6 Tips for Travel with a Picky Eater
/Something that stresses me out more than it should is my daughter's picky eating. Traveling with a fussy eater can be extremally stressful for both the parents and the child. After traveling overseas and all over the United States with my finicky eater, I have put together a few simple tips to make meal time a little more stress free on your next trip.
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Here are 6 ways we manage meal time while traveling with a picky eater:
1) Bring familiar snacks. We always bring PLENTY of snacks to cover our entire travel day + AT LEAST 1 day; domestic or international. When we travel domestically, we usually purchase the same snacks that we use at home once we arrive. For overseas travel, we pack enough to last us through the long travel day, plus 1-2 days. This gives us plenty of time to find a local grocery store and regroup. I also suggest packing 1-2 familiar meal options, like a box of macncheese to give you more options after a long day of exploring.
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2) Order similar dishes that you have at home. Pasta, chicken nuggets, and fruit are pretty standard across the world. You can find something comparable most places. We've had great success and some failures at this, but when it works, it's awesome.
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Familiar snacks: My kids love those gerber cheddar chips, so I always bring a bag on our flight. once we are AIRBORNE, I whip them out and everyone is happy
She loved meat until she didn't. This is a glorious, pre-vegetarian meal.
In the Subway in NYC with our trusty sippy cup
3) Bring familiar utensils. This probably sounds dramatic and who wants to carry extra stuff in their bags? BUT stay with me. Toddlers love what's familiar. It could be the difference between suffering through the next meal or getting them to EAT! My kids prefer silicone cuttlery & Hakaa makes a convenient travel set.
4) Keep a familiar sippy cup close. When a person is dehydrated, the symptoms can appear as hunger and makes it hard to determine hungry vs thirst. If you're child feels OVERLY hungry, she will be even more aggravated come meal time. Keeping them hydrated may curb the pre-meal melt downs. We LOVE the Yeti kids water bottle. It keeps drinks nice and cool. But if your babe still wants a soft straw, try the Camelbak bottle.
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What in the?! She's actually eating the meat off her pastry.
5) Attempt local snacks. Offering new foods can sometimes mean your toddler loving new foods. I was beside myself when my daughter ate a meat covered pastry in Prague. She's two and a self proclaimed vegetarian, so you can imagine my shock. I was also shocked when she refused some homemade mac-n-cheese in Krakow. I thought for sure she would love it, but it worked out in my favor because it was DELICIOUS. On this day, we were out in a park when she tried it, so another way to get them to try food is to try it in a new environment.
6) Just relax. Kids sense fear. HA! But seriously, they sense stress. Go into each meal with an open mind and have a back up plan if it falls through. We like to keep the fruit/veggie pouches on hand for all the times she decides she hates what's being served. This saves us from an on-the-road melt down and let's us get the most out of our time on vacation!
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And sometimes you just let them go for it. Her face doesn't show it, but she ate most of that mammoth pastry in Budapest.
Charletta eating some fruit & a Peanut Butter and jelly we packed for our day touring keukenhof in lisse, the netherlands
Traveling with a picky eater can be frustrating, but it doesn't have to stop you! We have had a lot of luck finding comparable snacks and drinks our kids are familiar with when we travel; even overseas.
Let us know how you have overcome a picky eater on the road!
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