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!
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
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
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 :)
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"!
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!
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!
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!
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.
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.
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. :)
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!
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.
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.
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!🌱
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 😁
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! 🔥🔥🔥
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!!
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!
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 ❤
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 😊
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:)
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'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💚
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.
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 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!
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.
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.👌👏
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.
@@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.
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.
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, 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 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! ❤
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 ❤
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!
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 ❤
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 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! 😊
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.
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
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!
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!
Thanks for all your travel videos the last few weeks! Looks like you and Crystal had some AMAZING adventures. I appreciate all your blogs and nutrition content. I look forward to seeing your content every week 😊
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!
Oh… oh… oh…finding new things in the markets . Classic. I couldn’t believe you opened that box to see if the contents were cut up💥 You so rocked with this video. What a great new experience and natural surroundings. Thank you for taking us to the castle.
Oh Wow, I actually loved this video!!! I don't get a chance to travel, so it was great being on this adventure with you both! Thank you for sharing it all! I loved seeing all of the different food options too!!!
🥨 German southerner here, a Brezel / pretzel all by itself should never ever be WARM?! 😂 Paprika as a spice is in ALL THE THINGS, maybe because bell peppers are close to import? The over use made me allergic to the fruit, not the spice, ironically… 😂 Döner is our Kebap originating from Turkey ❤ love those chunks. Billie Green is relatively new and amazing! 😻 Aldi and Lidl are killing it at the vegan stuff, affordable prices and both are discount supermarket that’s why your shop was cheap, too. (Rewe and Edeka are German franchise chains and they are much more expensive, they have their own discounters called penny and nahkauf which are cheaper.) Nürburgring is famous in my book for Rock am Ring (Festival, saw KORN there). 🎉 this was awesome to watch! Have been following you for years! 🫑 😅
I loved this blog on your trip to Germany. It really looked pretty over there and I'm gonna put that on my bucket list. And I loved the food you ate and how you made all the meals was awesome.
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. 😊
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
Derek, it is so wonderful to see you and Chrystal traveling the world and sharing your experiences and food. I enjoyed learning about Nurburgring! Thank you.
Faaaaak 😂 seeing you getting so excited about my regular everyday supermarket, made me think. Am u being ungrateful? Is social media that makes me compare our stuff to the stuff in the uk and us.
may be you did, i don't know if i missed it, but next time you go to germany let us (living here) know, so that we can share our favourite vegan foods=)
We bought lots of veggies as you can see in our meals, but wanted to try the fun "junk" foods because we don't get them here! It's fun to try new things, the produce did look really fresh and delicious.
@@Simnettnutrition yeah, there's a lot of vegan junk food in supermarkets and some of them taste questionably :D so i just wanted wo say that your german viewers will gladly share best tasting =)
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.
Thank you for sharing your trip with us! The sounds of the race track were awesome! Derek made me lol when he was so excited at the grocery store! Love you two! Thanks for being real. 🌱
Haha its so sweet that you took the bags at the beginning :D they are not for shopping, only for carrying home 😋 Have a lovely time in germany and enjoy our great vegan food ❤ Ps: we love paprika style because its soooo good :D
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
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
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! 😁
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
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"!
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!
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! 🌱
So cool reading all your German fans' comments popping up on here! UK & Germany were honoured to have you both over 🌱
The "ooh!" before you grab almost everything is so wholesome 😂 I totally get it lol
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!😂
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
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.
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.
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. :)
as a German, it makes me happy seeing you excited about all the options we have these days.
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!
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 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!
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 :)
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 😁
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
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!!
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!
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 ❤
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 😊
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
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'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!
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 :-(
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 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 🥰
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.🤩
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!
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.
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.👌👏
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.
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.
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.
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.
You getting so excited about the vegan options at aldi is so relatable ❤
"Give me a dial!" on the stovetop. I totally ageee. So fun to see these travel - food videos. Glad you guys are having fun! 👨🍳
I loved watching this video and having fun with you!!! Thank you for posting. ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
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, 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 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! ❤
I love how excited you were in the grocery store!
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 ❤
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!
Nice to see you in my home country trying all the stuff i eat all the time haha, glad you enjoyed
I would love a super cut of every time he goes "ooooo. . ."
Love it, kid in a candy store
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 ❤
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 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! 😊
Germany is such a beautiful place. It is awesome that you can live out your dreams!
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.
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
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..
♥ Thanks for taking us along!
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!
That was interesting - thanks for bringing us along!
Thanks of watching :D
you two are sooo positive and i enjoyed your video very much....this video got me very hungry tho ^^
Love that you’re enjoying Europe guys.
We are! We are back home now :D
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!
Liebe die Maultaschen vom Aldi. Mach sie immer in Brühe als Suppe. Liebe Grüße aus Bayern.
Lovely to see a fellow petrolhead enjoying themselves, what an amazing trip ❤.
Love the vegan food selections too ❤
I really enjoyed this vid. The meals you made all looked so good. TY.
Glad you enjoyed it :D
Honestly you two are amazing !!! Always incredible content - hope to see you in London at some point
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!
Ich hatte so einen Spaß das Video anzusehen 😅 Schön, dass es euch in Deutschland gefallen hat.
Wowwww, your adventure looked like so much fun.
We had the best time!
Thanks for all your travel videos the last few weeks! Looks like you and Crystal had some AMAZING adventures. I appreciate all your blogs and nutrition content. I look forward to seeing your content every week 😊
Simnett Nutrition, nice content you deserve more subscribers
Thanks!
Looks like an amazing trip! Thank you for sharing it with us!
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!
Oh… oh… oh…finding new things in the markets . Classic. I couldn’t believe you opened that box to see if the contents were cut up💥
You so rocked with this video. What a great new experience and natural surroundings. Thank you for taking us to the castle.
6:33 The Hungarians put us up to it!
ahh, my favourite genre of videos: people i follow discovering germany, haha
it's so much fun seeing things you always see from their perspective :D
I'm planning my trip to Germany!!❤❤❤
It's so fun!
Oh Wow, I actually loved this video!!! I don't get a chance to travel, so it was great being on this adventure with you both! Thank you for sharing it all! I loved seeing all of the different food options too!!!
Awesome! Thanks for watching!
🥨 German southerner here, a Brezel / pretzel all by itself should never ever be WARM?! 😂
Paprika as a spice is in ALL THE THINGS, maybe because bell peppers are close to import? The over use made me allergic to the fruit, not the spice, ironically… 😂
Döner is our Kebap originating from Turkey ❤ love those chunks. Billie Green is relatively new and amazing! 😻
Aldi and Lidl are killing it at the vegan stuff, affordable prices and both are discount supermarket that’s why your shop was cheap, too. (Rewe and Edeka are German franchise chains and they are much more expensive, they have their own discounters called penny and nahkauf which are cheaper.)
Nürburgring is famous in my book for Rock am Ring (Festival, saw KORN there). 🎉 this was awesome to watch! Have been following you for years! 🫑 😅
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.
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.
I loved this blog on your trip to Germany. It really looked pretty over there and I'm gonna put that on my bucket list. And I loved the food you ate and how you made all the meals was awesome.
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. 😊
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
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
Derek, it is so wonderful to see you and Chrystal traveling the world and sharing your experiences and food. I enjoyed learning about Nurburgring! Thank you.
Faaaaak 😂 seeing you getting so excited about my regular everyday supermarket, made me think. Am u being ungrateful? Is social media that makes me compare our stuff to the stuff in the uk and us.
haha you are definitely lucky!
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😊
may be you did, i don't know if i missed it, but next time you go to germany let us (living here) know, so that we can share our favourite vegan foods=)
We bought lots of veggies as you can see in our meals, but wanted to try the fun "junk" foods because we don't get them here! It's fun to try new things, the produce did look really fresh and delicious.
@@Simnettnutrition yeah, there's a lot of vegan junk food in supermarkets and some of them taste questionably :D so i just wanted wo say that your german viewers will gladly share best tasting =)
Love your passion about your hobbies 👍🏻 I really enjoyed watching this video. Thanks for sharing
I always love how a comment section is being hijacked by Germans the moment there’s content about Germany. 😅
That's the case for a lot of countries. Turkey for example.
@@fjellyo3261, I don’t really know about that, I never get content about Turkey into my thread. So I can only speak about the country I live in.
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.
Thank you for sharing your trip with us! The sounds of the race track were awesome! Derek made me lol when he was so excited at the grocery store! Love you two! Thanks for being real. 🌱
Haha its so sweet that you took the bags at the beginning :D they are not for shopping, only for carrying home 😋
Have a lovely time in germany and enjoy our great vegan food ❤
Ps: we love paprika style because its soooo good :D