, the factoids rained down on me. From all angles. Mostly via Icelanders themselves who love to share their quirkiness with others, I found.

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We loved this chick…feisty and wanting to learn to surf in Australia

Add to this the long daylight hours, the lunar-like landscape and the FRIGGEN cold (11 degrees and it was SUMMER)…and it all added up to a whole lottta weird.

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The glaciers down south…stay tuned for my next post for hiking highlights

The weirdness of the place has spawned a people who fully embrace intuitive, kooky, whimsical, creative living. Take a look below images, shot by Marija, my travel buddy. I’ll jazz things up with some of the factoids I was drowned in while we wandered. Consider this A Romp Through Kooky Iceland… For Your Visual Pleasure.

An update: A lot of Icelanders have come across this post and contributed extra detail to the factoids I share here. As some (Icelanders) have pointed out, it’s a very Icelandic thing to be pedantic. I also think it’s a very (delightfully) Icelandic thing to be so engaged and to be such good sports about it. I have gone through and made a few corrections. Consider me updated, Iceland!

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a simple pumpkin salad (that I made for the royal family)

I was recently in Copenhagen. Surreally, I was invited to stay on some Royal Palace grounds, just outside of Copenhagen. The story behind such happenstance is quite long and involves my dear friend Dan Buettner and his dear friend R who spends half the year in the West Indies where he met some Royals (on a beach) and they said (about 20 years ago), come live on our grounds. And so he did. And, anyway, I wound up staying in one of R’s gorgeous cottages and he – wonderfully – decided to put on a party in my honour. Which is a very Danish thing to do and so very hygge.

M7A4065 a simple pumpkin salad (that I made for the royal family)

And this is where it gets fun. He told the guests – about 20 or so princes, princesses, counts and countesses, one of which is next in line to the French throne (if there was still such a thing) – that I would be cooking some dishes from my I Quit Sugar cookbook. He talked me up a treat. I was Nigella in their minds by the time they arrived.

I talked myself down, and made some simple “hash” salads, throwing together ingredients I was able to get at the Torvehallerne markets. This is my style. Best to stick to one’s style. Happily, it was the guests’ style, too. They are supremely modest and casual.

And, so. One such dish was this very simple salad above. How about I share it with you now:

Simple pumpkin salad

  • half a butternut pumpkin, cut into 2cm cubes
  • 2 tbls coconut or olive oil
  • 1 tbls ras el honout (if you don’t have any, substitute with a blend of any of the following: nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, turmeric, allspice and pepper)
  • extra dash of cinnamon
  • rock salt
  • pepitas (pumpkin seeds), preferably activated
  • 1/2 bunch of green shallots (spring onions), chopped
  • three big handfuls of baby spinach (a bag or so)
  • 1/4 cup tahini
  • 1 tbls rice malt syrup
  • 1/4 cup yoghurt or sour cream
  • extra dash of ras el hanout or cinnamon

Preheat oven to about 220 C. Place the pumpkin on baking trays and pour over the oil, salt and spices. Toss roughly and

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a slow food and biking guide to copenhagen

I rather love Copenhagen.  Marija – the lovely lady who photographed my I Quit Sugar eCookbook; that’s her below – and I spent a week here, mostly shooting the cover and some fun shots for my new book.

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We rode around on bikes…here I’m pushing Marija on a rickshaw as we scoot around the city shooting.

There is so much to include in a guide, but I’ll keep to a list of ten reasons to visit. The best overarching theme I could think of was the happiness factor – indeed the Danes are reputedly the happiest people on the planet. They are satisfied with their lives, the various studies, say, they feel heard and there is equality (free eduction! free health!). I loved being here wrapping my head around why this might be so, observing, asking questions of locals. And a few royals. Yes, I was invited to stay at a palace in Copenhagen and a dinner was organised in our honour. The next-in-line-for-the-French-throne-if-there-were-still-a-monarchy was there, six or seven princes and princesses and a few counts…all of whom shared some great insights! A very bizarre and wonderful evening. I cooked two I Quit Sugar meals, too. Strange things happen when you travel…

PS if you’re after exact location details, follow my instagram feed!

10 Reasons why Copenhagen is a happy place to visit

1. The hygge.

I’ve written about hygge before. It’s a very specifically Danish word that is pronounced “hoo-gah” and it defines the core of Danishness as “chic” defines the French. One definition I’ve found says it’s the art of creating intimacy. So it’s an act as well as a feel – a verb and an adjective. Hygge is also something you consciously strive for…it’s about connecting in a cosy, elegant, unfussy way. It’s about weaving friendship and intimacy with ease. When the Danes suggest a place or experience, they always describe it as “cosy”. If it’s cosy, it’s good. Indeed everything they do has a cosy, feel-good, homely vibe. It makes the city just feel like a place you want to stay a while in and get snugly with.

2. The ease.

It’s so easy being a tourist here. Marija and I couldn’t quite believe how smooth it was to get stuff done. We had to create an entire shoot – organise hair, makeup, food, props, lighting equipment etc – in a foreign country. It could’ve been hell, but it was a synch in the end. The Danes are very reserved. But if you reach out first they respond with so much help and advice. And trust. We borrowed plates and bowls and photographic gear from strangers all over town and everyone was so cool with it.

3. It also helped staying at The Avenue Hotel

I want to make special mention of this place because the staff (special shout out to Jens, the handsome kid below) were so helpful and open and happy. Here’s why it made us happy staying here:

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