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 🌮.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I polish it off with a cup of yogurt, blueberries, and a bit of jam because the berries just aren't sweet/ripe enough.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Lunch: It's super hot today, and I have zero motivation to do anything but make my trusty ol' oatmeal.
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.
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!