So I’ve got a bit behind schedule with my MOOC, and I’m only just getting round to the processing my thoughts on the second week’s videos and reading. I have however, been doing lots of homework in the form of creating recipes inspired by the course including malted pearl barley no-knead bread and cheesy golden slices, which I will share over the next couple of weeks.
In the second week of the course the lecturettes focus on the aims and concept of the Opus project in schools in Denmark. As I understand it, the study was designed to see if the New Nordic Diet would have an impact on concentration levels, as well as the future risk of diseases like diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis and obesity in school children. The lecturers explain that the idea of introducing the diet to children is so that they grow up with it, and therefore it becomes a normal standard and feels natural.
Here are the main principles of the project, which I am looking forward to incorporating into lots of new recipes:
1. Eat more fruits and vegetables
2. Eat more whole grains, including oats, rye, barley
3. Eat more food from the wild landscape
4. Eat organic whenever possible
5. Avoid additives
6. Eat seasonally
7. Eat more homemade food
8. Waste less
They also recommend eating more food from the sea and having less meat, but of a higher quality (eating free range and organic wherever possible) but both of these are hard for me as a veggie!
