Sitting in the office looking around, it’s Monday, we’ve just had our Monday meeting and everyone is topping off their coffee cups.

We almost have to pinch ourselves on the arm. It’s crazy to think about what we have created! In 2019 FP went into high gear and at times we had to stop and make sure we weren’t dreaming. But we made it through 2019 with flying colors and now have a team of nine people! We all huddle around our used table we call and a desk for 9 people and blissfully discuss our agenda that’s full to the brim with exciting plans.

Winter 2019

These months were mainly devoted to writing the Nutrition Hunter. Or, rather, to stress that we SHOULD write the Nutrition Hunter. When we think back to this period, words like insufficiency, lack of time and frustration pop up. We knew that if we only had time, quiet and silence then we had the opportunity to make a very important contribution to public health. However, some exciting things happened too: we were given the opportunity to interview Dr Rangan Chatterjee to the pod, we were on TV and we traveled Sweden giving presentations.

Even our private lives were busy – Lina’s lease was up and she had to move in a flash. We also both ended up in renovation projects. And if we are being really honest here, a fairly extensive renovation was also underway in our private lives as well.

But, life went on as it always does, the days slowed down to a more normal pace and the book began to take shape. By the end of March we finally submitted the script. The nutrient hunter was nowhere near finished, but we had passed the first benchmark anyway. We toasted with Plato’s bubble and slept for a 100 hours.

Spring 2019

Once we submitted the script, it was as if time stopped while we waited for the publisher’s response. And even though we were still preparing things for the book around the clock, at least we had the opportunity to go outdoors for a few hours every day. In parallel with this, we started and developed hundreds of recipes for the book, recipes good for both public health and the planet, and then it was photo time. Thank you Ulrika Ekblom (photographer) and Therese Elquist (recipe developer) for the brilliant efforts!

After a few weeks we got the book back and then it was time to go into the writers bubble again, this time with reading glasses (Lina had gone to the optician in April). This is perhaps the most important – and the most difficult – phase, when you question what you’ve written and turn everything upside down, hopefully making improvements through the process. Sweaty weeks but once we got out on the other side we were basking in b-l-i-s-s.

We also worked over time on a new secret project: our new site and the member site. We (and you) had long felt a need to become a more comprehensive site and not just a blog. We also want to go out into the world with our message and widen our horizons, with the kick-off of nutrient hunter it felt  like it was time! But holy moley, time and money just ran away with these efforts – despite it all being well worth it, all the happy insta pictures with smiles and smoothies from May and June, weren’t as jolly as they seemed in the shots.

Summer 2019

Before the holiday, a few last minute alterations with the book were left. We sat in many interviews ahead of the upcoming book launch and learned slowly but surely how to talk about our new book. Everything started to feel very “real” and the same day as the book went to print we planned to toast with another glass of Plato’s bubble. Well actually… This time we drank real champagne.

And then – vacation! It was well earned and very appreciated … We caught up with ourselves after the last six months, took a million dips in the sea and recharged before what we knew would be a fun and intense autumn.

Autumn 2019

On August 1, the Nutrition Hunter was finally released in Sweden. The feeling when you get to see your book for the first time after all these months of pdf’s and documents is indescribable. It is reminiscent of childbirth – it is intense when you are in the middle of it, but as soon as the baby is in your arms, the pain is forgotten. The book sailed quickly to the top charts and we did a lot of publicity – sitting on TV sofas, radio interviews and newspaper interviews. A wickedly fun month! But also a tough month in our private lives, with separations, operations and misunderstandings. We ended August with a five-day retreat in Sörmland with the EQ Gym.

In October, it began to pull together for the launch of our new platform and the FP team was sweating profusely. We also decided to start some new projects, including retaining the foreign rights of our two other books and trying to translate and publish them ourselves. We invested heavily and hired Cassandra to take out Food Pharmacy around the world! We also followed up on offers from various food manufacturers to produce Food Pharmacy supplements and proprietary foods. Ultimately we landed on developing our products ourselves. At the end of the year we hired Sara who worked for many years at a different great food company. And Sara will be finding all sorts of exciting things for FP to get into in the future, we’ll get back to you soon on that!

Last month of the year we had many exciting events in the office and we met incredibly wonderful people. Without a doubt our most social month of the whole year! The years ending wrapped up with Christmas break and ringing in the new year, as well as a smile on our faces. 

2020

And now we are back to where we started, mid-January pinching ourselves on the arm. This morning, our April Wickström had a meditation class in our office and thanks to EQ Gym we have learned to be kinder to ourselves, which probably saved us last year and certainly was a big reason why we handled our adversities as well as we did.

For all of our international followers, coming to you soon in 2020: FP’s new look, book and site for you to join in all the fun!