In only 10 (TEN!!) days I will be moving to “The Land of Meat and Sausages”…. aka Germany! Yes I may be perpetuating stereotypes a little with this title….please forgive….
I am moving to Oestrich-Winkel, Germany for a year and a half (!!) to complete my undergraduate degrees. I have known for two and a half years that I would be moving to Germany, aaaand yet just this past September I fully transitioned to vegetarianism.
I have really great timing don’t I?
It never really crossed my mind that it may be difficult to maintain my vegetarian diet while living in Germany until a few people expressed concern! NO WIENER SCHNITZEL?? OH THE HUMANITY! *eye roll*
Will you be abandoning vegetarianism for the sake of enjoying German sausages? Nah, I’m good. Really, I’m good.
Will you be able to find your staple grocery items in Germany? oh….fair point…….
I am not familiar with what a traditional grocery store looks like in Germany. I am accustomed to big-box grocery stores, which always always have a vegetarian section. The top staples in my diet (that I cannot live without) are: unsweetened plain almond milk, chia seeds, legumes, natural peanut butter and quinoa. My diet is supplemented by a shed load of fruits and vegetables, but I am not concerned about that in Germany!
To be honest, I am not too concerned about buying legumes there either. I consider those to be a fairly international staple. And since the explosive popularity of quinoa in 2013, I am sure I will not have a problem finding that.
I am already aware that I will not be able to get my beloved all-natural, smooth peanut butter in Europe. Having loved peanut butter since day 1, I know that I must bring that with me. My one big question is chia seeds. I average about 3 tablespoons a day, and I tend to fly through them quicker than I think. I am planning on travelling over with a big bag of them, but hopefully I will find somewhere to buy them.
So I consulted with the internet and I found some vegetarian-in-Germany articles and blogs mainly containing information about dining out in Germany. No word on chia seeds. Well I’m sure I will find out soon enough!
If anyone has any advice on shopping/surviving as a vegetarian in Germany, or general advice about moving to/living in Germany please help a girl out !!
🙂 talk veggies to me
talk veggies to me 
Hi Claire,
German has many many vegetarians. And they all survive. You will not starve.
Healthy organic products that are produced under nature-preserving conditions can be found under “Bio” labels. Many supermarket chains have their own.
You will not even miss out on your chia seeds in Germany.
http://www.reformhaus.de/qualitaet-im-reformhaus/unsere-hersteller/870-chia-samen-im-reformhaus.html
An organic food and cosmetics chain called “Reformhaus” has a wide variety of healthy foods and maybe even your beloved peanut butter is among them. Just ask a friendly Germans for the closest ”Reformhaus”. There is at least one in every bigger town.
Alnatura is an other bigger Bio market chain that has shops all over Germany.
http://www.alnatura.de/
best
Caliz
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Thank you so much! I am in Oestrich, but I think Wiesbaden has a Reformhaus. I find the grocery stores here (net to and Rewe ) to be good! I have had no trouble getting my foods and I would love to go to a veggie restaurant. I want to go to a Reformhaus beacuse I would like to replenish my chia seeds 🙂 thank you so much Caliz!
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