My $60 Mostly-Vegetarian Grocery Haul: Here's What I Ate For A Week As A Household Of One In Berlin, Germany

I'm not officially vegetarian or vegan — but a lot of my meals lean that way because they’re cheaper and faster to cook.

Hi! My name is Michelle and I'm a freelance journalist and copywriter living in Berlin, Germany. As someone whose income experiences month-to-month fluctuation, I try my best to keep my overhead expenses to an absolute minimum. Given that I have no kids, pets, cars, or expensive hobbies, most of the onus is on savings on my food choices 🌮.

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I've never been a huge fan of food delivery but I'm no model for self-discipline. I spend at least two days a week working from various coffee shops around town, and have zero self-control when it comes to oat milk lattes, German-sized slices of bee sting cake, and ooey gooey ham-and-cheese baguettes from my various French coffee shop. And there's a lot of 'em.

To make up for such purchases — which I truly have no say over, my executive function simply shuts down in the face of a hot homemade lunch served on a charming ceramic dish — I try to prepare most other meals at home.

Everyone should be allowed at least one food-related purchase they can't quit! 

My weekly meal plan depends on a few essentials, including fresh bread from my local bakery and several staples from my local Netto (a discount supermarket chain). Discount groceries are a godsend for my budget. Here's my cost breakdown for this week's grocery haul:

• Oat milk: €2 ($2.18)

• Romaine lettuce: €2 ($2.18)

• Bucket of cherry tomatoes: €3 ($3.27)

• Cucumbers: €0.5 each ($0.55)

• 3 Mozzarella di bufala: €2 for one moz' ball ($2.18)

• Packet of rye bread: €1.79 ($1.94)

• Bag of frozen vegetables: €3.29 for 500 grams (1lb) ($3.57)

• 400 grams of yogurt: €2 ($2.18)

• Berries: €2.15 ($2.33)

• Bananas: €1.79 for a bundle ($1.94)

• Hummus: €1 (or $1.09)

• Carrots: €2.19 for 1kg (2.2lbs) ($2.38)

• Black beans: €1 (or $1.09)

• Taco shells: €3.49 ($3.82)

• Sweet potato: €1.17 ($1.28)

• Guacamole: €1.69 ($1.85)

• Mushrooms: €2 ($2.18)

• Packet of soy meat: €3.29 ($3.60)

Total = €40.35 ($44.19)

If you're curious about German grocery prices for various foods, feel free to browse around Rewe!

Now, here's how I actually used those groceries and ate throughout the week:

Breakfast: Mornings are my favorite part of the day, and I spend mine journaling, reading, and sipping on black tea. A few years ago, I stopped drinking coffee and realized it led to better sleep and less anxiety. The trade-off seemed worth the short afternoon slump in energy I have to white-knuckle through. I treat myself to a latte every now and then, but it'll be a max of one single-shot cappuccino.

Lunch: I don't usually eat breakfast, but do enjoy an early lunch around 11:30 a.m. or 12 p.m. During the first quarantine, I tried to spruce up each day by making something exciting for lunch but quickly realized I didn't want to spend 25% of my day doing dishes, so I reverted back to my mainstay no-fuss meal of bread with cheese, cold cuts, and spreads, or what Germans call Abendbrot.

Michelle No

Traditionally, this meal is eaten in the evening, but its simplicity best suits me for lunch hours. The meal works because German bread is amazing. Best of all, it's super affordable at 0.60–0.80 cents per roll. 

Today, I ran to the corner bakery and got a Vollkornbrot (a whole wheat roll) and paired it with a spread of butter, Bergkäse (mountain cheese), a soft-boiled egg, cut-up carrots with hummus, and some mortadella my partner bought from an Italian grocery store last weekend. Yum. 

I've been having this meal several times a week for the last few years and never get sick of it. 

Dinner: During winter, I meal prep on Sundays by making a giant vat of minestrone and eat that for most dinners. Now that the weather is warmer, I make do with a hearty salad. Its highlight is chunky globs of mozzarella di bufala and a dressing I make with maple syrup, olive oil, tahini dressing, and lots of salt. It basically tastes like sweet peanut butter 😋. I also heated up some pasta e fagioli leftovers for carbs.

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The other dressing I like to make is with soy sauce, maple syrup, olive oil, and salt. My takeaway in my salad dressing experiments is that adding olive oil and maple syrup to any sauce makes it delicious. 

Lunch: Last summer I had the best oatmeal I've ever tasted in Bavaria, and I've been trying to recreate it for lunch. I know that sweet oatmeal isn't a typical lunch dish, but it's comforting, easy to put together, and it has chopped fruit, so it still feels like a complete meal for me.

Michelle No

I have mine with oat milk, a giant dollop of soy yogurt, a mix of nuts and seeds, and a chopped banana and berries. I'm not sure if it's a weird pairing, but I'll usually have a few bits of cheese to polish off the meal. I got this plate when I was in Warsaw last weekend and feel like it makes every meal a little tastier. 

Dinner: It's salad again, but this time with the cheese from lunch, some more mortadella, and a slice of bread. Ever since the new season of Black Mirror came out (and I blazed through it in less than two days), I've been rewatching* all the other seasons.

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I know this sliced bread doesn't look the most appetizing, but I love it! It's chewy, flavorful, and hearty.

*When I say "watching Black Mirror," I really mean playing an episode, hitting pause at the first anxiety-inducing scene, Googling and reading the entire plot summary and episode analysis, and then watching the rest of the episode through. Sorry, Charlie Brooker.

I polish it off with a cup of yogurt, blueberries, and a bit of jam because the berries just aren't sweet/ripe enough.

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Lunch: It's been a bit of a cloudy July in Berlin, but today it's nice, and I'm co-working with my friend Alexander. I grab a baguette at La Maison for €6 and eat it by the Landwehr Canal. I love all the green space and bodies of water across Berlin; it's a big part of why I moved here.

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Dinner: It's another salad with mozzarella. One of my superpowers is that I don't get sick of eating the same dish every day, as long as the meal has a little bit of everything — something fatty, something crunchy, something chewy, something sweet, etc.

Michelle No

As an Asian American, I went through the classic growing-up experience of having people make fun of my food preferences. These days, I wonder if that's why some of my adult food choices seem to gravitate toward the "boring." I guess having a mainstream-approved meal just eliminates some of that bitter self-consciousness that could otherwise mess with my palette. 

On that note, I would like to point out that I've always thought that the American tradition of eating a giant pickle as a snack is bizarre, but you don't see me pointing fingers (until now 😈)!

Lunch: I co-work with my friend Sara today and work up a huge appetite from writing a food newsletter all morning. Sara has a vegan and gluten-free diet, so we venture out to an arepa place. I get the vegetarian option (€8), which is loaded up with what feels like an entire can of black beans, grilled plantains, cheese, and a spicy sauce. It is heaven. I gobble it up in five minutes.

Michelle No

I'm not vegan or vegetarian, but I love that Berlin has plenty of options in both categories, both at restaurants and in grocery stores. I recently read a study that said almost 50% of Berlin children rarely or never eat meat. 

Dinner: Vegetarian "tacos" with a sweet potato, black bean, and mushroom filling. Berlin's packaged guacamole offerings are truly sad but I make do with this creamy vegetal goop that adds some textural contrast.

Michelle No

I end up accidentally eating meat-free meals half of the time because, honestly, they're cheaper and faster to cook. 

Breakfast: I did an early morning spin class and am voracious, so I break from routine and make breakfast oatmeal. The thing that I love about this meal is that it's cold, hydrating, and wakes me up. I also make matcha with oat milk as a little Friday treat.

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Lunch: Leftovers from last night's black bean and sweet potato mix with a piece of bread.

Dinner: The weather is nice, so a few friends and I decide to have a picnic at Tempelhofer Feld, a former airport-turned-park. I bring some kettle chips and nuts while my friends thankfully bring some more wholesome additions.

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Lunch: I do a yoga class and on the way home, I grab a seeded roll from my favorite Vietnamese, German-run bakery around the corner. I have that with some more cheese, a hard-boiled egg, carrots with hummus, and some leftovers.

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Dinner: I'm extremely relaxed but also wiped out from a whole day spent at the lake. Thankfully, I've still got some leftovers, so I make myself three tacos and a side salad.

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It's the leftovers that keep on giving. 

Lunch: It's super hot today, and I have zero motivation to do anything but make my trusty ol' oatmeal.

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Dinner: I spent the afternoon catching up with a friend by the canal. By the time I'm home, I am ravished, so I whip up this stir-fry with carrots, mushrooms, frozen peas, soy meat, and some microwaved bulgur.

Michelle No

Adding a dollop of butter and using good vegetable stock is the key to the perfect microwaved bulgur. 

In total, I spent around €55 ($61.22) on a week of meals, both homecooked and eaten out. Not bad, although before the recent increase in inflation, I could manage spending under €50 ($55.65) per week on food. What about you? What are your favorite, easy, repeat dishes that get you through the week? Let me know in the comments below!