Viking Diet Helped the Vikings Build Their Strength

All we see about the Vikings is simply their great achievement of raiding and aesthetic ships. But to excel and gain so much popularity, the Vikings faced their fear and moved on with it. They didn't refuse their fear. Instead, they lived with fear and gradually built their own stamina. The weather didn't support them. Animals were stronger than them. But they could deal with them all. The most important key to their pathway of building a great physique was attributed to their Viking diet. 

The perception of the Vikings always being cruel and dirty was one-sided. They cared not only about their appearance but also their diet a lot. Having a balanced diet helped them very much to get a perfect shape. 

You are what you eat!

PRESERVED FISH FOR PROTEIN

Maybe at the time, they didn't have any perception of protein. But somehow they consumed fish and liked fish a lot. Fish became the main staple of Viking diet. The Vikings fished nearly everywhere. From rivers, steam and oceans, the Viking could fish them all. They salted, smoked, or dried the fish so they could carry fish with them during the voyage. This was a way to preserve food for the upcoming months, especially winters. Herring was very ubiquitous in the Viking land. They made the herring into the stockfish which many historians thought they would be traded through Europe.

THE VIKINGS MADE A LOT OF DAIRY PRODUCTS

The Vikings raised many types of castle. They had cows, sheep, and goats. So they had various kinds of milk for their family. Soon they realized that it was very difficult to keep such dairy products for a long time, they began to ferment it. Then they could make butter, cheese, and even yogurt. 

BOILED MEAT AT ANY DINNER TABLE

The way the Vikings prefered to cook meat the most was to boil it. Of course, we cannot compare the quality of animal meat of the ancient times and that of today Animals in the ancient times were wild and trained themselves every day, eating natural food instead of chemical animal feed. The meat of the ancient animals was good right from the start. 

The Vikings often boiled the meat in the cauldron and over the fire. If there was a big feast, they would dig a deep hole lining with wood and fill the hole with water and stone. 

IN LOVE WITH VEGETABLE

The Vikings would never understand why many people don't like vegetable today. The Vikings were not strangers to the vegetables. They loved veggies and their garden was always full of peas, cabbage, onions, and carrots. The Viking meals had many flavors thanks to their great use of spices like cumin or horseradish. 

The Vikings also relied so much on nuts and seeds. We all know that nuts and seeds are a great source of nutrition. In the Viking times, when the winters were so harsh, the Vikings stored dried nuts, seeds, and fruit to keep them alive.