The way things are looking now, we will be one apartment poorer from the 15. of August. I’m feeling happysad about that. I’d like to put the apartment in my pocket, along with the weather and the restaurants, and bring them all back to Oslo. But since that’s not possible, selling our beloved home to a really nice guy is a good replacement:) The chorus master of the National Theatre Opera, no less. So I think it will still be an apartment full of music, that is good. Luckily there’s a thick layer of concrete between our apartment and the neighbour underneath, so he doesn’t hear it, haha.

The tenants in our Oslo apartment are moving out on the 1st of August, and as soon as they are out we will start refurbishing, mainly the floors of the living room and kitchen. There’s an open plan kitchen now, that we haven’t lived in yet, I’m really looking forward to it! It’s so beautiful, and makes the kitchen look so much bigger than it was when we moved away.

We’re also getting a new fireplace, one that you can actually use, and I’ve looked at furniture I want to buy (no surprise there). Here are the mood boards I’ve made for the living room and bedroom. They’re just ideas, though, and ofcourse the man of the house has to agree;)

A general idea for the living room

Brown, beige and white for the bedroom.

I haven’t made any plans for the office, and I’m not going to either. I want Truls to have full control over that room, it’s his apartment after all, haha;)

So naturally, the first time I tried baking gluten free bread, known for its denseness, I expected the result to be bricklike. Not so! It actaully turned out to be the best bread I have ever baked! Not only was it airy and soft, it even tasted like regular bread! I’m not going to say I’m a great baker yet, as I used a bread mix, but at least I have taken one step up from completely bread incompetent!

Yes, I used a cake pan to bake the bread in. Maybe that’s why it worked out, I subconsciously thought is was a cake?:)

The mix I used is from Iherb, and it’s called Bob’s Red Mill, Gluten Free Hearty Whole Grain Bread Mix.

As you have probably understood, I recommend it with all my heart, and stomach too! You can buy it here: http://www.iherb.com/Bob-s-Red-Mill-Gluten-Free-Hearty-Whole-Grain-Bread-Mix-20-oz-567-g/29605 and if you do, you can use this code to get 5 dollars off your order: DAT383

Exhibit A:

I think what I’m the most happy about is the five containers of coconut water. Not because the other things aren’t great, what I’ve tried thus far is wonderful, but I just love coconut water so much! Ever since this moment in Vietnam, I’ve been a fan:

It’s full of electrolytes, perfect in the heat!

The complete shopping basket looked like this:

Bob’s Red Mill, Aluminum Free, Premium Baking Soda, Gluten Free, 16 oz (1 lb)
Dragon Herbs, Heaven Mountain Goji Berries, 8 oz (227 g)
Go Raw, Organic Spirulina Energy Bars, 10 Bars, 14 g Each
Vita Coco, 100% Pure Coconut Water, 11.1 fl oz (330 ml)
Go Raw, Organic Super Cookies, Chocolate, 3 oz (85 g)
Lundberg, Organic Brown Rice Pasta, Spaghetti, 10 oz (284 g)
EcoTools, Sustainable Moisture Gloves, 1 Pair
EcoTools, Sustainable Moisture Socks, One Size Fits Most, 1 Pair
Kinnikinnick Foods, Montanas Chocolate Chip Cookies, Gluten Free, 8 oz (220 g)
Avalon Organics, Glycerin Hand Soap, Lemon, 12 fl oz (355 ml)
Lundberg, Rice Chips, Santa Fe Barbecue, 6 oz (170 g)
Ecover, Ecological Glass & Surface Cleaner, Fresh Lemon Scent, 16 fl oz (493 ml)
Nature’s Gate, Lotion, Moisturizing, Tea Tree, 18 fl oz (532 ml)
GrabGreen, Automatic Dishwashing Detergent, Thyme with Fig Leaf,  1.27 oz
Tinkyada, Brown Rice Pasta, Spinach Spaghetti, 12 oz (340 g)
Tinkyada, White Rice Pasta, Spaghetti Style, 16 oz (454 g)
Simply Organic, Carrot Cake Mix, 11.6 oz (330 g)
Bob’s Red Mill, Gluten Free Hearty Whole Grain Bread Mix, 20 oz (567 g)
Nature’s Gate, Body Wash, Velvet Moisture, Aloe Vera, 18 fl oz (532 ml)

Luckily none of the items are expensive, they are actually dirt cheap, so you can buy a lot without paying a lot. Just remember the VAT limit in your country if that’s an issue for you. I don’t mind paying the VAT, it’s still very affordable.

Exhibit A:

I think what I’m the most happy about is the five containers of coconut water. Not because the other things aren’t great, what I’ve tried thus far is wonderful, but I just love coconut water so much! Ever since this moment in Vietnam, I’ve been a fan:

It’s full of electrolytes, perfect in the heat!

The complete shopping basket looked like this:

Bob’s Red Mill, Aluminum Free, Premium Baking Soda, Gluten Free, 16 oz (1 lb)
Dragon Herbs, Heaven Mountain Goji Berries, 8 oz (227 g)
Go Raw, Organic Spirulina Energy Bars, 10 Bars, 14 g Each
Vita Coco, 100% Pure Coconut Water, 11.1 fl oz (330 ml)
Go Raw, Organic Super Cookies, Chocolate, 3 oz (85 g)
Lundberg, Organic Brown Rice Pasta, Spaghetti, 10 oz (284 g)
EcoTools, Sustainable Moisture Gloves, 1 Pair
EcoTools, Sustainable Moisture Socks, One Size Fits Most, 1 Pair
Kinnikinnick Foods, Montanas Chocolate Chip Cookies, Gluten Free, 8 oz (220 g)
Avalon Organics, Glycerin Hand Soap, Lemon, 12 fl oz (355 ml)
Lundberg, Rice Chips, Santa Fe Barbecue, 6 oz (170 g)
Ecover, Ecological Glass & Surface Cleaner, Fresh Lemon Scent, 16 fl oz (493 ml)
Nature’s Gate, Lotion, Moisturizing, Tea Tree, 18 fl oz (532 ml)
GrabGreen, Automatic Dishwashing Detergent, Thyme with Fig Leaf,  1.27 oz
Tinkyada, Brown Rice Pasta, Spinach Spaghetti, 12 oz (340 g)
Tinkyada, White Rice Pasta, Spaghetti Style, 16 oz (454 g)
Simply Organic, Carrot Cake Mix, 11.6 oz (330 g)
Bob’s Red Mill, Gluten Free Hearty Whole Grain Bread Mix, 20 oz (567 g)
Nature’s Gate, Body Wash, Velvet Moisture, Aloe Vera, 18 fl oz (532 ml)

Luckily none of the items are expensive, they are actually dirt cheap, so you can buy a lot without paying a lot. Just remember the VAT limit in your country if that’s an issue for you. I don’t mind paying the VAT, it’s still very affordable.

We both have some demands that mean it’s impossible to live in the centre of the city, but with trains, buses and boats it shouldn’t be a very big problem. My number one demand is that I want a garden (everyone is shocked, I know), and Truls would like to be as close to Oslo as possible. We both agree that we want a view of the sea. Oh, and the place has to cost under 4 million NOK unless there’s a rental aparment in the basement. You’d think our choice was quite limited, but I feel I find great places to buy almost every time I look at finn.no.

Here are today’s favourite places, from the least to the most expensive:

1. Storfjellet, Holmlia, 1,975 million http://www.finn.no/finn/realestate/homes/object?finnkode=35116566

Holmlia has kind of a bad reputation, but from what I’ve heard it really depends on what part of Holmlia you live in. Just like I wouldn’t hang out at the Oslo City mall at night, I wouldn’t walk around the Holmlia mall either. The houses by the sea, on the other hand, are more or less in the Nordstrand part and full of families with children. The worst thing that can happen there is that some kid breaks your window with his football.

2. Heggedal, Røyken, 2,65 million: http://www.finn.no/finn/realestate/homes/object?finnkode=35309655

Yes, I’m posting pictures of the view for all the houses, haha.

Heggedal is probably as far away from Oslo as we’re willing to go. From Holmlia, a part of Oslo, it takes 15 minutes by train to get to the city center. In Heggedal, outside of Oslo, it on average takes 38 minutes with the train. If you’re from one of the bigger cities of the world, I am sure you would love to only have a 38 minute ride into town, but in Norway it’s considered a medium long commute. Personally I quite like the idea of living semi-rural while still being close enough to the city.

3. Gamlelinja, Holmlia, 3,275 million. http://www.finn.no/finn/realestate/homes/object?finnkode=35241601

My favourite! That view! There is not much to say except I would move here tomorrow if I could. (Oh, one more thing, I would paint those yellow walls in the bedroom…)

4. Slemmestad, Røyken, 3,75 million: http://www.finn.no/finn/realestate/homes/object?finnkode=35260661At 3,75 million, this house is the most expensive one. It is also huge, and not a terraced house like the others. I wanted to post a picture of the view, but there’s a big silo to the left. You can still see the sea, though, which is all I require.

From Slemmestad there is, in addition to buses, also a boat you can take into Oslo. I quite fancy the idea of doing that in the summer, being a total boat lover.

I also love the size of that garden…:)

Since I buy so much from this shop (I have a VIP account…), I thought I would share some of the products and what I think of them. And should you decide to try to buy something, you can use this code that gives you get $5 off your order while also giving me some percentages off my orders. The code is: DAT383

I’ll start with one of the two things I have the most experience with, as these are products I bought a long time ago and use every day.

Now Foods Spirulina Powder

Spirulina is a blue-green algae which is commercially produced and widely marketed as a “superfood” and immune booster.

This organic spirulina powder comes in a huge container. It’s only filled half way up for some reason (doesn’t seem very environmentally friendly!), but those 454 grams last a long time! Especially if you’re like me and only use 1-2 teaspoons every day. The recommended dose is 1 tablespoon, so about double of what I use, but I feel that half is enough. Any more and your juice might start tasting the way it smells. And let me tell you, it smells bad. It smells like a mix of stables and old seaweed. The good thing is, that when you mix it with apple juice it really doesn’t taste much at all! I actually even sort of like it. So don’t be scared to try even after the initial assault on your nostrils.

Spirulina contains the highest protein and beta-carotene levels of all green superfoods and is also a rich source of GLA (Gamma Linolenic Acid), a popular fatty acid with numerous health benefits. In addition, it is the highest known vegetable source of B-12 and provides optimum levels of vitamins, minerals, trace elements, cell salts, amino acids and enzymes. B-12 is hard to get enough of if you’re a vegan, so taking a spirulina supplement is a good idea!

My personal experience with this product is that it gives me more energy. If I drink a mixture of this, wheatgrass and apple juice before a workout, I feel I have more to give and the workout is less painful. I haven’t really noticed any other effects I can specifically relate to the spirulina, but I do know that I almost never get a cold. Since this is an immune boosting product, it might be one of the reasons I very seldom get sick. My hair has also started growing really quickly lately, and since B-12 is known for making hair, nails and skin healthier, I think there can be a connection there.

At $31,54, this product is just within the limit of what you can order to Norway without having to pay taxes. Yay!

+

• Great price.
• Doesn’t taste bad
• Gives me energy
• Might make your hair and nails grow faster
• Might boost your immune system

_

• The smell is awful
• The container is way too big compared to the contents

Yum!

So today I am making a bacon and lentil soup. For some reason I can’t seem to find regular bacon here, so I’m using English bacon instead. It’s more or less ham. Looking forward to trying this soup with real bacon, for a bit of crunch.

Bacon and lentil soup

Picture from allrecpies.com.au

Serves: 4

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 rindless short-cut bacon rashers, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and diced

½ large swede, peeled and diced

1 litre diluted salt-reduced or homemade chicken or vegetable stock

⅔ cup (125 g) green lentils

1 lemon, zest grated

4 parsnips, peeled and diced

2–3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Prep: 20 minutes |Cook: 50 minutes

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the garlic, bacon, onion, carrots and swede and mix well. Cook over a medium heat, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes until the bacon has changed colour and the onion has softened.

2. Stir in the stock, lentils and half the lemon zest. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, half cover the pan and cook gently for 10 minutes.

3. Stir in the parsnips, cover and continue to cook gently for 25–30 minutes until the lentils and vegetables are tender.

4. Use a vegetable masher or hand-held blender to crush some of the lentils and vegetables into the soup, leaving the majority chunky. Stir in half of the parsley and season to taste. Serve sprinkled with the remaining chopped parsley and grated lemon zest.

The soup is on the stove now, I’ll let you know how it tasted:)

We’ve had our 17th of May breakfast, and later we’re going to a restaurant. In between we’re watching clips from NRK, as tradition dictates:)