Traveling with Food Allergies
I’ve been living with food allergies and intolerances for multiple decades and my 9-year old was diagnosed at just 6-months old. You might say I’ve learned a thing or two in my time on how to adequately adapt and set expectations to ensure we can live life to our fullest extent.
Today’s Topic: Travel
One thing I am constantly asked about is traveling. How exactly does one live without a kitchen for multiple days at a time? Camping, hotels, shared kitchens, it can all be overwhelming for one to think about – and that doesn’t take into account any contact allergies from detergents.
I’m here to tell you that it’s completely possible to travel with food allergies. Not only that, but it doesn’t have to be stressful.
So How Do You Do It?
There’s many different types of travel options. AirBNB, camping, hotels, family, etc. In the interest of keeping this somewhat focused, I’m going to share with you about a trip I recently took with my daughter.
We drove down to Iowa for a dance convention and spent two nights at a hotel. Not only that, but because of the energy she was using for her 6+ hours of dancing a day, it was extra important that our food was nourishing and stress free.
Some of the things in this blog may not apply to you, but I’m going to share what we did for our trip in hopes that it gives you some ideas on how to make travel work for you and your family.
Prep Work
It always amazes me that people can just pack a couple things and head out the door for a vacation. In order for me to feel relaxed when being away from the home for a length of time, I need to prepare ahead.
This can look a few different ways. If we don’t have access to a kitchen and we’ll be gone for a significant amount of time, then a month or so before the trip I will seek out the restaurants in the area. This might seem like a long time, but it gives me the opportunity to scour restaurant menus and call in advance to know which in the area I feel comfortable eating at.
I actually prefer to avoid eating out when traveling if possible. The reason? Cross contamination. When someone else is in charge of your food, you always run the risk of consuming your allergens or intolerances.
This weekend was too important to us to take that risk. Instead of spending time calling restaurants, I made sure we’d have what we need to eat at the hotel. My first step was calling the hotel to see what they had available in the room. For this trip, we got lucky and every room had a refrigerator and a microwave. This is a best case scenario because it meant I could bring food with an easy way to store and heat it.
This isn’t always the case. Last year when we went to this convention neither of those appliances was an option. That’s ok. Remember, I can adapt! We travel with a cooler filled with ice to get our food to the hotel and it’s an option to refill the ice with the ice maker at the hotel or grabbing a fresh bag from a local gas station. If you don’t like a cooler full of ice, there are options these days that run off a battery and are basically a portable fridge/freezer.
Obviously these all apply to road trips, but I’m sticking with it for this post since we did drive to our destination.
There’s a work around for a lack of microwave as well. In the past I have traveled with our own toaster, kettle, and a Pizzazz. They’ve all come in quite handy and made making food a breeze.
For this trip, the only appliance I brought was a mini battery-operated blender to make smoothies. Prepping to know all of these things beforehand is incredibly helpful. I knew exactly what I needed to bring.
Gathering Food
The prepwork wasn’t done with the research of the area and hotel offerings. Preparing food before you go is a must for a successful trip.
Here’s what we brought:
Spaghetti (I used lentil pasta for extra protein)
Protein smoothies
Tofu
Tostadas/burritos
These were the main dishes. We had three lunches and two dinners to get through. We’re used to leftovers, so we didn’t mind having the main dish be similar multiple days in a row with varied snacks and veggies.
In addition to our mains, I packed as much as I could for sides and to snack on – remember, 6+ hours of dancing.
Here’s my list of sides:
Hippeas Chickpea Puffs
Canned veggies (don’t forget the can opener!)
Fresh fruit – strawberries, blueberries, grapes, raspberries, bananas, and oranges
Yogurt
Sliced cucumbers
Power balls
Popcorn
Blueberry bars
Raisins
Sunbutter/protein dip
As you can see, I tried to stick to healthy options as much as possible. I’m not the type of person to let our nutrition slack just because we’re out of town. Kiddo and I both have stomachs that hate us when we eat certain foods and it’s just not worth it. Instead, I try to stick as close to our normal meals and snacks as possible.
But That Seems Like a Lot?
Sure, it is a lot of food. But that was kind of the point. I was prepared with enough food to feel secure and comfortable through the weekend. Not once did I have to worry that we were running out of options. We felt well fed the entire weekend and while we did bring some food home, it was all non-perishable items except for the power balls.
We were there with a lot of other families and kids from our dance studio. Many of the other families also brought their own food and they were very careful with my daughter’s allergens which I appreciated, but didn’t ask for.
I guess that’s a little side note for you. When your find a good group of people that respect you, they will often accommodate without asking which was great. There was one meal out that we were invited to and declined. Kiddo was so tired at that point she really didn’t care that we didn’t go. She was happy to eat safe food in our room while watching a movie.
What About Everything Else?
Food and accommodations are only a small part of the equation. With the prep work done and the food planned ahead, there was still a few more things to do when we got to the room.
Hotel rooms aren’t known for being the cleanest. People eat all over the room and it’s important to make sure all surfaces that will be touched are thoroughly wiped down. Soap and water is always the best option, but we use baby wipes on every surface.
When I say every, I mean every! Tops of tables, light switches, the phone, door handles, the toilet handle, counters, appliances, drawers chair handles... anything that may be touched.
This does two things: helps get rid of any potential allergens, but also helps remove traces of harsh chemicals used by the cleaning crew. While it won’t completely get rid of the latter in the room, it should help with the parts our skin come into contact with.
Are you still with me? I know this one getting long, but there’s just two more things I want to mention.
Bedding
Kiddo has a sensitivity to laundry detergents. This has been something she’s delt with since she was an infant in daycare and can cause uncomfortable rashes. What a fast way to ruin a vacation! To combat this, we bring our own pillows and blankets. We bring a couple throws that are big enough to lay over the sheets so her skin doesn’t come into contact with the other fabric.
We also bring our own towels. It seems like a lot but, again, it helps ensure a positive experience.
Soaps
This is the last one, I promise! While the little soaps that hotels provide seem convenient and like one less thing to pack, it’s best to avoid them. In this case, the products were Dove brand which meant I could have found the ingredients. Often times they are an off or hard to find brand and because health and beauty products aren’t required to list ingredients on the label, it can be a crap shoot to find if they contain your allergens.
We always travel with our own soaps, shampoo/conditioner, face wash, lotions… all of it. Kiddo and I even walk around with travel containers of hand soap for when we have to use shared bathrooms.
The End Result
I’m happy to report that our careful precautions worked once again! Kiddo and I were able to successfully enjoy our weekend. Not once did I worry about what she ate or came into contact with. We were just able to have a fun filled weekend full of laughter and memories made.
Are you comfortable traveling with food allergies? I’d love to know if you have any other tips or tricks to share in the comments below!
