I'm in the Navy and go out so sea frequently; just came back from an 11 month deployment this year and next year deploying again for 8 months. We go underway about 2 weeks a month. Now I feel pretty clever for having found several alertatives to get me by after my first deployment last year, shipped from Amazon.com to my overseas area of mission (which was cool because it included scaring off pirates from attacking innocent merchant ships.) My favorite item from them being conventient cartons of Silk in bulk for a reasonable price.
Needless to say it's difficult to get my nurtition in balance and it costs extra money when normally I am saving money when I am in homeport because fresh vegan food is just obviously so much cheaper than replacing milk, eggs, and meat every few days.
A ship's menu usually consists of one meat or two meat, beans or rice, canned vegetable choice, non-vegan dessert, and salad. The ship only offers beans every other day and rice every meal that is bleached. They make vegetarian soup (with chicken broth) once a week. Every other week they make vegetarian lasagna, but cheese does not agree with my g.i. tract, I usually prefer my plant-based diet.
My vegan shipmate is awesome and works in the galley for now and will set out mixed nuts at the salad bar with dried fruit in it as much as possible and makes sure to keep oatmeal out for breakfast time.
Pickings are so slim for vegetarians and vegans on the ship because currently there is only one other vegan and no vegetarians. The menu's are decided by an outer source as I have been told and I assume since most sailors are omnivore, they only tend to their nutritional intake.
My vegan shipmate and I are concerned on how we are going to stock up for deployment and are currently working on compensation by submitting request for sustinance allowance. We were told we take a copy of the ship's menu to the clinic to have them review whether it meets our nutrition requirements. We can request but it's not guaranteed to be granted.
I just ask, my kind friends, do you have any advice for us? Perhaps any ideas for non-perishable goods we may stock up with and any web sites that ship whole food goods overseas? I appreciate you taking the time to read this.
4 Comments