Per Diem Budget vs. German Grocery Stores

As we all know, food is the best. It is what makes us run, physiologically and, of course, on the treadmill. It is also an excellent tool used to understand many facets of another culture. Think of how many aspects of life revolve around a meal: preparation, socialization, the act of eating, the perceiving of time, etc. These experiences speak for themselves, as does shopping for that meal's ingredients. I am excited to share a few things that I have come to learn and appreciate about the organization of the German food system, as well as some items that I wish we had back in the United States.

SOME HOUSEKEEPING

1. Food is cheaper and it tastes better here. I tell everyone that I bit into a regular bell pepper my first week here and did a double take. It was sweet and crunchy, almost like candy. This is what vegetables should taste like!

2. Germany is one of the leading countries in organic, sustainable farming. Some German farmers began organically farming in the 1920s, and by the 1990s the E.U. began to implement German policy into their food standards. Anything organic and non-GMO is marked with a green "BIO" label. Plus, "BIO" foods do not boast the drastic price difference between organic and non-organic that we know in the States. Even processed foods can have the "BIO" label, meaning that at least 95% of the ingredients were organically grown. Within a supermarket, it is more common to find "BIO" than "non-BIO."

3. The fruits and veggies are placed right at the entrance. Frozen foods are normally around the edges of the store, all packaged goods are located in the center isles. The psychology of perishables taking precedence is correct! Don't try to convince me on that Oreo sale! Put those in the middle, where it will take me ages to find them! Be gone, Temptation!

4. BYOB everywhere. Paper or plastic cost money, but have no fear! They will throw in an incredulous and/or dirty look for free!

5. Everything is closed on Sundays. I am a fan of this because it forces everyone to plan ahead and take a well deserved break (but ha HA, I still have rehearsal on Sundays!). -.-

Alrighty, onto the foods!

FRESH, CHEAP BREAD

There is a bakery right down the street from my apartment that tantalizes every soul that walks past. Every morning (excluding Sunday), homemade goodies that span varieties of franzbrotchen, kringles, cookies, croissants, and other flaky goodies I have no names for line the windows, backed by beautiful, silver espresso machines and walls of fresh bread. Please be proud that I have only entered the premises twice.

Bread is a big deal here.

Every grocery store has an in-house bakery that sells rolls and loaves of all shapes, sizes, and flavors for very cheap. Alternatively, the bread is delivered fresh daily. And it is damn good bread. All the time, everywhere. For example, one morning I off-handedly bought a whole-grain-looking roll covered in pumpkin seeds at a gas station kiosk. I was expecting it to be heartily stale, something that would be decent when toasted and topped with an egg. Instead, I was handed a roll of goodness that was literally still hot. Go figure! It was one of the best pieces of bread I have eaten to date.

And Yet. They also sell what looks like freezer-packed bread here. These vacuum-sealed breadly items do not seem all that tasty to me... I leave that mystery untouched.

FELDSALAD

I have never seen this green before, but I think we need a quick transfer to Trader Joe's inventory! It it like a cross between arugula and spinach and the texture is unreal. And look! "BIO!"

QUARK

Another item we need in America. It is basically a thicker greek yogurt that has about 30 g of protein and .8 g of fat per cup. It is delicious with muesli (another item I am obsessed with) and bananas! The only downside is that there are no probiotics to be had; the process includes warming soured milk until it curdles and then straining it, so no bacterias for you!

And I am happy to say that the avocado was perfect.

AVOCADO STICKERS

Yep, Germany has done it, everyone.

And they are in English, no less. These are smart because A) I don't have to dig through an avocado mountain and create an unstable avocado valley B) if I want a ripe avocado for today and an unripe one for tomorrow, I can have that and C) this creates less food waste overall!

Speaking of waste, let's take a look at some of the dry goods!

CONTAINERS/ PACKAGING

I looked for baking powder for 10 minutes before asking an employee ("Er, backpulver, bitte?"), and she led me to these little individually wrapped packets encased in plastic! This packaging did not seem on par with everything else in the store. It seems that on the whole, everything from tofu to spices is packaged primarily in paper. From this, I deduce that

Germany deals with paper waste more easily than plastic (Though they deal with trash extremely well, on the whole. There are about five different colors of trash bags to pay attention to....). But yeah, I found this interesting!

Plus, no styrofoam to be had! The instant meals in the slideshow above are all in hard plastic containers. Potatoes are BIG in Germany. Sometimes after a particularly grueling rehearsal and a negative degree trudge back home, all I want is a steaming cup of kartoffelbrei with chives.

And they have these for 99 cents.

CHOCOLATE CHIPS

More like discs rather than chips. Comment below with additional thoughts!

EGGS

They sell eggs in cartons of four, six, and ten. Why does this feel like an abomination to me? I normally have two eggs a day, and I can never shake the feeling that I am eating them too fast ....... I do miss my American dozen. But look! I bought the cheapest kind of egg, and there is a little green icon on the corner of the carton that indicates that these eggs came from a non-GMO soybean

background. Yay, always good!

CRACKERS

I am now a cracker gal.

These "Roggen Knacker" have got me hooked!

They are cheap, healthy, and packaging is minimal. They go well with cheese, peanut butter, hummus... more peanut butter..... What's not to like?!

ICE CREAM AMERICAN STYLE

If you know me, you know that my love for family and friends, the color orange, and ice cream often compete in my Order of Life Importance. But, because winter in Germany is winter in Germany, ice cream has taken the tertiary spot (for now). However, my friends and I found ice cream for sale here that boasts it's true commitment to the American Dream. How hilarious! We had to try it. And oh, did it satisfy.