Adapting to Finn Cuisine

[pierrot]

Hey that's not true LOL Bamba is nothing like filling meterial, it'll smash completely

unless yous send bricks: nope

And where did you hear that nonsense? Bamba is actually a healthy snack, what, you'd rather give cheetos to kids? now that's an unhealthy and fat snack. and pringles. Bamba is actually healthy an nutritious.

http://www.osem.co.il/Eng/_Articles/Art ... ticleID=38

No such snacks at all for kids. period.
And where on that wonderful page from the manufacturer did you find the nutritional values of that "healthy snack"?
Nowhere, well maybe because with around 550 calories per 100g and with 35 % fat content, this is as "healthy" as chocolate.
And adding a few vitamins to it makes it not really healthy either.
or maybe we just have different definitions of healthy.

[karen]

Ds likes Bamba, Cheetos, and Juusto Snacks.

[Rosamunda]

No such snacks at all for kids. period.
And where on that wonderful page from the manufacturer did you find the nutritional values of that "healthy snack"?
Nowhere, well maybe because with around 550 calories per 100g and with 35 % fat content, this is as "healthy" as chocolate.
And adding a few vitamins to it makes it not really healthy either.
or maybe we just have different definitions of healthy.

I'm with Pierrot on this one. The only healthy snacks are plain fruit and veg. Processed food in any form is no good for kids - which is why I think Finnish porridge for breakfast is way better than any boxed cereal. No trans fats, salt or sugar in a bowl of porridge (unless you add some yourself).

Disagree about the chocolate though. Real chocolate is full of good stuff (in moderation) and (in moderation) doesn't do much harm (ie cocoa butter is veg fat not animal so not saturated) and it is supposed to have a positive effect on the "mood" bit of the brain - so probably an essential food item up here

Finnish food takes a bit of getting used to. I couldn't eat rye bread for a long time (found it hard to digest) but am now hooked. I couldn't drink the coffee either but am now OK with it. I agree with previous poster about the availability of organic food (milk, eggs, etc tec) way better than in many countries (I come from France, was almost no organic food in the regular supermarkets). And I have learnt to eat seasonal food and make my own meals from scratch with what's available. OTOH, I noticed this summer (I spent 3 mths at the mökki) that the availability of some food items is really restricted outside the Helsinki region and the quality of some of the perishable items in the supermarkets is not so good. Depends on the store (usually I shop in Prisma in Espoo but at the mökki I switched to K market).

Finnish fast food is pretty awful.

[Pursuivant]

(some sort of salty peanut flavoured snack

yeah, they have something like those here too... in lidl especially... quite disgusting...

[priki]

I have to say, I had never heard of this Bamba snack, and I was curious enough to find it's nutritional information.
http://www.thedailyplate.com/nutrition- ... osem/bamba
1 oz is less than 30g, and it includes 10g of fat. That is over 35%. Cannot call it healty at all.
Lots of vitamins added, though. By eating one small 180g bag you get 100% of vitamin A, 150% of vitamin C - and 100% of fat you need daily.

[ChaoticShelly]

I have to say, I had never heard of this Bamba snack, and I was curious enough to find it's nutritional information.
http://www.thedailyplate.com/nutrition- ... osem/bamba
1 oz is less than 30g, and it includes 10g of fat. That is over 35%. Cannot call it healty at all.
Lots of vitamins added, though. By eating one small 180g bag you get 100% of vitamin A, 150% of vitamin C - and 100% of fat you need daily.

It's healthy cuz i said so And now there's a new bamba with nougette (not sure if that's how you spell it) cream in it. DELICIOUS!

[Karhunkoski]

[Pursuivant]

and you was saying you ain't one of those annoying israelis...

[Cloudberry]

Most people from other countries can't find their snack food here either, although the Americans are having more luck these days than the rest of us. Exactly what kind of snacks are you looking for? Can you cook?

I find the restaurant food here quite bland, but i'm used to more spicy foods. I've been able to find almost all of the ingredients i need for the dishes i used to prepare at home so i can't complain at all. Fruits and veggies are more seasonal here, ie you can only get some things at certain times of the year (in Australia you can get everything all year round, so that took some getting used to), but i find the quality is just fine. Having said that, produce is very expensive so beware.

We're moving there from Australia too and I'm wondering how we'll cope without the access to fresh fruit and veg that we have here. I don't think we Aussies realise how spoilt for choice we are here! Where else can you get bananas, berries and tomatoes locally grown all year round? I think we'll be getting a big freezer so we can stock up in the summertime

Spices were another thing I had been wondering since we practically live on asian style stir fries, indian or thai style curries and other ethnic foods. Its good to hear that there are some little stores around the place where we can gather key ingredients.

[priki]

Where else can you get bananas, berries and tomatoes locally grown all year round? I think we'll be getting a big freezer so we can stock up in the summertime

It is not that bad in Finland. Bananas are available all year round, but not locally grown. Locally grown tomatoes are also available all year round, mostly grown in greenhouses. For berries you need the freezer, if you want to freeze them by yourself.

[EP]

For berries you need the freezer, if you want to freeze them by yourself.

Or just pick them up from nearest supermarket´s freezer.

I cook often Chinese and Thai, and get most (usually all) ingredients from nearby local supermarket. And it is a small market. Only if I want some more exotic fruit than bananas, oranges, apples, lemons, different kinds of melons or pineapples, I have to to a bigger supermarket or some ethnic store.

[Desundial]

As someone who came here from a warm climate (California) offering a bounty of fresh fruit and veg the hardest thing is the limited variety of both. Certain things just are not sold, never mind seasonally - like dark green leafy vegetables - you can find spinach, imported, sometimes. And chinese brocolli at the asian shop, sometimes, when not wilted (also imported). But not the 4 to 6 other types I'd like to cook with...

Most stores stock an average assortment of basic vegetables and fruits (imported bananas count as basic), many imported. Some seasonal treats show up, but usually, due to long transport distances, not in the form you'ld find at home (i.e. either not ripe, rotten or severly bruised). You can find more "exotic" things at certain markets, especially in Helsinki, but not priced for daily consumption....And sometimes "basic" items aren't so priced either. For example there are times of the year I feel red bell peppers are too expensive to buy (ahem...something I formerly considered a daily basic...) ....So if you are used to whipping up a variety of dishes with all fresh ingrediants purchased from your local neighborhood store you'll find Finland a stiff challenge.

On the positive side some thai and indian style spices are now sold at almost all shops, thanks to wide distribution of santa maria and blue dragon.

[Pursuivant]

yes well the trick is you first need to go to the store, see whats available, and then figure out whats for dinner... and you can't be a stickler for a recipe - you need to be able to improvise (a lot). if you first decide on what to make you'll end up a very hungry frustrated whinger... eat whats available - thats what locals do and look how fat they are...

[Upphew]

So if you are used to whipping up a variety of dishes with all fresh ingrediants purchased from your local neighborhood store you'll find Finland a stiff challenge.

On the positive side some thai and indian style spices are now sold at almost all shops, thanks to wide distribution of santa maria and blue dragon.

Chicken/egg and shelf life. If no one asks for some product the shopkeeper is never going to order it. With spices it is months that they can be on shelves but with veggies it is days...

[Desundial]

Well, and the fact that those short shelf life items simply aren't grown here, due to a variety of factors, mainly climate and tradition. No use asking if there's no one delivering, unless of course you can guarentee payment for the cost of jetted in stuff next day direct from who knows where, I guess in the original poster's case, Isreal.