Knorr-way?

Ok, I am going to say it, despite the risk of sounding rude. The food here is very strange. Very. Strange.  There are a few small grocery stores which carry pretty much the same selection of food, give or take a few items, and the choices are limited.  Most of the fish is frozen, and most of the meat is preserved in some way, either as paté or one of the many types of cured meats and sausages available.  A lot of meat is also made into kjøttballer, meatballs, which are then also frozen or packaged to be shelf-stable.  This isn't really a problem, as we don't eat much meat and I am used to buying frozen fish from my local Sam's Club to save a few bucks.   There is also a ton of klippfisk, which I know as the Spanish bacalao, a very unappetizing (sorry!) method of preserving fish by essentially drying it with a voluminous amount of salt, resulting in what we call "salt cod" in English.  This all makes perfect sense, as the climate here is not conducive to much fresh meat or produce, and the people have adapted to a system that works for them.  Fresh food needs to be imported most of the year, and is therefore extremely expensive, so reindeer salami and sheep bologna it is.  I don't like this type of food, but it is logical so I can wrap my brain around it.  What I do not understand, however, is the exorbitant amount of packaged, shelf-stable meals.  There are little packets of just-add-water Hollandaise sauce in the States, and soup mixes and onion dip mixes for chips.  We all love Lipton onion soup mix. But here, everything comes from a packet.  There are entire aisles in the supermarket for packets of food mix, and not just sauces and soups.  Did you hear me?  Entire aisles! There is chicken curry dinner from a packet, spaghetti carbonara (just add milk), rice pudding (just add water) even lasagna from a packet (yes, really,  just add meat and put it into a pan!).  And the coffee! Nobody drinks brewed coffee here, it is all about the packet.  In fact, I am drinking a Nescafé Latte from a packet right now (my second one of the morning, actually, as it is quite good!).  So there you have it.  The food is Norway is indeed very strange, and cooking vegetarian meals can be a challenge, but that's what makes this trip a true adventure.