Traveling abroad is full of so many new challenges: living somewhere outside of the US for the first time, adapting to the culture, getting a hang of the transportation, and, most importantly, learning how to cook for yourself. For me, living in a dorm the past few years and my home before that, cooking has never really been part of the equation: there are those rare nights at home where I’ll cook dinner for my family, but they are rare. I’ve never really had to shop for groceries alone or meal plan before, so this gave me a unique opportunity to broaden my cooking horizons while dealing with food packaging and shopping in an entirely new language.
There are a few things of note before getting into the bulk part with recipes. First, every ingredient and every piece of food (minus produce) is in another language. This was nearly impossible at first, but by the end, I could be in and out of the grocery store in 10 minutes max. I promise that you’ll start inadvertently memorizing random words, and you’ll remember the correct sections for the food (because they’re different too!). Second, in Germany, people don’t go grocery shopping once a week and buy all of their food. Instead, everyone goes shopping every few days, which keeps the food fresh. For me, this was great and I actually ended up saving money because I realized which ingredients I don’t really use that often, and I was able to make dinners that popped into my head rather than plan them out because I went to the grocery store 3-4 times a week. Third, every unit of measurement is different there, which is good to be aware of when following recipes. I would either look up German/European recipes, or simply eyeball American ones and have food turn out how it turned out (oftentimes, not exactly correct). Fourth, and finally, it’s going to feel very overwhelming at first: not only do you move there and jump right into things in a foreign place, but also you have to start feeding yourself the first day. I would also recommend having plenty of snacks available because there were definitely days in the first two weeks that I just didn’t want to cook at all because it felt so overwhelming.
However, by week two, I was a pro at cooking for myself, even if I did only cook three recipes on repeat for the first three (or six) weeks.
The recipes/ideas below are pretty simple: they’re designed for people that haven’t really cooked at all before and are trying to just get the hang of things first. I also include a bunch of ideas, too, because oftentimes I found myself at a loss of what to cook. I am no Martha Stewart and definitely no Gordon Ramsay (moreso Guy Fieri), but these recipes were lifesavers abroad, so I hope they can help you too!
Breakfast:
Burrito egg wrap:
Spinach
Egg
Salsa?
Onions
Peppers
Cook onions and peppers (diced) on medium heat, and in a separate pan, cook eggs. Put both in a tortilla, add spinach and salsa, and fold like the Chipotle burritos.
Omelette:
Peppers
Onions
Spinach
Egg
Add olive oil then cook onions and peppers (diced) on medium heat, then add eggs (whipped). Finally, add spinach on top and flip over.
2 fried Eggs with spinach and avocado (and beans, peppers, or onions):
Mix for a breakfast bowl! Pretty self explanatory.
Pancakes
Self explanatory / on package.
Oatmeal
Self explanatory: just make sure you have double the amount of water to oats!
Basics (to use in Lunch/Dinner recipes):
Pan frying chicken:
Pat chicken dry
- Heat pan with olive oil on medium heat
- Put chicken into pan and season
- Cut with knife to see when cooked
- Cook time: 10ish min
https://wholelottayum.com/pan-fry-chicken-tenders/
Brussel sprouts:
- Trim and chop Brussels sprouts
- Cover with olive oil, salt and pepper
- Preheat oven to 425°
- Bake for 20-30 until golden brown
- Total time: 30-40ish min
https://www.loveandlemons.com/roasted-brussels-sprouts/
Rice:
Bring water (double amount compared to rice) to boil.
Add rice
Cover and turn on low heat. Let simmer for 30 minutes (or whatever it says on the package).
Lunch/Dinner:
- Chicken pasta
- Chicken and rice with vegetables (broccoli, brussels sprouts, green beans)
- Chicken Fajita Tacos (see below)
- Vegetable Soup (see below)
- Sausage, potatoes, and brussels sprouts (see below)
- Quinoa Bowl (see below)
- Summer salad: green beans, cucumbers, raw broccoli, balsamic, cheese
- Bread: pesto, grilled chicken, parmesan, crispy broccoli, fresh tomatoes
- Feta cheese, fresh tomatoes and pasta
- Potatoes, carrots, broccoli, etc - Italian seasoning and olive oil
- Pasta with sauce and sausage and broccoli
- Peanut butter and honey sandwich
- Bean, rice, and avocado burritos
Chicken Fajita Tacos:
- Cook peppers and onions on medium heat with lid on.
- Cook chicken (see basics for how to).
- Cook rice and heat up beans.
- Put peppers and onions, chicken, lettuce, and any other garnishes into tortilla wrap! Add rice and beans on the side and you're golden.
Vegetable Soup:
Ingredients: Chicken broth, Olive oil, Italian seasoning, thyme, rosemary, salt, pepper, basil, Onions - 1 white onion, Carrots - 4 carrots (around 2 cups), Corn - one can of corn, Green beans - half a pound, Potatoes - 1 potato
https://www.marthastewart.com/318100/big-batch-vegetable-soup
- basically what I followed, except for a few amendments:
- One carton of chicken broth and five cups of water
- Onions (no celery) and a bunch of olive oil plus salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and thyme
- Let it simmer for an hour and a half with all of the ingredients and it’s amazing. (No lid)
Sausage, potatoes, and brussels sprouts:
chop equal parts sausage, Brussel sprouts, potatoes, (onion if you want)
heat oven 450° (F)
spread onto baking sheet, coat in olive oil, sprinkle salt and pepper
cook 30 ish minutes
Quinoa Bowl:
Cook quinoa then add avocado, tomatoes, corn, and black beans!
My friends will also use sweet potatoes and spinach, just experiment to see what you like!
More Blogs From This Author
Wrapping Up
In this post, I'll write about my overall takeaways from abroad!
Rosalie Hinke
My name is Rosalie and I am a current junior at the University of Richmond where I'm a double major in Environmental Studies and Journalism. In my free time, I love hiking, running, reading, knitting, and backpacking: I love the outdoors!
