We’ve just returned from three weeks of adventure on a Biodiversity Expedition in Indonesia. Here in Greg’s latest video release, a peek at our adventure.  Watch as we dive alongside manta rays, sea turtles, and yes, even sea snakes!.
Along the way we enjoyed lots of great whole food vegan eats, too. I snapped several pictures so that I could show you how we were able to eat whole foods vegan on our journey. You’ll see some of our meals below below – following the expedition action videos – complete with descriptions.
This ambitious adventure aboard the Mermaid I journeyed us nearly 1,000 nautical miles from West Papua New Guinea to Bali, crossing the Banda Sea and sailing by volcanoes, isolated villages, and too many islands to count.
Together with a dozen other passengers and just as many crew including cooks and the Captain, we enjoyed nearly 50 scuba diving explorations, counting rare species and surveying the underwater landscapes. Along the way we noted changes for the worse in some places, thriving reef in others.
Sonja, a professional videographer on board, just posted her five minute film of extraordinary sightings during our journey. She’s got the big fancy lenses and the colors and light she can capture are astonishing! Here it is ifyou’d like to take a look.
What Did We Eat?
Most of the time we were off the grid – which is why it has been a bit since you’ve heard from me.
Not much bandwidth on the Banda Sea.
I was able to sneak online on occasion to post an errant snapshot, though not much.  Yet just enough to prompt the question, “What are you eating?”
It doesn’t take much to prompt me to whip out my phone camera to snap some food pics. Â I did just that so I could report back to you.
Vegetables!  Never a shortage of these on the boat.  Even two weeks in, each lunch and dinner there was plenty of salad. This was always served plain so that you could dress with vinegar, lime, or other dressing as desired.
Veggies served steamed, too – such as these greens and mung sprouts.
At least once each day, generous amounts of tofu and tempeh were served with us in mind. Tempeh originated in Indonesia, and to be honest I have never had tempeh as good any where else as in Indonesia.
AÂ colorful lunch (top left) of:
tempeh green papaya salad with cashews (center of plate)
green beans
spicey noodles and
ripe papaya.
Bottom left:
Mixed salad
corncakes with sweet chili sauce
steamed greens
tempeh and tofu
Below – a closer look at those corn cakes!
Barbecue night! Â For the vegans on board, grilled pumpkin and eggplant, corn on the cob, green beans, and salad.
And of course…fruit!
Huge platters – watermelon, papaya, pineapple, green and yellow melons,dragonfruit – at each meal on the boat.
Above: Â dim sum, noodle soup with dried onion scoops and greens, salad, and avocado sandwiches
Breakfast in Bali!  Our journey home brought a night in Bali, and this was breakfast the next morning before we boarded our flight:  baked beans, garlic bok choy, and papaya with golden, red, and orange melons.
The Spice Islands Close-up
As you can see in the first video above, at one point in the journey we were sailing amid the Spice Islands. That means the home of nutmeg and mace. We were able to wander through a nutmeg plantation where cinnamon was growing as well.  Though you’ve already seen this this briefly in the first video above, but I wanted to show you a couple more pictures.
I had no idea that the spice mace came from the nutmeg plant.Here’s a still photo of the nutmeg with mace (left below) and a close up of same. Mace is a spice made from the waxy red covering that surrounds nutmeg seeds. The flavor is similar to that of nutmeg, with a hint of pepper and a more subtle.
Below, the stash of nutmeg, mace and cinnamon I brought back to give as gifts to family and friends. Â The nutmeg is still in shells, to keep it fresher.
Wish I could make the picture scratch and sniff! And I wish I could get you these kinds of prices – the entire pile you see before you cost me a total of 136,000 rupiah. That’s about ten bucks. Â Heavens!
The Challenges
The privilege of making this journey gives me no room to complain.  But I have to be honest with you.  As easy as it was to eat vegan on this trip, as the crew was so kind and eager to please, we were surrounded by people who had no such persuasion.  Greg and I were the only passengers among fifteen who asked for meals without animal products. The only other vegetarian on board was our divemaster (you meet him in the top video. I had brought along a copy of The Plant-Based Journey to share and leave for our divemaster from last year who was also vegetarian, eager to get better at it, and thrilled to get his hands on a copy of my book.
It is baffling to me how people can sit down to meals rich in animal products three times a day. Do these people know absolutely nothing about healthy diet, animal welfare, or the environmental impact of what we eat?
For example, every single morning one of the people who shared our table constructed a mountainous dietary disaster of one piece of white toast, spread with butter, topped with a two egg omelet, then a layer of baked beans (the only saving grace), sausages, and topped with bacon. Â Who does that?
We have a lot of work to do. Being vegan is a conscious, responsible, ethical decision to make every reasonable effort to live and enjoy life without harming, enslaving, exploiting, depleting, and contaminating. Yet blaming people for their behavior and pointing it out to them –  from a psychological standpoint is – fruitless and will not lead to anybody changing their mind.  My method has always been grounded in modeling the change I wish to see and being kind in the process.  But it can get tough, especially when it is in my face day after day, meal after meal.  Greg and I are continuing to process the difficulties of that since returning home.
We are fortunate and happy that we were able to eat so well as vegans on this expedition, leave a copy of The Plant-Based Journey behind in excited hands, and hopefully plant a few seeds of awareness in the wake of the Mermaid I. Â You never know.
The food looks amazing! Not to mention the videos. I always enjoy the way you share your travels, like bringing us along. And I am always interested to see how you eat on these trips.
Your ‘challenges’ are probably what many people such as myself face every day. Your ‘breakfast’ example of a person at your table could just possibly be my co-worker.
Thanks so much for this article! Your underwater adventure is unbelievable! Tell Greg he did a great job.
Shelly
Shelly, thanks for being so quick to respond, I appreciate it! And I’ll pass your compliments on to Greg – HE will appreciate that!
And you’re right, many people have this experience – eating with others who have such a different take on their plates – every day. As it started to wear on me during the trip, and I’d complain to Greg, he’d say “welcome to the real world”. Hard reality check.
So it’s been good to be back in touch with the growing, thriving plant-based vegan world I know and love. We have a lot of work to do – and we’re getting there!
Thanks again Shelly,
Lani
Hi Lani, we met in Davis, CA a few weeks ago…really love your book and message. Thank you so much for sharing your exciting trip with us – looks wonderful!! My husband and I just returned from a photo safari on the Sonoma Coast…I was the only vegan..even vegetarian. All was fine until the last two nights – we were in the Fort Ross area with no restaurants close by so our leader arranged for dinners at the hotel. The ‘cook’ did a fine job making me vegan beans the first night and pasta with marinara sauce the second night – still just fine. But it was a BIG deal for everyone that I ate vegan and the ‘cook’ was very stressed about it. My eating habits were called ‘peculiar’ by most. We stopped at two small restaurants/delis on our way home down the coast, and I was shocked that no one had a vegan dessert…gluten free is the really ‘in’ thing but vegan…on our CA coast is just not yet!! I was very surprised and disappointed! While I didn’t need a vegan dessert at all…it was more the fact that I couldn’t find one!
Hi Sheryl!
Thanks so much for sharing your experiences here and I’m glad to see we met in Davis! Was that at the Interfaith Meatless Monday environmental group? That was such a fun presentation and everyone was so gracious and brought so much great food! Fond memory.
Now, as to your photo safari. Grand idea! But so hard to discover you had trouble with good vegan food in northern California of all places! Heavens. Why such a big deal I wonder? And the gluten-thing is a killer, isn’t it? Not that this isn’t a helpful element to many and necessary to some, but its=’s grown way out of proportion in importance with the rest of it, I agree with the tone of your comment. Gads!
I admire and honor you taking a stand on your eats. Be confident that by pioneering your choice you have made it a little easier for someone after you!
Thanks so much!
Lani
Thank you for sharing your journey with us – the videos were wonderful. There is such beauty there in the water if people aren’t busy destroying it. The food looked so delicious – can’t imagine someone choosing white bread and bacon over that. Thank you again for sharing your adventures with us.
Lyn,
Hi, and thank you so much for leaving a message! You are right, there is so much going on under the waves that most people don’t get a chance to experience, and I appreciate that you like the videos.
And both Greg and I love your comment – “can’t imagine someone choosing white bread and bacon over that.” Never thought of it in just that way and what a refreshing and fun comment. You are so right! This same person consistently did NOT eat the fruits or any of the vegetables, though once I saw a shred of something green in a noodle dish and once a wee bit of salad. Now, it sounds like I was spying on everyone else’s plate, but it was easy to see what everyone was eating at our table each meal as they are inches away. And I always marvel at how people can eat like that meal after meal – meat meat eggs fish meat, barely a spot of color from plants – are people really that clueless and about health (apparently) and lack knowledge (or interest) about all the other implications of what we eat?) Sigh. Lots of work to do, I do my best to keep it positive and just live the change I want to see in the world!
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts!
Lani
I have been plant based for about 4 years and am trying to decide if I should purchase your present book called the Plant Based Journey or wait for your new book. During my journey, a year and a half ago, I had a heart blockage and needed a bypass operation. About 15 years ago, I had breast cancer. So all is not perfect in my life, but I keep pressing on. I am 75 years of age.
Hi Nancy,
Congratulations on your 4 years and so sorry about your health challenges. It sounds like you have been very proactive for your health and 15 years is a stellar stamp on your dance card!
Let me know if I can answer any questions about The Plant-Based Journey. The new book is due for release fall 2017, so a bit in the future – and it will be a very different book, focusing on the mindfulness aspect of living with more ease and well-being eating this way. Journey is fundamental and will be referenced as a go-to place for so much about plant-based eating in all kinds of situations. For this reason I encourage you to snap up a copy of Journey. Keep me posted!
Thanks so much for sharing,
Lani
Thanks Lani for your kind response. I will order your Journey book. I have been reading a library copy. I love your template recipes. They are worth the price of admission!
Your book on Mindfulness will surely be welcome. I think that is one area where I was weak. After my bypass operation, I went to heart rehab for 12 weeks. They emphasized diet, exercise and mindfulness. They never quite got to the plant based idea and seemed to be sure that a little fat was a healthy thing to have. I was eating no meat or cheese or eggs and no oil, but I still had an artery closed 95% so that was discouraging.
I have been reading the book Full Catastrophe Living Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain and Illness by Jon Kabat-Zinn and also his book called Wherever You Go, There You Are. They are wonderful books about Mindfulness. I always feel comforted reading them and I am sure your book will be wonderful too.
The whole subject of fats is confusing. I know we shouldn’t have much but I wonder if having none is a good idea either. I do eat nuts and seeds.
All the best, Nancy
Nancy, I am so happy to get your detailed response! The titles by Jon are excellent and I am so glad you are reading them. My book will address utilizing mindfulness and mindfulness practice to specifically leverage for living with more joy and ease with our plant food choice – which is already a mindful choice to start with. Yet many people still struggle with latent issues around food, even when they know what do with their their plates as I structure it in The Plant-Based Journey.
I am glad you are already reading Journey and have ordered! Tell me the minute your copy arrives. And I was JUST being interviewed by skype (will be online soon, I’ll announce in newsletter) and the topic of the templates came up! They have been more popular than I ever imagined!
95% blockage without animals, dairy, eggs, oil? Maybe our previous practices can take longer to shift things than we imagine? I understand the confusion about the fats, I think the only “no” advice I’ve seen is with Dr. Esselstyn and some cases of heart disease. Some weight loss advocates say so too. I enjoy small amounts of nuts or seeds every day too.
I am very interested and pleased to see that the recommend for mindfulness came up as part of your treatment. Yet not the plant food! Heavens!
hugs,
Lani
Hi Lani,
That was a most beautiful sight. God’s amazing creation. It is now on my bucket list.
the food as always is delectable. i can almost taste it.
Thanks so much for sharing your travels and experiences. I get to discover beautiful places I would never have thought of going before.
Bless you for this gift and adventure.
Monica,
So glad you enjoy the videos, I keep watching them myself – so relaxing and refreshing! The food was a delight as well. It means a lot to me that you stopped in to comment about this article, it’s great to know you like the sharing of the travel experiences. I so appreciate!
Lani
So beautiful and amazing!! I am also a scuba diver and it looks marvelous 🙂 I love how you described that you CAN eat plant-based while traveling abroad!
Bernadette, really? You’re a diver? Then we have another special connection! I am glad that you found my tales of eating on the road helpful and it means a lot to me that you took the time to tell me so.
Thanks!
Lani
Incredible this is a helpful site.