Thursday, October 23, 2008

some swedish things


we got to stay with my uncle, who lives in Stockholm, when we visited Sweden. I love staying in someone's house rather than in a hotel when traveling, because you get to experience some everyday things that way, my favorite among them being shopping at supermarkets and getting a sense of regular local foods. 



the first would be blåbärssoppa, or blueberry soup. this is a bit of a national dish, I take it, and it is simply a sweetened and slightly thickened blueberry soup! it is really tasty. we also tried strawberry kråm, which is the same concept (fruit soup) but much thicker. these were good for breakfast, but after long walks around the city, they are especially rehydrating and refreshing. 



one pregan item I miss a lot, that Europe is an especially good place for, is keffir, which is a a thinner and drinkable yogurt. I found perhaps the best vegan version of keffir when I tried these little Oatly smoothies. They are so good and tangy!



I can't speak very much Swedish at all, but I can work out that this label says "oats + chocolate = good!" and I wholeheartedly agree:



Oatly's chocolate milk is one of the best I've ever tasted, with a subtle and not-too-sweet flavor and satisfying rich texture.  I really wish that Oatly would start exporting all their products (like their oat cream, perfect for cooking and baking) to the U.S. already! 

Finally, one of my favorite things about the Swedish supermarkets I visited: behold an entire WALL of crispbreads! It's like crispbread heaven up there, I'm telling you. (you have to click on this photo to enlarge it. =)



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17 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Love all the local eats!!

tofufreak said...

mm.... oaty smoothies sound great!

haha i love the wall of crispbreads :D

Theresa said...

That's a lot of crackers yo.

The oatly products look so cool! They should export to Australia, too.

allularpunk said...

i've never even had a crispbread. they are obviously awesome. and fruit soup! yes, please!

aimee said...

Oh my gosh, I love wasa! It's like wasa heaven there!

aTxVegn said...

Oatly looks amazing. I don't see why Whole Foods couldn't stock it.

Amey said...

whoa! fun!
A post like this makes me excited and happy and jealous all at once... but mostly just happy for you.

Foreign grocery stores + foreign = vegan finds = good!

Oatly sounds pretty awesome. You should write them a letter and ask them about exporting. I did that to a company in Italy that made great little organic vegan fruit tarts. I guess US food standards for imports are a bit fussy... but it's worth a try!

By the way, at the SF VegFest, there was a new keifer from Wildwood, which I thought was quite nice. I think it's called Probiotic Yogurt Drink or something like that.

Anonymous said...

What fun to see familiar products gain some fame! I often have blueberry (or strawberry or other fruit) soup with my oats in the morning!

Isil Simsek said...

Good news for you:Oatly is available here in England.

village mama said...

Thank you for the Swedish food porn! XO

JohnP said...

I am in awe of the crispbread wall!

Kati said...

Wow, look at all that crispbread! I'd be in heaven. Blueberry soup sounds very interesting - I'd never heard of it before. I'd love to go to Sweden - very cool that you got to visit!

Bex said...

blueberry soup sounds way yum. I love the energy and pointing to the muscle in the picture. So cute.

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

Sounds like fun! I have some stocked up Oatly cream here.

Anonymous said...

I also like oatly a lot. The label says:
oat and chocolate are good.
As good warm as cold. Oat gives the body energy. They are right, aren't they?

Erin said...

Who knew that Sweden had so many delicious vegan products? The fruit soups and Oatly products sound great.

Anonymous said...

Blueberry soup is delicious!

By the way, the rest of the text on that paper says:

As good warm as cold.

Oats give the body energy.