So I posted a Laskiaispulla recipe not too long ago, with the intent to bake myself and my roommates some as soon as I could shop for ingredients.

Well that day was today, and let me tell you, it was probably one of the best things I’ve baked, and the most of my own baked things I’ve eaten all at once before (I’m not actually a fan of eating sweets, just making them).

The first batch got a bit burnt because I underestimated just how fast they cook. The second batch was perfectly golden though. I also made them a little too small, so they turned out much more sandwhich-like than I expected (I was worried I might have made them too big, beforehand). And the cream I used for making the whipped cream was not heavy enough so it took a bit longer to whip properly and ended up not being as stiff in the end, but actually tastier than usual, nonetheless.

Sadly, though, they were so good that me and the roommates ate all of the non-burnt batch, and half of the burnt batch, before I even remembered that I wanted to take pictures. Woops!

A lot of what we’ll be posting on The Finnish Line may be recipes, and with good reason. We, my Girlfriend and I, are both Americans and have been eating the “traditional” american diet for years.

It looks kinda like this:

And now, we’re looking to change. I’m getting fatter with every hamburger, frequently battling indigestion, and tired a lot. (And some have asked me why I don’t medicate for these things… why would I?? Why not save myself a life-long sentence to medicine and eat good tasty food that doesn’t kill me?)

My diet (not terribly different from my Girlfriend’s) looks kinda like this:

Coke, hamburgers, easy-mac, fried chicken, Taco Bell, milk, and chips. And we’ve been known to drink 2-5 cans of coke in a single day on occasion. 

So, what’s the Finnish Diet like?

The Finns are known for consuming large amounts of Berries, Potatoes, and Sausage (of varying meats and varieties). This provides a massive amount of protein, sugars, carbohydrates, and fibers all from natural foods. In fact, it’s more expensive to eat junk food, currently, in Finland than it is to eat veggetables and sausage!

All the bread and potatoes they consume may alarm some Americans, but it’s worth noting that breads like Rye and Buckwheat are the norm there. Wholegrain breads contain the husk of the grains which contains the enzymes needed for proper digestion and is not just a lump of starch devoid of nutrients (which is the reason most bread we eat in America “makes you fat”).

And Coke just isn’t anywhere near as popular in Finnish meal-time as it is here in the states. The most popular drinks in Finland are Water, Milk, Coffee, Beer, and Wines (usually berry wines)… all of which have amazing health benefits when consumed properly.

So, we’re trying to put together a menu of appetizing Finnish (or inspired) foods that we can start to stock up in our kitchen as a way to improve our health and excite our palettes.

Let’s turn a Hamburger, Fries, and a Coke into Sausage, Berries, Potatoes, and a Beer.