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Eating Reindeer, But Not Rudolph

in The Too Busy to Diet Blog on September 19, 2014

This summer, I made a long anticipated journey to Scandinavia. I always visualized that this area would be filled with tranquility and beauty. And after seeing the movie, Frozen, I booked my trip.

I decided that as a dietitian/nutritionist I needed to try the native foods.
The first food that I tried was reindeer in Sweden. I had great hopes that the meat was not from one of the seven reindeer, but despite my initial apprehension I decided to try it anyway.
I have to admit that the meat was tender and could be cut with a fork. It had a slight sweet taste, but overall I was pleased with the taste.

Reindeer meat is healthier than beef or pork with low fat, low saturated fats and a high vitamin and mineral content. The low fat content is due to the time spent by the animals in open pastures that allows them a great deal of exercise. The high vitamin and mineral content is due to their consumption of lichen, heather, herbs, and berries that are packed with antioxidants. The amount of these nutrients is dependent on the soil content of these foods. Lichen also adds selenium, zinc, and iron to the diet.

Reindeer meat is high in vitamin B 12, having twice the amount found in
veal or lamb. It also has omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids comparable to amounts found in seafood such as cod, crab, mussels, oysters, and shrimp.

Today, the average Norwegian eats 10 pounds of reindeer meat yearly. Hardly any reindeer meat is exported.

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