<p>Can anybody tell me if they make any accommodations for vegetarians at West Point? My religion prohibits me from eating meat, and I don't want to unless it's absolutely necessary.</p>
<p>They have vegetarian MREs and although they dont always have a vegetarian option for mess hall meals they always have some type of way to get protein and calories without eating meat (lima beans, cottage cheese, peanut butter etc). But no they don't offer a vegetarian menu throughout the year, you have to do a little work, although i know several vegetarians here who get by just fine.</p>
<p>Alright, that's a relief! What about Beast, will a vegetarian diet be a problem there?</p>
<p>I would say that you can probably get by without eating meat during Beast, although muscle gains will have to be fueled by some other protein source (beans, peanut butter, etc.). The biggest concerns during beast nutrition-wise are hydration and how many calories you intake. Usually, training days that require a heavy amount of calories are preceded by vegetarian-type meals that are extremely high in calories. For instance, before your APFT's, you will eat some kind of pasta the night before, be it lasagna or spaghetti, etc. And they have lots of peanut butter; that's a WP favorite!</p>
<p>Can you bring your own protein supplements (i.e. protein bars, powders, etc.)?</p>
<p>That's a no-go, rkankaria...during Beast, you can only have what food is provided in the mess hall (with the exception of food during Chaplains' time, which can't be brought back to the barracks). There are energy bars that the mess hall provides called Soldier Fuel, aka Hooah Bars, which usually come in chocolate or PB flavor and are actually not too bad. This, and fruit, are the only things I can recall that new cadets can take from the mess hall back to their rooms. After Beast is over, however, you are free to have protein supplements (so long as they don't contain ingredients that have been banned by USMA; you don't have to worry about these though, b/c many on the list are either illegal substances or highly questionable to possess/use).</p>