Vegan at Sea

I wasn’t the best blogger on my past cruise. I took advantage of not having to carry anything- which meant my camera slept back at the room most of the time and missed out on all the food! Luckily sweet Stephanie from CookinFanatic saved my day- she went on the same cruise (a few weeks earlier) and is letting me borrow some of her food photos!

I might not have many photos, but I do have words!

Is it possible to eat vegan on a cruise ship?

I tried calling Royal Caribbean in advance to notify them of my dietary restrictions, but as it turns out I was told to just notify my waiter at dinner. It was hysterical after I explained to him that I don’t eat meat or dairy or any animal products at all, he suggested three dishes for me: shrimp scampi, chicken and a mozzarella calzone. They couldn’t understand what it was that I didn’t eat. It was so funny every night when they’d discuss what I was having and try to throw chicken on there!

I must say, our waiter and head waiter tried harder to accommodate me and were more respectful about my choices than I could have ever asked for. The head waiter (who is over the entire dining room) knew my name and would talk to me each night about what they would make for me the next evening.

There were so many people handling the food that it is pretty difficult to know exactly what is in the food. I had to assume the wheat and sourdough breads didn’t contain milk or eggs. I had to assume the Indian dishes only had the vegan ingredients I’ve had in past.

Even though our waiters were phenomenal in how hard they tried, the dining room was the hardest place to get good vegan food. Like the second night: we discussed a yummy dish of lentils, grilled veggies and a potato.. they served me a small plate of seasonless steamed carrots, broccoli and asparagus. I loaded up on bread to fill my belly. The first night my salad consisted on romaine lettuce and olive oil + vinegar. I didn’t understand why I couldn’t have other ingredients on my plates since I saw them on other’s dishes.

Summary: You can certainly eat vegan on a cruise ship, but maybe not 100%. And if you’re vegan, plan on raw fruit being the only dessert you’ll have. Although the dining room did serve me vegan dishes, they were plain. I enjoy the process of eating and when looking at everyone’s gorgeous dishes, I was really unsatisfied by my plain steamed veggies. (I had seen many vegan options at the buffet downstairs so I knew they had more interesting vegan food in the kitchen). If I went on a cruise again I would bring some larabars and such to bulk up my diet.

 

What I Ate

Breakfast: I loaded my plate with fresh fruit. In addition I’d grab a little pancake and piece of waffle. I had some oatmeal, too!

Lunch: The salad bar had lots of veggie choices. The only non-creamy dressing was a raspberry vin. or oil + vinegar. I;d have a huge salad with beans, bread and whatever other veggies I found around the buffet.

 Dinner: Dinner was the hardest. We were dressed up in a dining room so there was no buffet where I could create my own balanced meal. There was one amazing dish I had the first night (after a plate of plain romaine lettuce). It was a biryani dish of yellow rice and curried veggies (just like the photos above but without the cream sauce). That was good- and the one dish they really struck out on. The rest of the time I ate plain veggies. By the last night David and I ditched the dining room and grabbed some delish Indian food and other veggies from the buffet downstairs.

Fourth Meal: Dessert! None vegan, none that tasty. I tried a little bit of everything (which would add up to a big plate every night!).

Because I really don’t like animal products anymore, it was really easy to walk right by those options. I didn’t want any animal products straight like I used to eat: yogurt, the cheese bar, milk or ice cream. I did, however, seize up the opportunity to try special items that had animal products somewhere in them. The funny thing is that my vegan options tasted (and left me feeling better) than all the food with animal products I ate. I think I would have felt better if I stuck with all vegan foods, but I did enjoy all the foods I ate. It’s not often that I have platters of yummy food out in front of me like that, so I seized the opportunity in my own kind of way.

 

If you’re interested in David’s food, here are a few more of Stephanie’s photos that are also exactly what David had in the dining room!  

A lobster bisque and a fancy beef dish…

…and an alfredo pasta with mushrooms.

Do you change your eating habits on a cruise? Have you ever cruised while following an alternative diet?

A Run and a Cruise

First Thing’s First: Running

6:00a.m. Friday morning, my alarm goes off. Already in my running clothes, I wander around the house to get ready for THE run: eat a banana, guzzle water, apply sunblock…

I live for long runs, so of course I was super excited about this run. But somewhere along the way half of me dreaded this run. In my mind 10 miles seemed so much harder than 9 miles. I kept up the positivity (“10 miles! Think of how awesome you’ll feel!” and “You rode 63 miles a few weekends ago… running 10 will be a cinch!”).

The run was tough. I managed to average about 10:30/mile, but every mile seemed to be a challenge. My legs were tired, my dried fruit was a horrible mid-run snack that gave me side cramps and most of my run was along busy streets. The loud noise of the passing cars made me anxious and kept me from focusing on my run. What a mess! Still, I did 10 miles!! Then, as you already know, I did some “no rules” lounging around.

What happened after that run is my favorite. David and I boarded our cruise ship that afternoon and I was so anxious to check out their gym that I headed up and did some very light biking while reading my new Runner’s World. Then it hit me: I want to run! I started running and my legs actually felt better than ever so I knocked out 2 miles at an 8:30 pace and felt amazing! Surprisingly my legs weren’t sore at all the next day. It was all of that foam rolling ;)

 

The Cruise! For our anniversary, David took me on Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas to Nassau and Coco Cay in the Bahamas. We had a relaxing and fun vacation!

I poured over the October issue of Runner’s World the whole vacation :)

We’re not sunny bunnies, but we did hang out by the pool a good share- with sunscreen, folks!   Saturday was in Nassau. I’ve been to Nassau two times before and don’t care for it (it’s too touristy for me), but I was excited about snorkeling!

Sadly we didn’t get any fun goggle pics, but snorkeling was breathtaking. I wish my camera could go underwater!

Some photos of Nassau:

 

Back in our room we found a little friend! This fuzzy guy made me miss my Dixie, Jack and Kitty back home even more!   

After formal night there was an ice carving demo in the pool. Can you see that he made a big fish? Very cool.

The next day was on Coco Cay, the cruise’s private island.

We walked around a little in the morning before my bathing suit broke (uh-oh!) and we headed back to the boat so I could change. Sadly, we experienced a bad storm and couldn’t go back to the island!

     The cruise was a blast! We went to all the comedy shows, karaoke, game nights and everything they had to offer. Still, we found plenty of time to soak up the lack of responsibility and just relax.

Don’t worry, I didn’t forget about the food! That’s coming next!

Happiness and Simplicity

Happy last day of 2008!

2008 was a big year for me. I moved into my own apartment in a new town, had my car flooded, celebrated 2 years with David, went on an hysterical cruise with my mom, ran my first 10K, graduated with my BA, took the road trip of my life and signed the papers for my first real job! Whew!

I've been ever so blessed.

For 2009 my theme will be happiness and simplicity. Checking my food, finances, relationships, outlook on life, etc. against happiness and simplicity really keeps me in line.

Here are my 2009 Goals:

Run another 10K and half marathon. (My 1st this January doesn't count! I want another!)

Have more get-togethers with friends. I used to have big parties all the time. I don't miss the BIG parties, but I do miss fun times with my friends.

Volunteer. (I'm already signing up with a local women's organization to foster a pre-teen girl who is in foster care. I can't wait!)

Try new recipes in the kitchen. (I'm expanding myself... just not physically!)

Make whole foods my habit. Open up to more yoga and Pilates. (I recently tried a Body Flow class at my gym and am addicted!)

Spend more time with God and in the Bible.

Always look for the positive and have fun. (It makes life better!)

Cherish and spoil David and my family more.

Dedicate time to invest in healthyashley. (I love you guys and this blog makes me so happy!)

Get to a weight that's best for me. (Instead of a goal weight, I've set a stay under this number weight.)

Here's to an awesome 2009! Happy New Year!

**Trip recap will continue in 2009!

Cruise Recap On Its Way

Hi!

I just got back from my cruise to Nassau, Bahamas yesterday. I've got a ton of pictures on their way to a fat blog post. Check back soon!