Our kayaks bobbed in place at low tide as waves lapped against the sheer rock聽face along Otter枚n, an island and nature reserve in the Grebbestad archipelago along western聽Sweden鈥檚 Bohusl盲n Coast. Linn茅a Sj枚gren had spotted large stalks of sugar kelp and sea lettuce growing along that steep rock. So Jonas Pettersson and I waited in our kayaks while she paddled over to harvest them.聽

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Sj枚gren grabbed long, translucent stalks of brown聽and olive green kelp, which wrapped around her hands and kayak like feathered party boas. They felt rubbery and slimy to the touch when she paddled back to show us her bounty, and I wasn鈥檛 sure I was ready to sample them. 聽

We were barely ten minutes into our seaweed safari, and the cold, mineral-rich waters were already offering up some of their very best.

Since 2014, Sj枚gren and Pettersson have been regularly paddling and diving the waters of Grebbestad and the Bohusl盲n聽Coast to forage for edible seaweed. They鈥檙e sustainable harvesters, which means they鈥檙e familiar with the growth patterns of the ten seaweed types they work with, picking only as much as needed and taking extra care for slower-growing species like rockweed.

Before this, both Sj枚gren and Pettersson worked聽as librarians for more than a decade at the University of Gothenburg. For Sj枚gren, who grew up in the nearby fishing village of Hamburgsunda, spending too much time indoors behind a computer finally took its toll. Her father, a commercial fisherman who also took a sustainable approach, instilled in her a love of the outdoors and environmentally聽friendly foods.

In 2008, surrounded by books, newspapers, and magazines while working at the library, Sj枚gren came across an article about algae in Gourmet, and her interested was piqued.

By 2013, she and Pettersson had started experimenting with various forms of algae in their kitchen. They wondered if the same seaweed they ate with sushi was the same they saw while paddling around Grebbestad and West Sweden. They started developing their small brand of edible algae products under the name (pronounced 鈥渃atch-a-lot鈥�). They wanted to reconnect with the sea they grew up around, and they wanted to teach others not to be afraid of finding and eating uncommon items from the sea.聽

In the spring of 2014, while competing in the prestigious in Stockholm, renowned Swedish chef Tommy Myllym盲ki was looking for a unique ingredient to elevate his dish. He reached out to Sj枚gren and Pettersson to learn about and source Swedish seaweed. Myllym盲ki would later go on to win gold for Europe in 2014 and bronze globally in 2015, which instantly made Sj枚gren and Pettersson experts on Swedish seaweed in the Nordic region.

Through Catxalot, they run seaweed safaris for travelers in the region, and they commercially dry, package, and sell seaweed to ecological retailers and fine-dining restaurants. Their popular cooking classes teach people who initially cringe at the thought of eating elastic brown stalks of seaweed to use it in breads, soups, and even chocolate cakes.

I had the same initial reaction to the large slimy boas of sugar kelp Sj枚gren had harvested for us. We paddled another聽ten minutes to reach a sandy beach, where we docked our kayaks. Sj枚gren hand-washed the kelp and sea lettuce and cut them into bite-sized pieces with scissors before handing them off to Pettersson, who fried the pieces in olive oil over a small portable stove. Within minutes, the rubbery kelp had morphed into light, salty crisps鈥攈ealthy snacks I could munch on all day. 聽

鈥淪wedes are generally reluctant to try something new,鈥� Sj枚gren told聽me as I popped more fried seaweed into my mouth. 鈥淲e want to make it as natural for us to pick and eat seaweed as we do with berries and wild mushrooms,鈥� she says, hinting at the Swedish law called , which allows public access to freely use land and forage for berries, mushrooms, and other edibles.聽

For both Sj枚gren and Pettersson, their new life extends beyond discovering and selling a new food. It鈥檚 about teaching people to take care of the environment by bringing them a personal experience of the sea as food source. As Sj枚gren puts it, 鈥淚f you eat from the sea, you won鈥檛 want to throw plastic and rubbish into it.鈥�

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As they say here in Sweden, there's no bad weather, only bad clothing.聽

I learned the phrase early on in the dark throes of my first Scandinavian winter. I moved from Maryland to Stockholm, Sweden,聽six years ago, unprepared for the two-to-four聽hours of daylight, plus constantly chilly temperatures and blustery winds.聽I expected the weather would keep locals holed up聽by the fireplace all season.聽Instead, they were gearing up to head somewhere even colder for their holidays鈥攎aybe going local at Sweden鈥檚 own ski resort town, 脜re, or crossing over to mainland Europe for the Swiss and French Alps.

It took me a while to wrap my head around this. Even the daily ritual of bundling my toddlers in suits like astronauts, then leaving them to spend hours playing outdoors in subzero temperatures, felt wrong. Six years later, it feels natural to spend lots of time outdoors no matter the condition鈥攊n fact, it's encouraged nationally.

Here in Sweden, I've learned, spending time outdoors鈥攃ome rain, shine, or blizzard鈥攊s a social institution that's聽supported by real school policies and national laws. The country聽provides vast swaths of nature and allows families plenty of time for play,聽making outdoor fun something that most Swedes take for granted.

I've seen how it's positively affected my own family.聽And there鈥檚 strong evidence that Swedes grow up to become healthier and more environmentally-conscious citizens thanks in part to that lifestyle.聽The country ranks as and reported an obesity rate of 11.8 percent of the population in 2012 (in comparison, the U.S. comes in at 35 percent). Sweden has聽been聽one of the聽聽in the world for decades (the country's recycling program is so successful that only goes to landfills). And聽Swedes of all ages have fun getting outside (a聽lot聽of fun).听

All year long, another government initiative called聽聽grants the public free recreational access to Sweden鈥檚 vast nature鈥�97 percent of the country is uninhabited. 础濒濒别尘补苍蝉谤盲迟迟别苍 allows anyone to camp, cross-country ski, forage, and trek on any land. This even applies to private property, unless signs prohibiting trespassing are in place. This right also includes picking wild berries and foraging for mushrooms. 础濒濒别尘补苍蝉谤盲迟迟别苍 actively encourages people to explore and use their surroundings, and it helps that over 80 percent of Sweden鈥檚 residents live within three miles of a national park or nature reserve. According to the country's outdoor association,聽, 97 percent of Sweden鈥檚 9.8 million residents are in favor of protecting 础濒濒别尘补苍蝉谤盲迟迟别苍 as their right.聽

It's expected that we'll want to take advantage of all that wide-open land.聽Recreation is built into the yearly and daily schedules.聽From late February through March, Swedes take聽sportlov,聽a winter holiday break from both school and work. Think the American equivalent of spring break鈥攅xcept here in the Nordics, it鈥檚 meant specifically for winter sports, especially downhill or cross-country skiing. (The world's oldest, largest, and longest 90K聽cross-country race,聽, is held in Sweden during聽sportlov, with over 15,000 skiers participating each year.)聽

厂辫辞谤迟濒辞惫听started after World War II when a youth organization started taking elementary schoolers on mountain field trips. The government created a school break that coincided with the trips, seeing an opportunity to conserve heating fuels.聽By the聽1960s, the idea had expanded to save heating in offices, and聽蝉辫辞谤迟濒辞惫听applied to聽the聽entire family. Since then, it鈥檚 become a cultural norm for families to take a week out of their annual vacation time (full-time employees get an average of six weeks' vacation)聽and enjoy winter-based sporting activities together.

Over 200 Swedish daycares聽also follow the Outdoor Association鈥檚 recreational program called ,聽which means 鈥渃ome rain or shine.鈥澛燗t daycares and kindergartens, kids are bundled up and left to play outdoors for hours under piles of snow, and they're taught about outdoor skills like composting.聽Even babies under six months are allowed a few minutes to sleep outside to soak up fresh air, even in winter. The聽program teaches聽children聽to spend time outdoors and in nature without fear. They don't聽perceive聽time outdoors as 鈥渆xercise鈥� and instead approach it as a necessity.

So stuffing my toddlers into multiple puffy jackets no longer feels like the 20-minute chore it actually is. At such a young age, they've already developed聽a healthy and聽instinctive need to be outdoors.聽My four-year old gleefully looks forward to daycare excursions into surrounding聽forests. My 18-month-old puts on muddy boots himself and perches聽by the window every day, waiting for our next trip out. And on the coldest,聽snowiest days, you won't find us at the fireplace鈥攚e go tobogganing.聽

is a guest contributor to Raising Rippers.

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