Examine reasons for vegetarian diet. The more restrictive you are, the harder it will be to eat in the field. The Army didn't promise to meet all your dietary desires. Deployability is the issue. You need to be able to survive in the field with what's available to keep your strength and immune system at their peak. Here's a list of types of vegetarian diets, from the least restrictive to the most restrictive:
- Semi- vegetarian - poultry, fish, eggs and dairy
- Pesco-vegetarian - fish, eggs and dairy
- Lacto-ovo-vegetarian - eggs and dairy
- Ovo-vegetarian - eggs
- Vegan - no animal products
Vegetarian protein sources commonly available in field:
- Dairy foods - milk, cheese, cereal with milk. If you can't find anything for supper, ask for cereal and milk.
- Eggs - boil-in-the bag pasteurized scrambled eggs
- Nuts and Seeds - peanut butter, sunflower seeds and other nuts (pogey bait). Have peanut butter available at all meals.
- Beans - ask the cooks to make a small batch of meatless chili or spaghetti sauce with beans at the same time they're making the meat version. This is a simple fix and tastes good.
- Others - request the vegetarian Meals Ready to Eat (MRE's). The entrees are big, what would be considered 2 servings according to the Food Guide Pyramid.
- Not taking the entrée? Ask for extra starches and vegetables.
A vegetarian diet also includes at least 5 fruits and vegetables a day. The 10-day field menu has fruit available at each meal. Hot vegetables are on the menu for lunch and dinner, along with a tossed salad. Please alert the cooks to your vegetarian status, so that if a meat is used to flavor the vegetables, they put some plain vegetables aside for you. Due to the limitations of cooking in the training areas, choices are not available. Encourage your taste buds to try all kinds of vegetables, even if you didn't like it before. In the heat of Texas, it's o.k. to salt your foods. It brings out the flavor of the vegetable and your body needs the sodium replacement.
page last modified on: 4/29/2013