Online wholesaler for your new alternative diet lifestyle?

Hello Guys,
 
I just received my first shipments from Buywholefoods online EU and I thought I’d write a little post about my experience as an expat living and cooking vegan-paleo meals in Germany.
I am a Korean girl raised in Sydney very fresh to Cologne, Germany. After 5 months of expat life I was ready to break my kitchen! 

I bulk buy certain ingredients (up to 5kgs at a time) on online wholesale food shops for a few reasons:

• Number 1, better cost for quantity and quality
• Number 2, these are mostly dry ingredients that has very long shelf life
• Number 3, I can easily purchase "not so commercial" ingredients. E.g. Kala namak salt, cacao butter, vital wheat gluten, liquid smoke...etc

 
This time I ordered ingredients for a variety of purposes. Some are not part of my day to day diet but has a long shelf life and is used for vegan dishes for creative occasions 😃 

• TVP. Textured vegetable protein

I use TVP in vegan dishes where I want to imitate a meat-like texture and flavour, as these can be made into vegan meatballs, burger patties, minced meat recipes and stir-fries etcetera.

• TVPs are made from Soy protein so if you have allergy to soy products, then this is not for you. 
• TVP are considered as a processed food so I only recommend moderate consumption.
• However soy bean is complete source of protein. Soybeans contain all of the essential amino acids necessary for human nutrition 💪🏻

As a whole plant eater myself, I don’t use TVP in my day to day diet, but I do use the product when I want to get creative with my dishes for special occasions.
I cater vegan dinners for meat eaters using TVP and the guests are always pleasantly surprised! 😋
 

• Vital wheat gluten

This is basically a powdered gluten protein.
100g of vital wheat gluten provides 75g grams of protein so this is great for non-meat eaters as the protein content is similar to 100g of chicken breast. However, be mindful when eating vegetable based protein as it is not complete protein. It doesn’t contain all the essential amino acids such as Lysine. This one’s not complete on it’s own so it needs to be mixed with or cooked in soy sauce added broth to add gluten’s missing amino acid (lysine) ❤️
 
Again, like TVPs, these are highly processed foods, so I recommend moderation. I don’t use Vital wheat gluten in my day to day cooking, but like TVP, I do use the product when I want to get creative with my dishes 😉

Vital wheat gluten is made into what is called Seitan. This is vegan meat substitution that’s used in a lot of vegetarian asian dishes and seen in a lot of buddhist temples festival foods. It can have a spongy or firmer texture seasoned to take on flavours to mimic meats such as chicken, duck or beef.
 

• Tapioca flour

This is great as a gluten free thickener or is great for gluten-free baking. Tapioca is from cassava roots. They can be used in various kinds of foods or recipes such as thickening sauces, cookies and baked goods, and gluten free vegan breads. Tapioca has mild and slightly sweet taste. It’s gluten-free, low in calories and free from sugar.

Tapioca will be a handy ingredient for you if you have nut allergies and you follow a low FODMAP diet or gluten-free diet. It does have a slippery texture, so in baking, it is usually used in combination with other flours.

​Vegan Beet Gluten-free bread (with Brown rice + Tapioca flour)

• Brown Rice Flour

This is also great as a gluten free thickener and in gluten free baking. It has mild nutty flavour and I use it to thicken sauces and bake vegan breads. 

​Recently I made a vegan low-histamine lasagna and I used brown rice flour, almond milk and coconut oil to make the white sauce for the lasagna. It thickened very well without any lumps and it was absolutely delicious!

​Vegan Low-histamine Lasagna + Hashimoto suitable Lasagna (Brown rice flour white sauce)

• 1kg of almonds

I buy my nuts and seeds by the kilo on online wholesale shops. 

Daily nuts and seeds and legumes in my kitchen include:
Almonds, Cashews, Pumpkin seeds, Sunflower seeds, Chia seeds, Flax seeds, Mixed Quinoa, Black lentils, Chickpeas and Buckwheats etc.

I eat a handful of almonds every single day, and I pre-cook my grains and keep them in the freezer for quick impromptu salad tossing sessions! Bulk buying is much more cost effective and these dried ingredients have long shelf lives, need I say more!

• Liquid smoke - Natural Hickory (Colgin)

This is an all-natural Vegan Gluten-free liquid smoke with no additives or preservative. You can use a little bit of Liquid smoke in Vegan dishes to give a little twist. A little bit can be used to make vegan bacon bits, vegan gouda cheese or varieties of smoky dishes! It’s a fun little product that evoke my creative juices!

I have always been interested cooking healthy meals and trying new ingredients and recipes. As I am settling into my new beloved city Cologne, Germany building up our home and community I will keep posting my stories!