Dinner the Nordic Way
An interview with Annabella Daily!
This year, Finland ranked as the world’s “happiest” country for the eighth year in a row. As someone who has long been fascinated with Scandinavian culture (just check my bookshelf), I devour Nordic tips for living like potato chips, or rather, wholegrain rye crispbreads with butter.
Nordic countries, such as Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland, have a reputation for being wonderful places to be a parent. With top wellbeing ratings, lengthy parental leave, and a general sense of trust (it’s common to see babies napping in their strollers outside cafes while mom or dad stops in for a coffee), Scandinavian family life feels purely aspirational.
In her newsletter, Scandi Class, Annabella Daily aims to make this way of parenting more accessible, sharing ideas for how we can all bring some Nordic perspective into our own lives and families, no matter where we live. Annabella is a Finnish journalist, writer, speaker, social media creator, and mother of three. She currently lives in the US, but briefly moved her family home to Finland in search of a more balanced and sustainable way of navigating parenthood.
I recently had the opportunity to pick Annabella’s brain all about my favorite topic - family dinner - and am thrilled to share her approach grounded in Finnish culture. Many thanks to Annabella, and I hope her ideas help to bring some Nordic ease to your table. (I have already embraced her early dinner/night snack combination in our house for activity-filled evenings.)
Dinner the Nordic Way with Annabella Daily
In Nordic countries, parents often have a calmer attitude towards dinner, as well as more support.
When it comes to family dinner, the Nordic gold standard isn’t necessarily idyllic home-cooked meals. Instead, it’s a more relaxed view around feeding overall. Having lived in both Finland and the US, Annabella has felt the difference in expectations when it comes to food and kids.
“I have gone back to Finland with my kids for about 2 months out of the year since fall of 2022, when we lived there for a semester. In the US there’s so much pressure around food. I used to feel extreme guilt and stress over how my kids ate, to make things from scratch, to turn them into ‘great eaters.’ In Finland, I don’t feel this pressure at all. No one I know makes elaborate home-cooked dinners every night; it might be ready-made items from the grocery store, heated.”
She also shares that Finland offers more support in the important task of feeding children. In the US, this is typically left to parents (often moms) alone.
“In general, it’s much easier to buy healthy food in Europe than in the US. In the Nordics, all kids get a warm, healthy school or daycare lunch for free; schools have chefs. Most daycares also offer free healthy breakfast, so that’s a lot off parents' plates. Healthy food is seen as children’s right and essential for learning, so it is considered society’s shared responsibility. Here, it almost always just falls on moms.”
Even without packing our bags, there are ways to bring this calm Finnish spirit to our own kitchens.
Living in the US, Annabella maintains a refreshingly open view of what dinner can look like. On hectic weeknights, instead of focusing on one big family dinner, she prioritizes offering food at the times that work best. Her kids often eat more traditional dinner food in the late afternoon, followed by “night porridge,” a common Finnish evening meal.
“During the week, we have what you might call eating opportunities: my kids are incredibly active and athletic, so it’s all about getting good calories in. The kids typically have their fullest meal after school, between 4-5, when they are the hungriest and before their sports.
After sports, before bedtime, we have a night snack. Typically, this is some type of porridge–and not just oatmeal. There are so many grains you can turn into a creamy porridge and everyone can add the kinds of toppings they wish.
I knew others did night porridge as dinner, but I somehow didn’t embrace that routine until last spring - and it changed my life! How had I not done this before? No more fights over who eats what at dinner and no more massive kitchen clean-ups when you are already exhausted.”
Managing multiple dietary preferences and picky eating can be a struggle, but a Nordic approach tackles this with compassion and practicality.
Within her own household, Annabella juggles major differences in eating habits between herself and her husband, as well as the challenge of very selective eaters.
“We are a bit of a unique family when it comes to eating. Not only do we follow Nordic-type routines with our kids, but we also have a lot of different diets. I have been vegan since my early 20s, my boys are mostly vegan though they also eat eggs and, when we travel, dairy. My husband is more of a carnivore. We also avoid ultra-processed foods and opt for organic.
On top of this, two of my boys are extremely picky eaters (no matter what I have tried, since they started solids) so their meals are really simple, basically a collection of foods (as nutritious as possible) that they will eat.”
When it comes to feeding our children, Annabella shares the perspective that doing our best is always good enough. She focuses on meals that are realistic and accepted, rather than impressive.
“In the US especially, we tend to think that moms can single-handedly turn their kids into ‘great eaters’ by doing things just right. There is a lot we can do - my mom modeled extremely healthy eating and shopping habits and I have them to this day - but we know that it’s not always up to just us. We can do our best and we also need to do what works! My Finnish mom finally just said: focus on calories in. I wish I had listened to her earlier - the idea that you are a good mom by offering (healthy) calories in.
The focus is not on a fancy meal, but rather foods they can handle to eat, which currently is anything from avocado or egg toast, a pasta night (I just discovered organic sourdough pasta! And I experiment with different grain pastas to vary the nutrient intake), tacos or tortillas, simple pizza or avocado sushi.”
Similarly, finding ways to bring simplicity and ease to the logistics of meal planning and prep can help reduce stress around dinner.
In line with the culture she noted in Finland, Annabella keeps her meal routines minimal and enjoyable. She might cook a few times a week, supplementing with foods from local markets.
“I don’t cook every day, but I try to have leftovers at least for one other meal if not more when I do. This means you could cook a maximum of 2-3 nights a week, order in once and go out once. Ta-da!
Now that we are in fall, for me and my more experimental eater son, I love making simple soups in one pot with nothing but a tiny bit of chopping and boiling: artichoke spinach soup is my current favorite and roasted pepper soup. If I’m really fancy, I’ll make a roasted root vegetable soup.
Often, my cooking is more about heating healthy foods I buy from Whole Foods, Thrive Market, our local organic market, and the farmer’s market. And a fun fact, I don’t meal plan at all in Helsinki because I stop by the grocery store around the corner every day, as I need to carry the groceries back.”
With a focus on healthy foods and leaning into what works for each family, bringing a Finnish perspective to our dinners means letting go of some of the expectations and pressures put on parents.
“The whole point of the Nordic way in feeding the family is to keep it simple, easy, quick, and just one part of an already busy day; not something to stress over.”
Some Good Stuff
A good read: For more Nordic wisdom on managing meals, check out one of my favorite posts from Annabella, Finnish Hacks to Feeding Your Family. She shares a wealth of helpful tips and reframes for navigating feeding kids (including the custom of Candy Day!)
A good recipe: On the topic of simple soup, I’ve recently rediscovered this very autumnal slow cooker lentil soup from Pinch of Yum. Drowning in potatoes from my CSA, I followed her freezer instructions at the end (which I highly recommend), chopping and filling a bag that’s ready-to-go for a future easy dinner.
A good idea: I love this hack from Julia Turshen of making the most of an almost-empty jar by turning it into a sauce or dressing *right in the container*. She has a handy chart for honey/maple syrup, mustard, mayonnaise, and ketchup. I’ve also used this trick for the sticky dregs of nut butters and tahini. One commenter suggests adding hot water to a jam jar to make a flavored base for cooking oatmeal, which sounds like a delicious idea for night porridge.