Travelling with picky eaters? Discover practical tips for stress free vacations, from packing familiar snacks to handling restaurant meals abroad.
Quick tips for travelling with picky eaters:
- Pack familiar snacks
- Research local restaurant menus in advance
- Try local cuisine before your trip
- Choose child-friendly accommodation with kids options
- Book accommodation with a kitchen/kitchenette
- Focus on keeping meals low stress
- Use a trusted babysitting service for those nights when you want to try somewhere exotic!
An overseas vacation can be an exciting opportunity to try new cuisine, but if your child is going through a picky phase it can end up being a stressful quest to find something they can eat.
What’s the best way to handle travelling with picky eaters?
I remember the scene vividly. Our bags had just gone through the scanner at security and the officer had searched through and extracted a small pot full of peanut butter. We were living in Switzerland at the time and my two year old daughter was very particular about the one German brand she liked. The officer weighed the pot, and found that it was 20g over the 100g limit. He refused to return it and my daughter started to cry.
I stood there not moving, having a fierce mama bear moment. I stood my ground, and the man, looking pained at my daughter’s tantrum, eventually handed the tupperware back. I was relieved that I had it returned to me – as the mother of selective eater, peanut butter was a lifeline, filling and packed with protein, spread on a rice cake or in a sandwich. It was ideal for those times when a restaurant menu didn’t cater for toddlers, or a last minute snack before bed.
As international travellers having lived in Asia and Europe, my husband and I enjoy many different cuisines. As my daughter has grown older I’ve loved seeing her palate expand beyond a few firm favourites. That doesn’t mean travel has always been easy. In fact there have been plenty of moments when I wished we’d packed more snacks, and been more prepared. There’s also other times when I wish I’d been more chilled about what she was eating when we were on holiday.
Here are a few tips I’ve picked up from a decade and a half of travelling.
Plan Meals Before Travelling With Kids
Research the area before travelling with your picky eater, making a note of any restaurants you’d like to try. Check their websites or Google maps for the menus to see if they have food that would appeal to your kids. Not all countries have kids menus, but many will offer simple options for little ones. For example most restaurants in Italy can easily whip up a pasta pomodoro.
Help Picky Eaters Try Foods Before The Vacation
You might want to share the joy of new food with your kids, and help them out of their comfort zone, even if they are a little on the picky side. One thing that can help your picky eater before travelling is to try the cuisine of the country you’re going to before you visit. So head out to that Spanish Tapas bar or Japanese restaurant, and let them try something exotic while still returning to the safety of their own home.
Another tip for helping children be adventurous with food on holiday is to try cooking it at home. A number of studies have found that children are more likely to try new food if they’ve helped prepare it. Once you get to your destination a cooking class is a great opportunity for older children to feel confident trying new food.
Bring Familiar Foods For Fussy Eaters
With young toddlers, you may be more focused on just getting through the day with enough snacks to keep them filled up, rather than persuading them to eat a meal in an a la Carte restaurant. When you are travelling so much is in flux; there are unfamiliar beds, new surroundings, and language. This can lead to more pickiness than normal, as children cling onto food that feels safe as a survival mechanism for being in the great unknown. It’s good to balance new food opportunities with a taste of home.
One option if you are travelling with a picky eater is to rent an Airbnb or a hotel with a kitchenette so you can easily prepare food you know your kids will like. Or packing snacks to balance out what’s available on the restaurant menus.
Use the local supermarket for easy kids’ snacks
In a foreign country just going to the supermarket can be an adventure. This can be an opportunity for kids to pick out what they’d like. While they might beg for candy they might also see a new fruit they’d like to try, or an old familiar favourite. Supermarkets are great for getting stocked up on snacks for when mealtimes aren’t a huge success. Fruit and raw veg are ideal as they’re nutritious, and can be eaten any time, anywhere. Snacking cheeses or yoghurt are filling and can be stored in the hotel fridge. Nuts and crackers are great for when you’re out and about so a sightseeing tour isn’t derailed by a hungry child.
Restaurant tips for travelling with picky eaters
Ordering something your child has never tried before can be a recipe for disaster. One safer option is to choose a bunch of appetisers. They are good for small appetites, and also so everyone can choose what they want without the pressure to eat something they don’t like. If you’re travelling somewhere like Asia, then this can be a great stress free option as all the dishes are shared so people can just pick what they fancy. You could model trying a bit of each other’s food, which can encourage kids to experiment. One time at a Thai restaurant my daughter tried Pad Thai, so she knew for next time that she liked it.
Keep Calm and Carry on Your Vacation
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but many of our parental worries fade into the distance as our children grow. Don’t sweat it if your kid only eats plain pasta or cheerios for the entire vacation. When all else fails just focus on keeping their bellies full. If you keep calm and the pressure off, keep modelling adventurous eating, and before you know it they’ll be trying frog’s legs, or spicy curry.
If you’re desperate to visit a restaurant that has nothing child friendly on the menu, then you could grab a few snacks to bring a few snacks for your little one. Most restaurants will understand. Or you could hire a Tripsitta babysitter, and let them cook up your child’s favourite meal, while you experiment with something a little more exotic.
Written by,
Kate Orson, Tuscany and England-based Tripsitta babysitter
