Dish It Up: Health-Conscious Cruise Cuisine

Forget the Christmas cookies you gobbled with abandon. It’s so last month. Actually, it’s so last year. We begin 2019 in gratitude, for we can now dine more healthfully — and deliciously — while cruising more than ever before. Organic, low-calorie, vegetarian, vegan — you name it. We’ve got the goods on how cruise ships and riverboats make health-driven meals fun and yum.

O is for Organic

Celebrity Cruises’ Spa Café lures cruisers at breakfast with a bevy of fresh-baked organic breads, like wild honey and ginger, and zucchini with fresh thyme. Come midday, a gorgeous organic poached fruit bar awaits.

Seeking a better choice in beef? Look no further than Silversea Cruises. At Atlantide, a bar and grill aboard the Silver Muse, steaks from an organic Argentine ranch delight carnivores craving tender, juicy beef that’s a more heart-healthy, grass-fed variety.

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Farm-to-Boat

Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection’s menus star local ingredients procured from farmers markets and artisanal producers. Each ship’s dishes reflect the route that you sail. Plus, only certified sustainable seafood is served aboard.

Closer to home, a shout-out to American Queen Steamboat Company for long showcasing regional cuisine is well deserved. Think local fare like snapper Creole when ambling along Southern rivers — and primo fish and shellfish, such as halibut and oysters, on Pacific Northwest journeys.

Vegging Out

Crystal Cruises’ ocean liners and riverboats devote serious menu space to sophisticated vegetarian and vegan fare at Waterside restaurant each evening. CroisiEurope Cruises, like many lines, prefers a heads-up from guests before a sail. That said, should you forget to do so, no worries; chefs do their best to create veggie bliss.

It’s never ho-hum for vegans sailing Oceania Cruises; this line rotates more than 250 vegan dishes on the Grand Dining Room menu. And hipster-y U by Uniworld showcases plenty of plant-based dishes, including a mean quinoa burger.

Avalon Waterways touts an Avalon Fresh menu in ….

By Janice Wald Henderson

^{Photo: American Queen Steamboat Company}