So, I've been MIA recently due to an army thing. Is anybody suprised? Not me. And if you are, I would suggest getting over it as soon as possible. I'm currently at WLC --Warrior Leadership Course. It's an 18 day course teaching me how to be a better leader. It's got obstacle courses, weapons training, loads of tests, and hundreds of people at once. However, my class is generally fun, with mostly amazing class mates.
On the vegan front, I'm also happy to say that I've made strides for those who follow in my footsteps. For breakfast, it's a normal breakfast for me: some fruit, a coffee (we get like 4 hours of sleep at night... oh well), and some toast with peanut butter and some banana slices. At the DFAC (Dining Facility for those non-military folks.) they were only serving a vegetarian meal at lunch, not for dinner. And, much to my dissmay, 3/4 of the time, it was some white pasta with some vegetables, potato, and covered in a cream sauce of sorts. I can't eat that, even if i'm just plain ol vegetarian because the cream will mess up with my stomach. THEN, for dinner, there wasn't even an option. So for the first few nights, I'd be eating potato, boiled vegetables, and an iceberg lettuce salad. Awesome, right? No.
We had a "how is it going so far? any input?" session (also known as an AAR, after action review.) I had nothing bad to say.... oh, wait, except for the food. First thing they said: "You're a vegetarian?" My answer was, "Actually, I'm a vegan, but i'll eat some eggs in the field (due to the physical exertion, and we weren't allowed to bring protein powder.) Two days later, they started serving vegetrian meals for both lunch and dinner. I was thinking: WIN! Then, i get to dinner, and it's a pasta (bowties are the only noodles the army seems to buy) covered in a cream sauce. Not even any vegetables. So, i *politley* bring up that every single time there's a vegetarian meal, it's in the red. **The army's DFACs categorize their food by Green, Yellow, and Red; obviously, you want mostly greens.** So, now, after it's been only about 3 more days, I go to dinner, and i'm happy to see a noodle dish (i'll get over it.) with a ton of veggies, black beans mixed in, and a tomato sauce. AND they didn't pre-sprinkle any cheese on there for me!!!!
Other than that, my routine has been like this: At breakfast, i always grab a banana and throw it in my pocket. I eat this for a snack before lunch. At lunch, grab another banana (my potassium is most likely low, so i'm doubling up!) or an apple, and i make sure to get a peanut butter serving as well (approx. 2 Tbsp, so perfect!!!) Then, at dinner, I grap another banana, or an apple, depending on what they have. Why for after dinner? Well, we eat at 5. Every day. I normally eat dinner at like 9, so that's a huge difference. Somewhere around 8 or 9, i start to get hungry, and start munching on a ton of candy. Kristin+Candy+extremely tired=walking zombie...now with a gun! So, i eat the fruit with some peanut butter and some cashews I have hidden in my backpack in my room.
Eating a vegan diet might seem like a huge project, especially in the army. And, you know what, it is. But, i love projects, and I love the idea of a challenge. I don't want any of my readers to think that a project/challenge is a bad thing. Why do people like going to the gym? They are challenging themselves. College is a challenge, along with a lot of fun. I'll try to keep some of this updated a little better, but we'll see if that happens.
What I've learned this last week: (Vegan wise) Peanut butter stores amazing // Bananas are less obvious in my cargo pockets than apples // Cashews taste great with anything sweet in the same bite (bananas, chocolate) // and finally: if you ask for something while remaining calm and rational, you might be suprised what people will do. I had somebody grab me a to-go container full of fresh grapes.
Peace out fellow Veg-heads
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