A good excuse for having a good, relaxing and hyggelig time 😉 And why not celebrate both days…
In America people are often on the go. Americans are so busy and work so hard it never ceases to impress me. In Denmark people are also super busy and work hard but it is generally accepted to take a “coffee break” during the day where you actually sit down with your coffee/tea/cake, instead of walking around with it and only getting to drink it once it is cold. I think these little breaks help keep the Danes grounded and happier. It is really amazing how much new energy flows through you and from you after a relaxing break. You are ready to meet the world again.
Hygge is as a form of mindfulness. A very pleasant one since it usually involves doing or eating something you like. Doing something nice or hyggeligt also makes it much more easy to be mindful – because who doesn’t want to fully enjoy every single bite of that delicious piece of pastry, every sip of that steamy brew of coffee or every moment in the company of a good friend?
I know it is so hard to find the time for this. No one really has the time. So our only option is to make time for it. In fact it is probably when we are the most stressed out that we need hygge the most to refresh and energize. After a hygge break energy will come to you and you will suddenly gain a whole new perspective where things might not look as crazy as they did before. A lot of the things we tell ourselves are super important can actually wait or maybe we don’t even have to do them at all! Is that thing on your to-do-list really important enough to take away all that mental and emotional energy? Even when there is a million things we should do – let it go for a while. Everything will be fine.
Sometimes the weather is just too beautiful not to go out for a walk, or enjoy your coffee out on the porch in the sun. The amount of pleasure such a break can give you is well worth it. You will be amazed to see how much easier everything becomes if you have had that much needed break. Suddenly you will be able to take control over things that were trying to take you over. You will most likely be ready to handle challenging situations with a calm attitude, clear mind and be ready to meet the world with a happier face. So you are not only doing yourself a favor but also your surroundings.
February 28 is “International Day of Hygge” (International Day of Hygge 2018) and March 1st is “Day of Hygge” in Denmark so why not try out some hygge on those days? And remember that a piece of cake or a cup of coffee is no guarantee for hygge – it is all about the way you do it. It will not be hygge if you are not mindful that hygge is about relaxing and enjoying something.
Today February 27 is “Fastelavn”/Shrovetide in Denmark. It is a children’s carnival based on pre-lent carnival traditions of the Roman-Catholic church from before Denmark became a Protestant nation. Children dress up, beat a hanging barrel filled with candy (similar to a pinata), eat sweet buns (“fastelavnsboller”) and also get a so-called “fastelavnsris” (twigs decorated with candy, feathers, paper flowers and home crafted masks, see images here Fastelavnsris photos). A lot of this tradition has to do with getting rid of evil powers since the Danes say that “we beat the cat out of the barrel” and originally there was a poor black cat inside. Now there is just an image of a black cat on it. The children stand in line with a short wooden bat and take turns beating the hanging barrel. The child who beats the bottom out of the barrel becomes Cat Queen and the child who get the whole barrel down is the Cat King.
Anyway, for adults the main thing is the sweet pastry buns which you can buy in bakeries all over Denmark around the season of “Fastelavn”, or make yourself. Since I am not in Denmark, I found a great recipe at Valdemarsro.com (Fastelavnsbolle opskrift fra Valdemarsro.com) and the children had so much fun decorating and eating them. I think most adults will enjoy the sweet pastry-filling with marzipan called “remonce” which is in most Danish bakery pastry and the homemade vanilla cream – also a classic in Danish pastry/”wienerbroed”. My 3 year old son literally spat the marzipan out on the floor (!!) when I gave him a little taste of this almond paste so for him I made a special variation with strawberry jam and the vanilla cream and he ate that in no time and asked for another.
My favorite thing is that I found some pretty pink and red M&Ms for decorating. So I am planning on using the rest of these buns for Valentines Day with a white or pink icing, topped with pink and red M&Ms.
They are best the same day as they are baked so I stored half of them in the freezer without baking them and then I will defrost, bake and decorate them on Valentines Day.
If there is one place that always makes me feel great it is the Superfoods on Main cafe in Mount Airy, Maryland. And I do not mean the kind of “great” that lasts for about thirty minutes, I am talking about feeling great for days! Superfoods on Main is a cafe with a homey cozy atmosphere that reminds me of some cafes in Copenhagen. Meanwhile, their drinks and foods are mainly raw, organic and vegan which means you get both hygge and healthy energy there. Maybe even better is that my two young children love going there for a colorful smoothie and time in the play corner.
So on this cold and snowy morning I decide to venture out to meet raw foods chef, Darlene Union, and nutritionist, Elina Jelena-Kopic Myers, co-owners of Superfoods on Main to talk about healthy hygge foods and how to be healthy in the Winter months.
Darlene and Elina always seem happy and energetic – the living proof that a raw or vegan lifestyle really works and I am eager to learn from them! In fact everyone who works there are extremely friendly and helpful and you can just feel that this is a place where people work out of love and passion.
I order a Chocolate Elixir with an Immunity Booster in a large cozy mug and get comfortable with Darlene and Elina in the cafe room that almost feels like a living room. Eager to get started and learn from the two women I go right ahead with the first question.
I: Tell me about the new updates and initiatives here at Superfoods on Main…
Elina: First of all we got new colors in here, we painted the whole cafe to give it a new look in earthy tones. The colors of the cafe are based on fengshui principles to make people feel more relaxed, not more hungry (Elina laughs).
Several local artists have their paintings and photographs exhibited here. We are also excited that Natalie who works here soon will exhibit beautiful landscape photographs from New Hampshire. We want to reach out to the community to bind us together with people in town. Maybe we will invite more local artists to exhibit their art here.
Darlene: And we have a good cooperation with Common Market (a co-op grocery store in Frederick, MD), organic co-ops and local producers.
Elina: Right now our focus is on raw food workshops with Darlene. I will also have a workshop on gluten free diet. And some time in the future when I am ready for it I will make a workshop on vitamins based on my MUIH (Maryland University of Integrative Health) nutrition degree which I am taking right now.
We also focus on selecting the best vitamins and supplements to sell in our store so the costumers know that what we have is some of the best and most effective on the market. Our selection is based on research so that costumers can also get advice on how to combine vitamins to work most effectively.
Darlene: We have Open Mic where everyone is invited to perform. Our intimate stage is a good venue where people can try out their talents. One girl, who used to only sing at home, performed here for the first time and got a big applause which gave her the confidence to go on with it!
Elina: And then there is The Book Exchange where people can grab a free book and maybe donate one of their used books. I like the idea that there is always a book waiting for people while they enjoy their coffee or smoothie here.
I: How did you get involved with Superfoods on Main and healthy food?
Darlene: I used to be a vegetarian, then I became a raw vegan in my forties. I have always been a strong believer that the body can heal itself if we give it the right food.
I used to be in sales but felt burned out. So in 2014 I took a Raw Chef degree at Graff Academy in Roswell, Georgia and now I have a raw chef certificate. I can create certified raw food recipes for Superfoods and the employees contribute with new ideas as well. One of our employees, Abie, makes the best hummus which no one has been able to replicate! Another employee, Natalie, has created “The Aztec Smoothie” with cashew that gives it an amazing creaminess.
Elina: At first I was a linguist for the Navy, then I became a radiographer. But as a radiographer I only worked with symptoms, not causes. Then I got a health scare myself which made me read the ingredient lists in the food I was eating and realized how many preservatives and additives were in it.
In Croatia I grew up on fresh farm food and felt fine but not in America. So I started deciphering the ingredients and got into nutrition. After my nutrition classes in MUIH I used to come to Superfoods to destress and enjoy the smoothies. I was good friends with Helen (Helen Rose is the founder of Superfoods on Main and the third of the three co-owners) and one day when I was sitting on the couch, Helen told me that they were looking for a partner. Something in me made me say yes even though I was actually too busy with studies and my children. I really liked the smoothies (she laughs)…
I am vegetarian and do eat cooked meals but I like the feeling I get after eating raw vegan food.
Darlene: We don’t want to be food police. Different things work for different people. Everyone’s body is different. Some doctors and researchers believe that you can eat according to your blood type. According to their research, type O does well with eating meat but I am type O and feel the opposite. I feel so much better not consuming it at all. We want to help you on your path to feel your best and encourage you to eat healthy choices that benefit your body, health and the way you feel.
I: Can you recommend some healthy, low sugar treats?
Darlene: Dates are a great healthy treat. They are sweet and high in fiber. A fresh date with a pecan nut inside and maybe dipped in raw chocolate is delicious. Tastes like “Turtles” (the candy). At home I make a smoothie called The Incredible Hawk (frozen peeled banana, spinach and pineapple blended with nut or rice milk) for my grandson and The Superman Smoothie. I just make up fun names to make the smoothies more exciting. It is always great to put spinach in smoothies for kids. They can’t taste it.
Then there is the Chocolate Elixir with raw almond milk, agave and raw cocoa. Maybe with a health booster added to it based on Chinese herbs. Plant based milks are softer on the stomach because they are easier to digest than cow milk. So the Chocolate Elixir will make you feel better than regular hot chocolate. The lack of sugar in the Chocolate Elixir also helps prevent an energy crash afterwards.
My children love “The Berry Blast Smoothie” (Berries, banana) and my favorite is the “Chocolate Green Delight Smoothie” (Banana, spinach and raw cocoa – you only taste the chocolate 😉
Elina: Darlene makes the most delicious Donut Holes with pulp from almond milk!
Darlene: You can also easily make a “brownie” with dates, nuts and raw cocoa blended in a food processor. Spread the mix out in a lined baking pan and cool it in the refrigerator.
Our Smoothie Bowls are a bestseller here at the cafe.
I: Has eating vegan and raw foods made you feel better?
Darlene & Elina: Yes!
Elina: It was like the fog was lifting. We have much higher energy levels after we started to eat vegan and raw foods. My cycling team has started coming to Superfoods. They think that whatever I do they will do too because they see how much energy I have. And Darlene looks so young! (I have to agree. Darlene does not have a single wrinkle even though she must be older than me since she has grandchildren!)
Darlene: Sugar is inflammatory and makes skin look older. They say it is more addictive than cocaine!
Elina: My husband really loves meat and sugary foods but he loves the smoothies here. And one time we had a raw food dinner here at Superfoods and he didn’t even know that a dish he was eating wasn’t meat but made with nuts. The next day he told me he felt so good and had lots of energy!
I: Which foods or drinks can help me and my family prevent and alleviate colds?
Elina hurries over to their refrigerator and comes back with a mason jar with an illustration of a volcano on it. Fire Cider Kombucha it reads.
Elina: The Fire Cider Kombucha from The Kombucha Lady in Thurmont, Maryland, is a big hit and sells out before we can restock the shelves. We have had people come back and tell us that they got over the cold the next day after they took some spoons of it. You just need to take a tablespoon or two of it a day.
Darlene: And the Sambucol Black Elderberry Syrup we sell in our store is a great way to boost children’s immunity.
Elina: We also sell Camu Camu powder which is loaded with vitamin C and works very well with spinach. Camu camu is in our Super C Smoothie and we will start adding spinach to it to incorporate iron.
Elina comes back to show me a new drink from the refrigerator…
Elina: KeVita is another drink loaded with vitamin C. We actually need a lot more vitamin C than the daily recommended amount. “The Vitamin Movie” is a great movie with a lot of information about vitamin C. A lot of people also lack magnesium and vitamin D.
Darlene: So much food is just made to make us buy more – sugar is addictive so we need more and buy more! Lots of food is not made to make us feel better, just to sell! At Superfoods we can give our costumers research based nutrition advice.
I: One day my husband had a bad headache which no Tylenol could help with. Then he went to Superfoods and asked Darlene if she had an advice. She made him The Cleansing Green Juice and added turmeric and black pepper to it. The headache went away within minutes after he drank it and it didn’t come back! How did you do that?
Darlene: Turmeric is anti-inflammatory which can help alleviate a cold or other virus and the black pepper makes the turmeric taste better.
Elina: Do you know about the Mindful Eating Movement? It is about tasting your food. Many Americans are always on the go. But stressors in life also have an effect on how well nutrients work in the body. Some people have been really sick even though they ate healthy raw food because they had it on the go or were very stressed. Stressors have a big influence on health and food absorption. It is important to enjoy food, have meals together and be mindful of the taste, instead of just throwing it down quickly.
Me: This almost sounds like hygge! In Denmark most families have dinner together and take time to relax and enjoy food and drinks together. But hygge food is not always so healthy though…
Me: Any future plans for Superfoods you want to share with us?
Darlene & Elina: We always have visions and dreams but right now we will challenge ourselves with more raw food workshops to show people how easy it is. For example it isn’t hard at all to make your own nut milk once you have tried it. Maybe we will start classes in schools and daycare centers.
I finish up my Chocolate Elixir feeling refreshed and energized. If it is thanks to the drink, great company or inspiring interview is hard to say but my energy lasts for days after the visit. With me home I also bring the elderberry syrup which my son eagerly drinks and he is now over his stubborn cough. Of course I also have to try the popular Fire Cider Kombucha hoping it can get us through the Winter without too many sick days. I am also excited to make Darlene’s Date Brownies and Date Turtles and the Aztec Smoothie will be a must on my next visit there.
I cannot help but think that Mindful Eating is the healthy hygge I have been looking for… What could be better than getting healthy while having a good, relaxing time! This is exactly what a visit to Superfoods on Main offers: European style “cafe hygge” and a healthy energy boost.
You can visit Superfoods on Main in Historic Mount Airy on:
106 S. Main Street
Mount Airy, MD 21771
(There is a big parking lot right across the street, on the other side of Main Street)
Phone: 301-829-9464
Email: superfoodsonmain@gmail.com
http://www.SuperfoodsOnMain.com
Hours: Tues-Sat. 8:30 am to 5 pm and Sundays 11 am to 4 pm
Our January started off with constant colds and coughs and the Arctic blast with many snow days stuck inside. So my hope of kicking off the new year with a healthy and active lifestyle has been on hold. The result is that I feel like “a hanged cat” (a Danish expression) being dragged around from the kids wake up at 6:30 am till I crash on the couch as soon as they go to bed. Being a couch potato was not exactly my new years resolution and I am determined to find a better way to get through the cold Winter months.
All the hygge foods I have been advocating on this blog, like cakes and hot chocolate, bring me a sweet momentary happiness. This is why I have decided to give me, my family and this blog a healthy vitamin shot with foods that provide the energy we need to be happy and active all day long. I will also discover healthy hygge foods that won’t send us on a sugar crash shortly after indulgence.
My first step towards a healthier, more active and happier life is juicing.
This colorful beet juice will wake up your senses from Winter hibernation and give you a healthy injection of energy and vitamins.
2 – 3 beets
2-3 carrots
2 apples (granny smith / gala)
1,5 inch peeled ginger root
Run all ingredients through the juicer and serve up. It can be stored for about 3 days in the fridge in a tightly closed mason jar. Remember to stir before serving.
To me, nothing tastes more like Christmas than Danish Christmas Cookies / Brunkager – a crisp, spiced cookie – and Glögg – a mulled hot wine.
Here are my family’s recipes 🙂
7 ounces butter
7 ounces sugar
1/2 cup sirup
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tbsp ginger
1 tsp ground cloves
12.5 ounces all-purpose flour or more
1 tsp baking soda
3.5 ounces chopped almond slivers (optional)
1.8 ounces grated organic orange peel
How you do it:
Mix butter, sugar, sirup and spices well.
In a separate bowl mix the flour and baking soda well. Then mix this into the first mixture. Knead the dough together with almonds and orange peel. Add more flour if needed.
Divide the dough into 2-3 equally big parts. Roll and shape them so you have 2-3 fat rolls. Then you wrap each of them in plastic foil and store them in the fridge overnight – or longer.
Cut the rolls into 3-4 millimeter thick slices which you place on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Leave at least 1/2 an inch space between the cookies.
Bake them on 390 degrees Fahrenheit for 5-6 minutes till they are lightly golden brown around the edges.
The Scandinavian Christmas gnomes/”nisser” protects the Royal Copenhagen serving tray with Christmas treats! Marzipan and nougat rolls on top, Danish Brown Cookies, chocolate and raisin cookies on the middle level and gingerbread cookies on the bottom.
Ingredients:
2-3 cinnamon sticks
4-5 whole cloves
Coarsely grated orange peel from 1 orange
Juice from 1 orange
1 cup sugar
2 cups water
How you do it:
Boil spices, orange peel, orange juice, sugar and water for 10 minutes.
Pour through a strainer. Put the liquid extract in a medium sized pot and heat it up with 1 bottle of table-quality red wine, almond slivers and raisins/craisins. You can add a small splash or two of schnapps, cognac or rum if you like. Do not let it boil!
Serve hot in glasses with a spoon and include some of the almond slivers and raisins in each glass.
Glögg/mulled wine and Brunkager/Danish Christmas Cookies on a Royal Copenhagen plate.
What do you do if Christmas is just around the corner and you are too tired to even think of baking cookies, wrapping, shopping and decorating? You take a break. Christmas is about hygge, love and having a good time so why don’t you start with giving yourself a hygge break before you spread the hygge to those you love? Just like the oxygen mask on the airplane: put it on yourself before you help others. Love and hygge is very hard to spread if you cannot feel it. So give yourself a little love with a hygge break in the middle of all the to-do-lists. Like me right now. Nothing has been baked, lots of presents to wrap, there are two big baskets of laundry to fold right in front of me and the Christmas tree hasn’t even been decorated. Guests are coming Thursday. Yet, here I am. Enjoying a hot cup of chocolate out of my favorite hygge cup… After a little hygge break I will be ready to enjoy preparing for what should be “the most wonderful time of the year”. And I plan on have plenty of those hygge breaks throughout this Christmas to keep the holiday mood going. Christmas will be much better if you are happy and relaxed. So before I go, let me just give you the best recipe for hot chocolate I know…
Kirsten’s hot chocolate
Ingredients:
1/2 gallon whole milk
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup sugar
A little extra whole milk for the chocolate paste
How to make it:
In a medium sized pot heat the milk up to just below the boiling point (do not let it boil!)
In a bowl stir together the cocoa and sugar. Slowly add a little milk and stir it until it forms a thick paste
Add this paste to the hot milk
Serve with whipped cream on top and maybe a splash of peppermint extract / a peppermint stick
Walking through the old streets of Copenhagen in December… that’s hygge!
Here is a little sample of my Danish Christmas. The old streets of Copenhagen decorated with garlands, lights, hearts and stars. White hyacints and pine cones are important too. But lets not forget the mouth watering marzipan (almond paste) and nougat on coffee tables all around the country…
I know bicycles aren’t exactly a Christmas thing but only in Denmark will you see a baby chair that matches the color of the mother’s bicycle! Says so much about the importance of bicycles and design to the Danes.
It is a misty, grey day. One of those days where the sun will never come out. Now rain is pouring down in heavy streams. And I love it! What better excuse is there to hygge inside? Fall is prime time for hygge. Hygge is giving yourself some love in the darkening, cold months to come. It is really a gift to be able to hygge and this Fall and winter I am determined to make my kids feel a lot of hygge so that one day they will be able to create a home full of hygge.
Here are some of my ideas on how to hygge in the Fall.
First, go outside and enjoy the beautiful colors before they disappear! It is hard to think of anything more beautiful than the colorful leaves against a crisp blue sky. It almost looks as if the trees have dressed up in golden jewelry. Even on grey days the colors are stunning. After a cold but beautiful walk you will be ready to get some warmth and hygge inside.
Everything pumpkin is my new favorite Fall passion. Pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin bread and pumpkin spiced lattes. Oh, and lets not forget pumpkin smoothie (pumpkin puree, almond/rice milk and banana blended up with a little raw honey and tasted with pumpkin spice. Or just go to Superfoods or your local coffee shop).
Here is a recipe for pumpkin pancakes (Pumpkin pancake recipe). I replaced one cutoff all-purpose flour with one cup of whole wheat flour so it was half and half. Everyone loved these pancakes and we had enough for two mornings. Don’t forget to serve them with maple syrup on your favorite hygge plate.
Last weekend I had a cozy pumpkin spice latte at Superfoods and one of these days I want to try to make my own. These two recipes both sound like they will make a great cup of fall coffee The Kitchn Pumpkin Spice Latte and Inspired Taste Pumpkin Spice Latte. My mother-in-law makes a delicious pumpkin bread which is a great comfort and hygge treat on a rainy day. I will get the recipe for you so I can share it in a separate post in the Weekend Cake section asap!
Another great thing to do in the fall is crafting. Leaf prints turned out to be great fun with my daughter and mother-in-law. You simply collect a handful of beautiful fallen leaves on your walk, lay them with the backside turned up, put a piece of paper on top and start rolling a crayon sideways on the paper one the leaf. A colorful leaf print will appear and your can make your own designs with different combinations of leaf shapes and colors. This is a such a nice way to bring the beauty of Fall inside.
Speaking of crafts – knitting or crocheting in the dark evenings is another super hyggelig thing to do. In fact, knitting and crocheting have been proven to be relaxing. It is the mindless concentration on something repetitive that relaxes the brain and takes your mind off whatever worries you may have (Article on health benefits of knitting and crocheting). Meanwhile, just working on scarves and blankets makes you feel like you are getting warmer already – especially if you use wool yarn. But, the warmth and hygge benefits of wool is a whole new blog topic coming up in another post real soon.
I hope you will have a very hyggelig Fall weekend!
Sometimes the deep truths of life are pretty simple and cliché like, yet we often forget them. I was having a stressed out day trying to be five steps, or actually months, ahead of myself when a displaced coloring book with the title “Just Breathe” suddenly popped up on the children’s book shelves in Walmart.
When my daughter came home from a long day in kindergarten I let her choose a couple of pages to color and out of all the life wisdom quotes this is what she picked out:
There you go. It is that simple. That got me thinking about how good children are at making themselves happy when we give them the chance. If we give children time and freedom to do what they want (within reasonable and safe limits of course;) they will just go out and have fun and be happy. For adults it can be so much more complicated to find happiness even in our free time. There are always so much on our to-do-lists and things we should do. But if we deny ourselves doing what we truly want and love, we risk getting stressed and depressed. By now I know that whenever I take a break and let myself do something I enjoy I feel renewed and energized with room to be there for other people.
So next time I feel stressed out I might just go ahead and take her advice: “Live, Laugh, Love” – isn’t that what it is all about? And lets not forget the other great quote which sounds like it comes from the bottom of a child’s heart (and not Marie Antoinette’s): “Let Them Eat Cake”! In other words: relax a little and have fun!
Happy as a Dane 