german viewer here :) so cool to see you checking out rewe, lidl and aldi and getting to try all the vegan stuff i buy on a regular basis. looks like you had a great time which is awesome to see!
you wont imagine how many people would like to have introdued you into german vegan cuisine, there is so much stuff thats just missing the vegan label but is still 100% vegan, amazing to see how you got your way into your own experience
Hey, funny thing btw - Rügenwalder Mühle is a brand that made it's money with sausages traditionally. Now they basically completely switched over to vegan options, they really got the flavor down and they make more money with that than the meat options. Hope more companies transition 😅
@@dieabsolutegluckskuche5174 correct they haven't "transitioned" they simply follow the money and the trends they still give a hoot about animals or your health
Dude when I went to Germany I literally fell in love with how beautiful, wonderful the people are, and how many vegan friendly places there are! Absolute heaven, Germany I’ll be back!
Haha, as a German it was so funny to see you completely freak out about the stuff in the stores that we are so used to. By the way, the "sauces" at the beginning were spreads that are supposed to go on bread :)
Derek, you were absolutely cracking me up in the grocery stores: "Ooo!... Oooo!... Ooo!" Loved your eating choices! It really is SO EASY to travel and eat vegan. So glad you two went! Big love!
I live in Germany and many germans, especially women, are motivated towards veganism, which motivated me to give up on animal products completely. There are plenty of options in Germany for people who want vegan food, for eg in supermarkets, cafes, etc. ❤thank you for making this video and opening your channel to enlighten people about vegan sources.❤
I am vegan and born in Bayreuth..and Nürnberg is really a good City to Start as a vegan😊. I am now on France/Alsace since 20 years and it's here much harder for vegans to get the Food style in a Supermarket ...but for luck I am just 5 Km before the German Border and of course Shopping makes more fun😅Thank you for the great video and greetings from Andreas in Alsace
@@Viertelfranzose My Mum stayed in Nurenberg about 10 years ago and emailed me saying how the vegan options were amazing and how everything was clearly labelled, she said "so much more advanced than New Zealand"!
Paprika flavor is the tradtional one for chips etc. in Germany. Originally the paprika powder for it came from Hungary, where they started cultivating peppers centuries ago, while those vegetables were widely unknown in most of Germany (mostly due to climatic conditions) until about 100 years ago. Transporting fresh bell peppers from Hungary to Germany was difficult in the time before mobile refrigeration was invented, so they dried the peppers and grinded them in a powder (producing both a sweeter and a hotter variety) and exported it as a spice.
German viewer here: So fun to see you in the little town I went to school in. :D Didn't expect to see familiar surroundings when I decided to watch your new video. The world is small... :D I hope you enjoyed your stay. :)
Pro tip, don't boil gnocchi just pan fry with some olive oil. That way it doesn't get all mushy, it is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside : ) Also, I love Lidl! My brother has it where he lives and I go every time I visit. They have pastries that are sooo good.
I am moving to germany for awhile for work and my main concern was maintaining my veganism while there. I can’t wait to watch this!!! Thanks for all you do
I think you will have an easy time, especially if you are in a big city. We were in a small town and still able to find such great food at the grocery stores!
In the big cities there are plenty of vegan restaurants, products or even completely vegan supermarkets. In smaller towns its a bit more difficult reg vegan restaurants, but Lidl, Aldi and Rewe are everywhere. I live in Berlin which is considered europes capital for vegan food. Rewe just opened a cegan only supermarket there, its the first of its kind for Rewe thoughout Germany. There are also lots of Bio Markets (in the big cities), like organic markets that have big vegan sections. So you should be fine. In hotels depending what chain, it might be a bit more difficult to find many vegan options.
If you cook your own food you'll be fine here in Germany. As others already said: eating out can be easy or difficult, depending on where you are going to live. I live near Hamburg and there you have no problem with finding vegan food, in our small city just a few miles away that's a completely different story. In general you'll have it easier the more urban you live.
No matter where you live, there is always a great value farmers market in some old town square nearby every Saturday, sometimes on other days as well. Americans are always stunned about the quality of local European produce. You'll get so much more taste and natural aroma just from the fruit and veg itself, I'm sure you'll find a lot of options changing with the seasons!
The vegan convenience food abundance here in Germany is sooo huge. I went from trying all the stuff and getting fatter and poorer to less unprocessed plant-based food again. But no shame in giving it all a go and it def helps people in vegetarian-vegan transistion phases. And as long as it helps the animals, fair play! 👍
it is basically only food that is heavily processed with lots of salt. a good option so you can switch easier from meat to meatless, but if you really want to eat healthy you should just eat your vegetables and prepare them yourself. way healthier and also cheaper than the processed foods. the main problem is, that most people do not know how to cook food so it tastes good.
This was so fun to watch! Honestly consider doing more travel videos - even regional travel. I think you guys do it so well. You show a good balance of culture, food finds, AND some “home” cooking. This is exactly how I like to travel and it’s fun to see how others do it.
Naturalised German here. Big cities have loads of vegan options and supermarkets are uniformly good almost everywhere! We don’t consider it cheap tho 😂. Great vid!
It's so cool and funny to see you in Germany. Looks like you both had a great time! Hopefully you'll come back someday and maybe organize a little meet up? I know you have a huge fanbase here who would love this!🌱
Not only are you both adventurous with food but how AWESOME you both are to be so open to all the new things this big world has to offer!! Thank you again for sharing with me! LOVED IT!!
You made me smile 😊 I’m German, living in Ireland. Aldi and Lidl originate from Germany, but have since expanded all across Europe, and beyond. Döner is short for Döner Kebab 😉 Glad you enjoyed all the vegan goodies 😊
My hubby and I moved to Spangdahlem Germany with the military from 2020-2024. Watching you guys explore and find so many vegan goodies was heartwarming and nostalgic! 🥰 Even hearing you mispronounce the store names brings back fun memories of when we did that too ! 😄 It is gorgeous there. So happy you guys got to enjoy it ! Tschüss ❤
So fun and interesting! Love seeing what foreign grocery stores have. You managed to put together such delicious looking meals. The master of a colourful plate!
I'm originally from Germany and was so excited to see this video. I haven't been back in over 40 years and loved the vegan options at Aldi!! We live in Ohio and the vegan options are just OK. We're now WFPB no oil but I would totally fill my bags like you did lol. Great video! 🔥🔥🔥
I know this area quite well and it's actually difficult to find a vegan restaurant there. The rural area is rather conservative and the people who live there tend to eat traditional dishes. But things are better in German cities in this respect. In Berlin, there is a vegan restaurant on every corner. By the way, the siren you heard is for the voluntary fire department (in german "freiwillige Feuerwehr"). If there is an accident or a fire, all the firefighters are informed by the siren and rush to the fire station.
@@brandothecatmeow Depends on what you like, but Zen Chay is amazing and then there's the Vegan Junk Food Bar and muuuuch more. And a small vegan bakery called Hempies with amazing Croissants. Best to take a look at Google for more 😁
Hey Derek, I'm also from Germany and I can tell you that the pretzels from Aldi are definitely not authentic 😅 pretzels originally come from the south of Germany (Bavaria) and should be bought in a real bakery 😊 as for all the ultra processed vegan products, I don't know nor recommend them as they are simply not healthy, I make everything from scratch. Btw the alarm at the end was a test, in case of an emergency that is what people hear. I'm really happy you guys enjoyed your trip and I hope you were always treated kindly 😊
I enjoy your videos all the time! This one was really special to me, living in Germany and it's so cute to see your excitement visiting all these grocery stores I use on a daily basis:)
Welcome to Germany, it was really nice to having you here :) Finding restaurants who offer vegan meals really depends on where you are. It meanwhile is much more common in bigger cities, like Hamburg for instance (and where I come from). It was somehow funny for me to watching you tasting that manifold vegan stuff from the supermarkets since I am very aware that many of them are quite ... especially such proteins bars (they are terrible). Of course once you are living here you will find what is really good and what one personally likes. Have a good journey home and all the best Michael
As a german I'm very happy to see you enjoying our variety of vegan options. Hope you guys enjoyed your stay and come back one day to see more of beautiful Germany😊
We've got ALDI and LIDL here in Ireland too, but we only have a tiny fraction of the vegan items you found there. From my memory of travelling in Spain, their LIDL had even less. It seems each country's options are tailored to local tastes.
I almost fell over when I saw that you were both in Germany!! 😀 when I saw how excited you were about the options I can choose from every day, I realized how much has already changed here in terms of food choices. And I will never be able to look at Maultaschen with the same eyes again.. “pillows of goodness” 😂 Directly translated, I think it would be mouth pockets. A traditional southern German dish often made from leftovers, but usually meat, onions, bread, cheese, spinach etc. We always ate them in broth or vegetable soup. I liked everything about the video, especially that you enjoyed it so much here in Germany 🥰
my local supermarkets in the rural north of Germany dont have AS many vegan options, but still quite a lot. It is eating out that is harder. You CAN get vegan meals if you ask - but often they don't have much protein. But sometimes there iare beans as a side dish!
Watching this as a German is soooo fun! You were so excited at the store, that so cool to watch. Made me realize how much good vegan alternatives we actually have and that they’re indeed pretty cheap 😍
Love seeing your travels and your other passion for racing. Thanks for sharing your trips to the grocery stores. I find it interesting to see what is sold in other countries in terms of healthy options. I always enjoy seeing you and Crystal having fun.
I'm German but I currently live in France (which is hell for vegans). Whenever I go back home I spend hours in the supermarkets and buy way too many things that I cannot possibly eat in the short amount of time I'm home. But it's like an adventure discovering new things and not having to flip over every single cookies package to read the ingredients (France is still behind on the vegan label). Have fun on your travels.
I didn't know France didn't have many good options, I hope you are doing okay and glad to hear when you go home you can buy all the fun stuff you miss! Thanks for watching :)
@@Simnettnutrition France is obsessed with butter and cheese and they put it in everything. I moved here two years ago and the options definitely improved since then but 90% of the alternatives are unfortunately vegetarian and not vegan. So the options are very limited when you want to be lazy. There are also not that many restaurants that offer completely vegan meals. I do have a vegan patisserie though two minutes walk from my place, which makes me very happy 😊
You guys are the most loving and real (not faking) couple on TH-cam. And you both are so happy and vibrant, I always enjoy watching. Hope you will consider visiting The Netherlands one day. We haven't got as much Vegan food as Germany but you can make such good meals out of a few ingredients. The food looks great💚
The "Maultaschen" (17:10) are typically either cooked and eaten in a broth (in your case obviously vegetable broth) OR cut into slices and then fried with other stuff (non vegans usually add eggs and/or cheese. As a vegan, you could probably add aquafaba for a similar effect).
For my daughter I fry these with peppers, chopped tomatoes. Add some vegetable broth and fresh herbs and let it cook for a few minutes. You get a nice vegan meal in almost no time.
Wow, Crystal and Derek here in Germany! So nice to see you so excited in our supermarkets. And you really gave me good ideas to combine some things in new ways. I only knew Maultaschen in broth or with a ton of stewed onions.
As a german fan, who follows you since the very beginning, this was a really fun and special video to me, thanks Derek 🙃 And right now I am living in Thailand for about 2 years already, missing all the great german vegan options, which made it even more fun to watch you try them all 😄
Wow! What a beautiful trip we both took. Germany is so charming and beautiful and what better occasion to see it for you while checking off a bucket list item😊 I enjoy your regular nutrition video, but I really did enjoy this one. I also have to add, I grew up vegan in Canada and in the 70s and 80s. It was even impossible to find Tofu in a main stream supermarket. It’s incredible how things have changed! Thanks again for this video.👌👏
The paprika flavour thing comes from the time they started rolling out chips flavours back way in the 1950's. Paprika was actually the flavour considered for Hungary. Now Hungary is not that far away from Germany and so Germans got into contact with those chips very easily and they loved the flavour so much it became the German staple. Some of the brands even call them Hungarian style chips to this day.
Hi, just found your channel today and I've been really enjoying binging it this evening. I've been a vegan for a year now, and definitely lost some weight last year when i quit the eggs and milk! I do loads of exercise and while I found my own food routine a while ago now, finding your channel and just watching what other active vegans eat has been quite affirming for me, I'll definitely be sticking around for more tips and tricks! thanks!
It looks so easy, purchasing food in Germany! I still remember visiting in Berlin and thinking what an accomplishment I made reading signs, deciphering food descriptions, and paying with their currency!
As a German that was sooooo fun to see! I'm really glad you found a Rewe - it's definitely preferred by most vegans! Your pronunciation was pretty good too! 😊
As a Swabian (resident of southern Germany), where Maultaschen ("The German dumplings") originally come from, it was very interesting to see how you prepare them. 😀 Traditionally they are either - served in broth - or sliced and fried with egg (then of course no longer vegan) - or fried whole and topped with melted onions The last two always go very well with a green/mixed salad. Loved how much you enjoyed your trip! ❤
In broth with Kartoffelsalat (potatoe salad with Vinegar-Oil-Dressing not the Mayo-one) 🙂 I often slice the Maultaschen and fry them in vegan Butter or oil. Then set aside and fry some veggies. Mostly onions and mushrooms, then add some halved cherry tomatoes, a little paprika powder, some cracked black pepper and broth powder. Deglace the pan with some white wine To finish i use a nice amount of vegan creamchees, vegan cream or vegan creme fraiche (Creme Vega). Mix with the Maultaschen and enjoy 🙂
Loved this video - my Daddy was a rally drivers many years ago. I grew up going to all sorts of car racing. Our whole family used to work in the Motor industry about 20 years ago. It was great that you shared the footage of the inside of the wee church. God bless you both always, Rachel
Germany is a wonderful country both generally and more specifically for Vegans. Bizarre fact - Aldi is owned by the same family that own Trader Joe's. Glad you enjoyed yourselves, I hope you come back again and see another city - Hot tip, try NRW next time.
Yeah - Aldi is divided in Germany in North and South. For authentic baked goods - definitely try to find a non chain bakery not in a supermarket. REWE or other bigger stores (Kaufland) are good to get almost everything you want - the discount stores might only offer a limited amount of options. Vegan Restaurants are not really popular or widespread - similar with those trying to source from regional farmers. Covid threw a wrench also, but maybe something for the future.
23:20 In this case the sirens alarmed the volunteer Firefighters in the Area to get to the Firestation. while most citys have fullday working Firestations supported by minor volunteer Firestations, the more countrified/rural areas depend on volunteer Firestations where the firefighters have normal jobs and get an alarm in case of anemergency. greetings from Germany.
So funny seeing you guys buying groceries in Aldi and Lidl. 🎉 Seems you already discovered all of the rather junk food vegan options. There's a lot of veggies really affordable too if you can prepare them, please try that. The paprika flavoring on potato chips is a thing here, not sure why, maybe because we think it's hungarian and spicy and not so boring as salt only. The salt only option definitely came later. Also check out the nuts in Aldi and Lidl, they are not too pricey and good quality. Hope you have a great time, love your channel ❤
@@michaelham2366You can also try to prepare it yourself. Just put the same amount of regular and smoked paprika powder into bag of regular salted chips and shake it well.
OMG so cool that you guys are in germany! Hope you enjoy it! Genießt den Urlaub :) The alarm was probably just a "probealarm", happens quite often in germany
I was giggling through this whole shopping trip! Love the exicited "Ooooo" when you saw each fun new item! 😂 Sounds like me in a good grocery store... the soundtrack of a vegan foodie at heart ❤
Either that or the local volunteer firefighters were called for an emergency or a practice drill. Often you'll have these sirens go off on a specific time of the week, like Sunday 12 o'clock.
Sirens are often being tested at a specific time, just to see if they still work in case of emergency. Where I live, they go off every first Saturday of a month at noon. They used to check them once a month when I was a kid, then stopped because it wasn't seen as necessary anymore. They started again a few years back when more war zones emerged (e.g. Afghanistan, Ukraine) - to make sure they still work in case things escalate. But they are also used for fire station checks and the like.
@@Simnettnutrition sirens usually get tested on the first saturday of the month at 11am. If it was outside that time, it was a call to action for the local volunteer fire fighters. You always know what a siren means if you know the pattern. One minute constant soundwith two short breaks = firealarm; one minute with the sound constantly going up and down = (in peace time) desaster alarm (in case of flooding or some chemical accident in a plant nearby), during a war = warning of an impending air raid; one minute of the sound going up and down with two breaks and repeated after a 30 second break (only in war times) = ABC alarm; and lastly one minute of constant sound (war times only)= danger is over for now. I'm old enough to have learned those codes in school during the cold war and with my dad being a volunteer fire fighter I was often with him when he had been tasked with starting the sirens for testing.
As a person living in Germany and mostly watching American and Canadian food bloggers, it was pretty awesome to see you eat the same pea stew at 9:51 as me! 😅
@@Simnettnutrition nice. We visited a pretty wide range of cities but as you say, mostly large cities. Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Dusseldorf, Cologne, and Dresden... with no real issue finding food in both restaurants or Aldi/Lidl like you mentioned. In general, I find most European cities to be fairly accommodating. I live in Dublin, Ireland now and even McDonald's offers vegan options here.
Great video! You were like children in a candy store 😂 So much great content as usual guys! Thank you for continuing to share your life with us 🌱 We have been subscribers for many many years & Watch all of your content ❤
I love your videos because both you and Crystal have such genuine and positive outlook. I also secretly hope one day that I can convince my brother that people like you exist, healthy plant based body builder. I eat strictly plants but am not obsessed with working out and building muscles like he is. He drinks eggs a couple of times a day 🤢. So, the main reason I’m writing is to answer your paprika potato chip question. I’m American but used to live in Germany and Austria and had the same observation. It’s similar to our barbecue flavored chips, sauces and foods. Smoked paprika is what I used to give something a barbecue flavor.
Great show! I love the sound of the cars shifting, I can feel the weather and the bugs, and you two are beautiful! So many awesome food choices! Great health to you!
Lidl is a supermarket chain that has also branched out to Finland, where I live. We don't get as many vegan "meat" replacements as you guys showed from the German Lidl, but it was so nice to see you two enjoy all that german food, (and packaging) that looked very familiar to us. (We always stock up on the smoked tofu you had! We love it too! fried in a pan or in the air fryer!). Anyway, great video vlog ! Thanks for sharing! Have a safe trip back to Canada!
We were in Munich a year ago and the vegan food was incredible! The groceries were so inexpensive and we loved the packaging with the V on it. So easy to shop. One of our best trips.
Duuuuuuuuuuude. Hell yeah! Just came back from Germany too and the vegan stuff was incredible. So many options I was blown away. Great vid! The vegan salami and sausage snacks are actually incredible! Btw you probably figured it out by now but "ohne zucker" means without sugar.
Dereck it’s so nice to see I’m not the only one that gets excited over food! Ooh what are these?! Ooh, what are those?!! 😂😂❤ boy way more options in Germany it seems than here in Canada!
I’m from The Netherlands and i buy all of my groceries is Germany. The Vegan products are WAY better in Germany than the Netherlands! We do have Lidl and Aldi stores! It’s so funny to see you guys nearby! Hope you had a great time!
What I didnt realize until recently when I had the time to visit our neighbours, is that we have quite alot of vegan options, atlesst in the big cities and that even places like Rome, Paris or Barcelona do not have the same variety as I could find in German cities. Maybe that has to do with being a native and knowing where to look, but the collection in the supermarkets also speak a clear language.
what a gorgeous chapel. Im not usually big on faux meats but they had some gorgeous looking ones, and well, you are on holidays so you try the local foods ! The scenery, villages, houses etc,,, gorgeous !
I just got back from Hamburg Germany last night, Toronto here, but originally from Germany and I was AMAZED by the variety and affordability of the grocery stores. Best vegan Jogurt I found was from Aldi, peach, yum yum. The 2 little glass jars you bought are not sauces but a spread to go on bread. I wish I could have packed a whole suitcase full of vegan stuff and bring it back to Toronto.
I'm a Belgian and me and my friends think Germany is so cool when it comes to vegan food, and beer of course! Restaurants in small towns and cities still have to catch up.
Diese veganen Alternativen haben mir damals sehr bei der Umstellung meiner Ernährung geholfen. Mittlerweile essen wir solche Produkte schon lange nicht mehr. Aber für Umsteiger sind sie wirklich super. Oder für Allesesser, die dem veganen Besuch eine Freude machen möchten, aber selbst von veganem Kochen/Essen nicht so viel Ahnung haben. 😊
Love your videos and especially liked travelling with you to the Camp-out and then to Germany! We have Aldi's here in Florida but I don't think there are quite so many vegan items. You two are always so happy and positive. What a great relationship you have!! Thanks for bringing us along!
german viewer here :) so cool to see you checking out rewe, lidl and aldi and getting to try all the vegan stuff i buy on a regular basis. looks like you had a great time which is awesome to see!
Love Rewe, Aldi and Lidl in Germany!!
We had the best time!! Thanks for watching.
@@Simnettnutritionwillkommen! 😁 I hope you enjoy your stay! Loved the video (as usual) 🇩🇪🇨🇦
Du wohnst in Veganer Paradies!!!🎉❤
@Simnettnutrition Paprika crisps are staple in all middle Europe. We have them in Slovakia too. It's our thing apparently 😂.
As a german, it's fascinating seeing the food you usually buy being plated so beautifully. Solid plating skills!
yeah i feel that sentence !!! hahaha
Die Fertigrosmarinkartoffeln haben mich hingegen etwas enttäuscht :D
you wont imagine how many people would like to have introdued you into german vegan cuisine, there is so much stuff thats just missing the vegan label but is still 100% vegan, amazing to see how you got your way into your own experience
You'll just have to go back, and meet up with some vegan Germans. 😄 Would love to see a follow up video when you do! 😁
Hey, funny thing btw - Rügenwalder Mühle is a brand that made it's money with sausages traditionally. Now they basically completely switched over to vegan options, they really got the flavor down and they make more money with that than the meat options. Hope more companies transition 😅
yeah, they really nailed the seasoning. Even my cat is fooled by the "Pommersche" spread.
That's awesome!
Wow that's Amazing! So inspiring, and encouraging for other companies to make the switch.
@@funwithfungi7621 they make more money with plant based stuff because it's overpriced though. Volume wise their meat production is bigger.
@@dieabsolutegluckskuche5174 correct they haven't "transitioned" they simply follow the money and the trends they still give a hoot about animals or your health
The "ooh!" before you grab almost everything is so wholesome 😂 I totally get it lol
So cool reading all your German fans' comments popping up on here! UK & Germany were honoured to have you both over 🌱
I love how excited you are by all the vegan options!! 😂 That's me at the store. You and Crystal are awesome. Thanks for sharing your life with us! 🌱
Dude when I went to Germany I literally fell in love with how beautiful, wonderful the people are, and how many vegan friendly places there are! Absolute heaven, Germany I’ll be back!
@Woah869 we are wonderful people ... Thank you so much!
@@Why-D thinking about moving there permanently :)
@@Woah869 You´re welcome
@@Why-D Servus 🙋♂
This a lie... you standard is just shit!
Haha, as a German it was so funny to see you completely freak out about the stuff in the stores that we are so used to.
By the way, the "sauces" at the beginning were spreads that are supposed to go on bread :)
Ahh, the make sense about the sauces being spreads, lol.
When he took them from the shelf, for a second there I was worried they were soups 😂
Highly proceeded food is still shit food.
So whats is left Veggis which are shit in any supermarket if not a loved and kind one.
@@Simnettnutritioni use the spreads as pasta sauces from time to time so yeah, they work in many ways
Derek, you were absolutely cracking me up in the grocery stores: "Ooo!... Oooo!... Ooo!" Loved your eating choices! It really is SO EASY to travel and eat vegan. So glad you two went! Big love!
haha I was going to make an "oh!" counter in the video, I said it so many times and didn't even realize. Thanks for the love!
He was cracking me up too!😂
I live in Germany and many germans, especially women, are
motivated towards veganism, which motivated me to give up on animal products completely. There are plenty of options in Germany for people who want vegan food, for eg in supermarkets, cafes, etc. ❤thank you for making this video and opening your channel to enlighten people about vegan sources.❤
Great to hear. I'll be traveling to Cologne in October. Any recommendations?
@@brandothecatmeow cologne is a great but overcrowded city. Do visit the upper rhine valley if you love nature.
I am vegan and born in Bayreuth..and Nürnberg is really a good City to Start as a vegan😊. I am now on France/Alsace since 20 years and it's here much harder for vegans to get the Food style in a Supermarket ...but for luck I am just 5 Km before the German Border and of course Shopping makes more fun😅Thank you for the great video and greetings from Andreas in Alsace
To find a vegan woman in France is really hard unfortunately
@@Viertelfranzose My Mum stayed in Nurenberg about 10 years ago and emailed me saying how the vegan options were amazing and how everything was clearly labelled, she said "so much more advanced than New Zealand"!
Paprika flavor is the tradtional one for chips etc. in Germany. Originally the paprika powder for it came from Hungary, where they started cultivating peppers centuries ago, while those vegetables were widely unknown in most of Germany (mostly due to climatic conditions) until about 100 years ago. Transporting fresh bell peppers from Hungary to Germany was difficult in the time before mobile refrigeration was invented, so they dried the peppers and grinded them in a powder (producing both a sweeter and a hotter variety) and exported it as a spice.
German viewer here: So fun to see you in the little town I went to school in. :D Didn't expect to see familiar surroundings when I decided to watch your new video. The world is small... :D
I hope you enjoyed your stay. :)
Pro tip, don't boil gnocchi just pan fry with some olive oil. That way it doesn't get all mushy, it is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside : )
Also, I love Lidl! My brother has it where he lives and I go every time I visit. They have pastries that are sooo good.
I am moving to germany for awhile for work and my main concern was maintaining my veganism while there. I can’t wait to watch this!!! Thanks for all you do
I think you will have an easy time, especially if you are in a big city. We were in a small town and still able to find such great food at the grocery stores!
Vegan grocery shopping is really easy in Germany 😊
In the big cities there are plenty of vegan restaurants, products or even completely vegan supermarkets.
In smaller towns its a bit more difficult reg vegan restaurants, but Lidl, Aldi and Rewe are everywhere.
I live in Berlin which is considered europes capital for vegan food.
Rewe just opened a cegan only supermarket there, its the first of its kind for Rewe thoughout Germany.
There are also lots of Bio Markets (in the big cities), like organic markets that have big vegan sections.
So you should be fine.
In hotels depending what chain, it might be a bit more difficult to find many vegan options.
If you cook your own food you'll be fine here in Germany. As others already said: eating out can be easy or difficult, depending on where you are going to live.
I live near Hamburg and there you have no problem with finding vegan food, in our small city just a few miles away that's a completely different story. In general you'll have it easier the more urban you live.
No matter where you live, there is always a great value farmers market in some old town square nearby every Saturday, sometimes on other days as well. Americans are always stunned about the quality of local European produce. You'll get so much more taste and natural aroma just from the fruit and veg itself, I'm sure you'll find a lot of options changing with the seasons!
The vegan convenience food abundance here in Germany is sooo huge. I went from trying all the stuff and getting fatter and poorer to less unprocessed plant-based food again. But no shame in giving it all a go and it def helps people in vegetarian-vegan transistion phases. And as long as it helps the animals, fair play! 👍
it is basically only food that is heavily processed with lots of salt. a good option so you can switch easier from meat to meatless, but if you really want to eat healthy you should just eat your vegetables and prepare them yourself. way healthier and also cheaper than the processed foods. the main problem is, that most people do not know how to cook food so it tastes good.
I love how excited Derek gets every time he sees a vegan item at the store
This was so fun to watch!
Honestly consider doing more travel videos - even regional travel. I think you guys do it so well. You show a good balance of culture, food finds, AND some “home” cooking. This is exactly how I like to travel and it’s fun to see how others do it.
Thank you so much!
as a German, it makes me happy seeing you excited about all the options we have these days.
Naturalised German here. Big cities have loads of vegan options and supermarkets are uniformly good almost everywhere! We don’t consider it cheap tho 😂. Great vid!
Ja ,wir sind am meckern wie teuer es ist und wie wenig Auswahl es gibt 😂
@@Anna-8431ja meckere mit 🙈.
Stimmt alle (ich auch) meckern zwar immer über die Preise, aber im Europa Vergleich sind die deutschen Lebensmittelpreise sehr gut
It's so cool and funny to see you in Germany. Looks like you both had a great time! Hopefully you'll come back someday and maybe organize a little meet up? I know you have a huge fanbase here who would love this!🌱
We had a great time, we would love to check out Berlin some day so maybe we could do a meet up there :)
Not only are you both adventurous with food but how AWESOME you both are to be so open to all the new things this big world has to offer!! Thank you again for sharing with me! LOVED IT!!
You made me smile 😊 I’m German, living in Ireland. Aldi and Lidl originate from Germany, but have since expanded all across Europe, and beyond.
Döner is short for Döner Kebab 😉
Glad you enjoyed all the vegan goodies 😊
My hubby and I moved to Spangdahlem Germany with the military from 2020-2024. Watching you guys explore and find so many vegan goodies was heartwarming and nostalgic! 🥰
Even hearing you mispronounce the store names brings back fun memories of when we did that too ! 😄
It is gorgeous there. So happy you guys got to enjoy it ! Tschüss ❤
So fun and interesting! Love seeing what foreign grocery stores have. You managed to put together such delicious looking meals. The master of a colourful plate!
Thank you so much!
I'm originally from Germany and was so excited to see this video. I haven't been back in over 40 years and loved the vegan options at Aldi!! We live in Ohio and the vegan options are just OK. We're now WFPB no oil but I would totally fill my bags like you did lol. Great video! 🔥🔥🔥
Thanks for watching :D
I know this area quite well and it's actually difficult to find a vegan restaurant there. The rural area is rather conservative and the people who live there tend to eat traditional dishes. But things are better in German cities in this respect. In Berlin, there is a vegan restaurant on every corner. By the way, the siren you heard is for the voluntary fire department (in german "freiwillige Feuerwehr"). If there is an accident or a fire, all the firefighters are informed by the siren and rush to the fire station.
Thanks so much! It was hard to find restaurant options, which is why we opted to cook at our rental. The food in the grocery stores was great though!
Test alarms at noon on Saturdays are also common.
I'll be in Cologne in October. Any recommendations?
@@brandothecatmeow "Katzentempel" in Cologne! Just google it. 😉
@@brandothecatmeow Depends on what you like, but Zen Chay is amazing and then there's the Vegan Junk Food Bar and muuuuch more. And a small vegan bakery called Hempies with amazing Croissants. Best to take a look at Google for more 😁
Hey Derek, I'm also from Germany and I can tell you that the pretzels from Aldi are definitely not authentic 😅 pretzels originally come from the south of Germany (Bavaria) and should be bought in a real bakery 😊 as for all the ultra processed vegan products, I don't know nor recommend them as they are simply not healthy, I make everything from scratch. Btw the alarm at the end was a test, in case of an emergency that is what people hear. I'm really happy you guys enjoyed your trip and I hope you were always treated kindly 😊
I enjoy your videos all the time! This one was really special to me, living in Germany and it's so cute to see your excitement visiting all these grocery stores I use on a daily basis:)
Thanks so much! You are lucky to live in such a beautiful country, it really blew us away :D
Welcome to Germany, it was really nice to having you here :)
Finding restaurants who offer vegan meals really depends on where you are. It meanwhile is much more common in bigger cities, like Hamburg for instance (and where I come from). It was somehow funny for me to watching you tasting that manifold vegan stuff from the supermarkets since I am very aware that many of them are quite ... especially such proteins bars (they are terrible).
Of course once you are living here you will find what is really good and what one personally likes.
Have a good journey home and all the best
Michael
I went to Germany 2 years ago and couldn't believe how fresh and cheap the food was. I was in heaven
😂 the prices went up around 30% in the last 4 years. You missed a lot cheaper time....
@@satanmitdengeilenbarthaaren super Kommentar, hat der Person sicher geholfen...
@@Nebujin383 ich hab's auch nich geschrieben um ihr einen rein zu drücken... Ich finds nur lächerlich wie teuer es hier geworden ist.
As a german I'm very happy to see you enjoying our variety of vegan options. Hope you guys enjoyed your stay and come back one day to see more of beautiful Germany😊
We've got ALDI and LIDL here in Ireland too, but we only have a tiny fraction of the vegan items you found there.
From my memory of travelling in Spain, their LIDL had even less. It seems each country's options are tailored to local tastes.
Going to new grocery stores is one of our fav things lol
I also live in Ireland and was going to add a similar comment. Hope that they increase the vegan range in Aldi and Lidl across Europe
Spain has the least vegans in Europe, so it's no surprise :-(
I almost fell over when I saw that you were both in Germany!! 😀 when I saw how excited you were about the options I can choose from every day, I realized how much has already changed here in terms of food choices. And I will never be able to look at Maultaschen with the same eyes again.. “pillows of goodness” 😂 Directly translated, I think it would be mouth pockets. A traditional southern German dish often made from leftovers, but usually meat, onions, bread, cheese, spinach etc. We always ate them in broth or vegetable soup. I liked everything about the video, especially that you enjoyed it so much here in Germany 🥰
my local supermarkets in the rural north of Germany dont have AS many vegan options, but still quite a lot. It is eating out that is harder. You CAN get vegan meals if you ask - but often they don't have much protein. But sometimes there iare beans as a side dish!
Watching this as a German is soooo fun! You were so excited at the store, that so cool to watch. Made me realize how much good vegan alternatives we actually have and that they’re indeed pretty cheap 😍
Love seeing your travels and your other passion for racing. Thanks for sharing your trips to the grocery stores. I find it interesting to see what is sold in other countries in terms of healthy options. I always enjoy seeing you and Crystal having fun.
I'm German but I currently live in France (which is hell for vegans). Whenever I go back home I spend hours in the supermarkets and buy way too many things that I cannot possibly eat in the short amount of time I'm home. But it's like an adventure discovering new things and not having to flip over every single cookies package to read the ingredients (France is still behind on the vegan label). Have fun on your travels.
I didn't know France didn't have many good options, I hope you are doing okay and glad to hear when you go home you can buy all the fun stuff you miss! Thanks for watching :)
@@Simnettnutrition France is obsessed with butter and cheese and they put it in everything. I moved here two years ago and the options definitely improved since then but 90% of the alternatives are unfortunately vegetarian and not vegan. So the options are very limited when you want to be lazy. There are also not that many restaurants that offer completely vegan meals. I do have a vegan patisserie though two minutes walk from my place, which makes me very happy 😊
True! All regions apart from Paris hate the vegan lifestyle - so hard to get anything.
I can agree on that.
France is a hard nut.
Paris was surprisingly amazing for vegan options. Had the best pastry of my life (vegan or not) there and so many amazing things. Want to go back!
You guys are the most loving and real (not faking) couple on TH-cam.
And you both are so happy and vibrant, I always enjoy watching.
Hope you will consider visiting The Netherlands one day.
We haven't got as much Vegan food as Germany but you can make such good meals out of a few ingredients. The food looks great💚
Thank you so much!
The "Maultaschen" (17:10) are typically either cooked and eaten in a broth (in your case obviously vegetable broth) OR cut into slices and then fried with other stuff (non vegans usually add eggs and/or cheese. As a vegan, you could probably add aquafaba for a similar effect).
For my daughter I fry these with peppers, chopped tomatoes. Add some vegetable broth and fresh herbs and let it cook for a few minutes. You get a nice vegan meal in almost no time.
Wow, Crystal and Derek here in Germany! So nice to see you so excited in our supermarkets. And you really gave me good ideas to combine some things in new ways. I only knew Maultaschen in broth or with a ton of stewed onions.
As a german fan, who follows you since the very beginning, this was a really fun and special video to me, thanks Derek 🙃 And right now I am living in Thailand for about 2 years already, missing all the great german vegan options, which made it even more fun to watch you try them all 😄
Wow! What a beautiful trip we both took. Germany is so charming and beautiful and what better occasion to see it for you while checking off a bucket list item😊 I enjoy your regular nutrition video, but I really did enjoy this one. I also have to add, I grew up vegan in Canada and in the 70s and 80s. It was even impossible to find Tofu in a main stream supermarket. It’s incredible how things have changed! Thanks again for this video.👌👏
The paprika flavour thing comes from the time they started rolling out chips flavours back way in the 1950's. Paprika was actually the flavour considered for Hungary. Now Hungary is not that far away from Germany and so Germans got into contact with those chips very easily and they loved the flavour so much it became the German staple. Some of the brands even call them Hungarian style chips to this day.
Glad you guys had an amazing time and you two let loose and eat food you don’t usually eat while keeping it vegan which just adds to the fun.🤩
Hi, just found your channel today and I've been really enjoying binging it this evening. I've been a vegan for a year now, and definitely lost some weight last year when i quit the eggs and milk! I do loads of exercise and while I found my own food routine a while ago now, finding your channel and just watching what other active vegans eat has been quite affirming for me, I'll definitely be sticking around for more tips and tricks! thanks!
It looks so easy, purchasing food in Germany! I still remember visiting in Berlin and thinking what an accomplishment I made reading signs, deciphering food descriptions, and paying with their currency!
As a German that was sooooo fun to see! I'm really glad you found a Rewe - it's definitely preferred by most vegans! Your pronunciation was pretty good too! 😊
I would love a super cut of every time he goes "ooooo. . ."
Love it, kid in a candy store
Nice to see you in my home country trying all the stuff i eat all the time haha, glad you enjoyed
You getting so excited about the vegan options at aldi is so relatable ❤
As a Swabian (resident of southern Germany), where Maultaschen ("The German dumplings") originally come from, it was very interesting to see how you prepare them. 😀
Traditionally they are either
- served in broth
- or sliced and fried with egg (then of course no longer vegan)
- or fried whole and topped with melted onions
The last two always go very well with a green/mixed salad.
Loved how much you enjoyed your trip! ❤
In broth with Kartoffelsalat (potatoe salad with Vinegar-Oil-Dressing not the Mayo-one) 🙂
I often slice the Maultaschen and fry them in vegan Butter or oil.
Then set aside and fry some veggies.
Mostly onions and mushrooms, then add some halved cherry tomatoes, a little paprika powder, some cracked black pepper and broth powder.
Deglace the pan with some white wine
To finish i use a nice amount of vegan creamchees, vegan cream or vegan creme fraiche (Creme Vega).
Mix with the Maultaschen and enjoy 🙂
"Give me a dial!" on the stovetop. I totally ageee. So fun to see these travel - food videos. Glad you guys are having fun! 👨🍳
Loved this video - my Daddy was a rally drivers many years ago. I grew up going to all sorts of car racing. Our whole family used to work in the Motor industry about 20 years ago. It was great that you shared the footage of the inside of the wee church. God bless you both always, Rachel
Germany is such a beautiful place. It is awesome that you can live out your dreams!
Thanks!
Wow, thank you :D
I love how excited you were in the grocery store!
Soo funny to see you two in all the supermarkets of my hometown.Hope you had a great time at the Nürburgring! Love the excitement in the supermarket!
Germany is a wonderful country both generally and more specifically for Vegans. Bizarre fact - Aldi is owned by the same family that own Trader Joe's. Glad you enjoyed yourselves, I hope you come back again and see another city - Hot tip, try NRW next time.
Thanks so much!
Yeah - Aldi is divided in Germany in North and South.
For authentic baked goods - definitely try to find a non chain bakery not in a supermarket.
REWE or other bigger stores (Kaufland) are good to get almost everything you want - the discount stores might only offer a limited amount of options.
Vegan Restaurants are not really popular or widespread - similar with those trying to source from regional farmers.
Covid threw a wrench also, but maybe something for the future.
23:20 In this case the sirens alarmed the volunteer Firefighters in the Area to get to the Firestation. while most citys have fullday working Firestations supported by minor volunteer Firestations, the more countrified/rural areas depend on volunteer Firestations where the firefighters have normal jobs and get an alarm in case of anemergency.
greetings from Germany.
So funny seeing you guys buying groceries in Aldi and Lidl. 🎉 Seems you already discovered all of the rather junk food vegan options. There's a lot of veggies really affordable too if you can prepare them, please try that.
The paprika flavoring on potato chips is a thing here, not sure why, maybe because we think it's hungarian and spicy and not so boring as salt only. The salt only option definitely came later.
Also check out the nuts in Aldi and Lidl, they are not too pricey and good quality.
Hope you have a great time, love your channel ❤
Tomato-flavoured potato chips are a thing in Canada. :) I think paprika would be better.
@@michaelham2366You can also try to prepare it yourself. Just put the same amount of regular and smoked paprika powder into bag of regular salted chips and shake it well.
You and Crystal are so cute! I enjoyed seeing Germany as I did not know what it looked like. How cool vegan foods are all labeled in the stores..
OMG so cool that you guys are in germany! Hope you enjoy it! Genießt den Urlaub :)
The alarm was probably just a "probealarm", happens quite often in germany
I was giggling through this whole shopping trip! Love the exicited "Ooooo" when you saw each fun new item! 😂 Sounds like me in a good grocery store... the soundtrack of a vegan foodie at heart ❤
Sirens are usually fire station checks
Okay good to know! It scared us lol
Either that or the local volunteer firefighters were called for an emergency or a practice drill. Often you'll have these sirens go off on a specific time of the week, like Sunday 12 o'clock.
Sirens are often being tested at a specific time, just to see if they still work in case of emergency. Where I live, they go off every first Saturday of a month at noon. They used to check them once a month when I was a kid, then stopped because it wasn't seen as necessary anymore. They started again a few years back when more war zones emerged (e.g. Afghanistan, Ukraine) - to make sure they still work in case things escalate. But they are also used for fire station checks and the like.
@@Simnettnutrition sirens usually get tested on the first saturday of the month at 11am. If it was outside that time, it was a call to action for the local volunteer fire fighters. You always know what a siren means if you know the pattern. One minute constant soundwith two short breaks = firealarm; one minute with the sound constantly going up and down = (in peace time) desaster alarm (in case of flooding or some chemical accident in a plant nearby), during a war = warning of an impending air raid; one minute of the sound going up and down with two breaks and repeated after a 30 second break (only in war times) = ABC alarm; and lastly one minute of constant sound (war times only)= danger is over for now. I'm old enough to have learned those codes in school during the cold war and with my dad being a volunteer fire fighter I was often with him when he had been tasked with starting the sirens for testing.
In the last town I lived in it was the first Wednesday of the month , it depends on the city
As a person living in Germany and mostly watching American and Canadian food bloggers, it was pretty awesome to see you eat the same pea stew at 9:51 as me! 😅
Felt like Germany was extremely vegan friendly. One of our favorite stops was Vegan Junk Food Bar which we first tried in Amsterdam. 🤤
It is in large cities, we stayed in a small village that caters to car people lol
@@Simnettnutrition nice. We visited a pretty wide range of cities but as you say, mostly large cities. Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Dusseldorf, Cologne, and Dresden... with no real issue finding food in both restaurants or Aldi/Lidl like you mentioned. In general, I find most European cities to be fairly accommodating. I live in Dublin, Ireland now and even McDonald's offers vegan options here.
There's a restaurant in Nürnberg that serves classical dishes with vegan options called Speisegaststätte Kniedlas Hueddn. Totally recommend it
Great video! You were like children in a candy store 😂 So much great content as usual guys! Thank you for continuing to share your life with us 🌱 We have been subscribers for many many years & Watch all of your content ❤
German viewer here I think it´s Great that you Looked at the Supermarkts. Here in Hamburg there are a lot of Restaurants that have vegan Food😊
Liebe die Maultaschen vom Aldi. Mach sie immer in Brühe als Suppe. Liebe Grüße aus Bayern.
I had the same experience in Poland. So many vegan pates and cold cuts. So many vegan options and cakes in cafes and restaurants too. Loved it.
I loved watching this video and having fun with you!!! Thank you for posting. ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
I love your videos because both you and Crystal have such genuine and positive outlook. I also secretly hope one day that I can convince my brother that people like you exist, healthy plant based body builder. I eat strictly plants but am not obsessed with working out and building muscles like he is. He drinks eggs a couple of times a day 🤢.
So, the main reason I’m writing is to answer your paprika potato chip question. I’m American but used to live in Germany and Austria and had the same observation. It’s similar to our barbecue flavored chips, sauces and foods. Smoked paprika is what I used to give something a barbecue flavor.
Love that you’re enjoying Europe guys.
We are! We are back home now :D
Great show! I love the sound of the cars shifting, I can feel the weather and the bugs, and you two are beautiful! So many awesome food choices! Great health to you!
Lidl is a supermarket chain that has also branched out to Finland, where I live. We don't get as many vegan "meat" replacements as you guys showed from the German Lidl, but it was so nice to see you two enjoy all that german food, (and packaging) that looked very familiar to us. (We always stock up on the smoked tofu you had! We love it too! fried in a pan or in the air fryer!). Anyway, great video vlog ! Thanks for sharing! Have a safe trip back to Canada!
Thanks for watching!
We were in Munich a year ago and the vegan food was incredible! The groceries were so inexpensive and we loved the packaging with the V on it. So easy to shop. One of our best trips.
Simnett Nutrition, nice content you deserve more subscribers
Thanks!
Duuuuuuuuuuude. Hell yeah! Just came back from Germany too and the vegan stuff was incredible. So many options I was blown away. Great vid! The vegan salami and sausage snacks are actually incredible! Btw you probably figured it out by now but "ohne zucker" means without sugar.
Dereck it’s so nice to see I’m not the only one that gets excited over food! Ooh what are these?! Ooh, what are those?!! 😂😂❤ boy way more options in Germany it seems than here in Canada!
I’m from The Netherlands and i buy all of my groceries is Germany.
The Vegan products are WAY better in Germany than the Netherlands!
We do have Lidl and Aldi stores! It’s so funny to see you guys nearby!
Hope you had a great time!
♥ Thanks for taking us along!
Edeka and Rewe are definitely the best when it comes to vegan food! In Berlin, there's also a completely plant-based Rewe :D
That was interesting - thanks for bringing us along!
Thanks of watching :D
What I didnt realize until recently when I had the time to visit our neighbours, is that we have quite alot of vegan options, atlesst in the big cities and that even places like Rome, Paris or Barcelona do not have the same variety as I could find in German cities. Maybe that has to do with being a native and knowing where to look, but the collection in the supermarkets also speak a clear language.
6:33 The Hungarians put us up to it!
what a gorgeous chapel. Im not usually big on faux meats but they had some gorgeous looking ones, and well, you are on holidays so you try the local foods ! The scenery, villages, houses etc,,, gorgeous !
Wowwww, your adventure looked like so much fun.
We had the best time!
I just got back from Hamburg Germany last night, Toronto here, but originally from Germany and I was AMAZED by the variety and affordability of the grocery stores. Best vegan Jogurt I found was from Aldi, peach, yum yum. The 2 little glass jars you bought are not sauces but a spread to go on bread. I wish I could have packed a whole suitcase full of vegan stuff and bring it back to Toronto.
I really enjoyed this vid. The meals you made all looked so good. TY.
Glad you enjoyed it :D
I'm a Belgian and me and my friends think Germany is so cool when it comes to vegan food, and beer of course! Restaurants in small towns and cities still have to catch up.
I'm planning my trip to Germany!!❤❤❤
It's so fun!
Went to Aldi in Belgium a few years ago and found wonderful vegan options there as well!
just in case, if you plan to visit Switzerland.... let us know, happy to give you some wonderful tips what is the most delish food there
19:15 yeah those vegab ribs are amazing
Tastes really good
Diese veganen Alternativen haben mir damals sehr bei der Umstellung meiner Ernährung geholfen. Mittlerweile essen wir solche Produkte schon lange nicht mehr. Aber für Umsteiger sind sie wirklich super. Oder für Allesesser, die dem veganen Besuch eine Freude machen möchten, aber selbst von veganem Kochen/Essen nicht so viel Ahnung haben. 😊
Love your videos and especially liked travelling with you to the Camp-out and then to Germany! We have Aldi's here in Florida but I don't think there are quite so many vegan items. You two are always so happy and positive. What a great relationship you have!! Thanks for bringing us along!
Wait?! Vegan Cevapcici?! No freaking way! I grew up eating the meat version. I need to get me some of the vegan kind. My mind is blown 🤯
THEY WERE SO GOOD! One of the best things we tried, Crystal loved them.
Ich hatte so einen Spaß das Video anzusehen 😅 Schön, dass es euch in Deutschland gefallen hat.