BLOGGER ON BOARD: Veg-Cation (Day 1)

Veg chef and blogger Janah Adickman and her sister, Erika Brooks Adickman, just before boarding the MSC Poesia for their Holistic Holiday at Sea.

Ahoy from Holistic Holiday at Sea, a week-long cruise in the Caribbean that offers vegan/gluten-free/macrobiotic cuisine, cooking and nutrition classes, yoga, and more! I was tempted to say, “Asoy”, but I figured that’d just be a lame vegan joke. (Hopefully, a few of you got a laugh.)

When my sister and I arrived at Port Everglades in Ft. Lauderdale on Saturday to set sail, I couldn’t help but to feel a few butterflies before boarding the ship. My mind raced with questions like, “Was I going to be the only vegetarian amongst a sea of strict vegans and macrobiotic cruisers? Would I be the only one without a perfect downward dog? “Would I be the only one jonesing for a cup of coffee?” Valid concerns, right?

But as I boarded the MSC Poesia and made my way to the opening ceremony lead by Jessica Porter, author of The Hip Chick’s Guide to Macrobiotics, and Neal D. Barnard, MD, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine President and VT‘s Ask the Doc columnist, my worries melted away. I looked around at my fellow passengers and realized that I was about to embark on fantastic journey.

Later, over dinner, I leaned over and whispered to my sister, “I can’t believe how amazing it is to be sitting with 1,300 like-minded people who are all after the same thing: a healthy lifestyle.” She quickly responded with, “It’s not that they are like-minded, it’s that they are open-minded.” After taking a minute to digest what my sister had just said (and the amazing vegan, gluten-free plum cobbler with vanilla mint sauce I had just devoured, pictured above), I made a mental note that I would keep that mindset during my week at sea.

I hope you’ll join me on this voyage, as I blog daily from the high seas. Now, if you’ll excuse me, there’s a Luna & Larry’s Coconut Bliss Ice Cream social calling my name on deck 14.

Join veg chef Janah Adickman on board The Holistic Holiday at Sea. Janah will be blogging daily as she tours the Caribbean while enjoying a totally vegan menu and soaking up knowledge and inspiration from a fleet of veg experts.