London - The Mediterranean diet has had its place in the sun – now it’s time to start eating like a Viking, say food experts.
The New Nordic diet is being heralded as the next big trend in healthy eating and shuns olive oil while focusing on whole grains, foraged plants... and moose.
Created by two chefs in Denmark, an ideal week of dinners includes three of meat, two seafood dishes and two vegetarian ones – plus unlimited amounts of root vegetables, leafy greens, nuts and berries, legumes, orchard fruits, and grains such as rye, spelt, oats, and barley.
Vogue writer Kate Christensen said she lost 4lbs in two weeks on the diet, even cooking meals involving moose meat. She said: “Unlike the Mediterranean diet, which allows white bread, pasta, and polenta, the New Nordic shuns refined grains and processed foods. And instead of olive oil, the Nordics eat cold-pressed rapeseed oil, also known as canola, which has less saturated fat and more heart-healthy omega-3s than its Mediterranean cousin.”
The diet is similar to last year’s hit Paleo diet, which advocates eating like a caveman but bars alcohol. Chefs René Redzepi and Claus Meyer pioneered the New Nordic movement at their award-winning Copenhagen restaurant Noma, in which moss, twigs and edible bark are incorporated into dishes.
Miss Christensen used a Noma cookbook and another by Danish food writer Trine Hahnemann to follow the plan. She said dishes like steel-cut oats with blueberries and maple syrup for breakfast, and a dinner involving steamed kale with currants and hazelnuts helped her sleep better and reduced cravings.
A Copenhagen University study this year found that those on the diet lost around 7lbs more than those on a typical diet. - Daily Mail