As part of my personal evolution as a travel blogger, this is an early post from Upgrd.com where I joined Matthew and other talented writers (including my husband) which would then merge with Travel Codex, another Boarding Area blog. Finally, we found our home here at Live and Let’s Fly with Matthew. As this is an early post, references have not been updated and may no longer remain accurate. Please enjoy this time capsule blog post.
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Picky Eaters Worry Parents
“What will my baby eat abroad?”
“What food can I take when I fly with a baby?”
“What about local foods? I’m afraid that baby could get sick.”
What Food Should You Take?
There are certain food items that you should take with you on a trip, but don’t bother packing the kitchen sink. Here are some items that should make the list. You don’t need to pack baby food for every meal of the trip.
- Milk/Formula
Remember that you can take milk/formula with you when you fly. Let the TSA know that you are traveling with frozen milk in your carry-on and they then screen the milk (and any other baby liquids you may have) by placing it on the scanner or swabbing the package and you are on your way. I once took a small cooler full (15-20 bags) of frozen milk for Lucy on our trip to Curaçao along with packing my awesome pump. (Medela Electric Breastpump – Pump In Style Advanced Backpack Set w/ Free Accessories
- Baby Food
I enjoyed making baby food from scratch and it was still easy to do while traveling! I would plan the time that I was going to make purees, and then I would pack them into these easy on-the-go veggie “pouches.” When it came time to travel I brought my frozen pouches in a travel cooler (that came with my Medela Pump) and a few pouches that were thawed for the flight. Check out these on the go pouches.
(I also found these – Pack of 8 Reusable Baby Food Pouches. Extra Wide Opening for Easy Filling & Special Dual Zipper Prevents All Leaks. BPA and PVC Free & Comes With 120 Dis-solvable Labels for Marking Content.
If making your own baby food isn’t for you don’t fret! There are so many great travel pouch options, here are just a few that we have found to be tasty and easy to pack; Plum Organics, NurturMe and Happy Family Brand. Those brands offer a wide variety of certified USDA organic baby food of the highest quality.
Those organic pouches go beyond jars of mashed sweet potato, with great options for fruits and veggies without added sugars.
- Plane snacks
Having snacks on hand is key, but keeping the perspective is important. It’s not about quantity, it’s about quality. You want food that has nutritional value and no mess! There is no need to really over-do carry-on snack food unless your child has special dietary restrictions.
I like to have a small bit of fruit (grapes, apple slices), raisins, applesauce pouches, granola/cereal bar, fruit leathers, etc. but try to keep solid foods if possible.
When we are flying on these long haul flights I will pick my meals wisely. Meals that have veggies, rice, chicken, or other easy to eat items are easy to share with my child.
*Side note: I also took at least one sippy cup, or bottle with me during those appropriate months. It may be a good idea if your child is partial to a particular item like these to bring that along too!
What You Do Not Need
Your kitchen pantry. There are lists of things we can go through that you could bring, and that you should not bring but just remember that where you are going there are other children who eat and drink too! There will be places to pick up fresh fruit and vegetables, protein, and grains. In Thailand we found some of the most beautiful and tasty fruits and Lucy loved trying the new flavors. She loves eating steamed rice and fried egg. I knew she was getting sufficient amounts of nutrition in every meal we had and truth be told the food was so fresh and local she was probably eating better there than say a weekend away in New York City.
Another thing I noticed specifically while we were traveling in Asia was that at most restaurants and hotels, once we were seated the staff would bring over “child size” cutlery, plate, bowl and cup. This was a novel and adorable thing for us even though Lucy was still a bit too small for such items. She did enjoy playing with all of it though.
What Should You Avoid?
While we absolutely love street food, we use major caution with feeding Lucy from street vendors while we travel. This is just something we decided might be the best for her while she is small. We still ate amazing local dishes in Thailand, Costa Rica, Mexico City and so forth.
Another thing to keep in consideration is sea food, shellfish, peanuts and the other obvious foods that may cause allergic reactions. We tried a few of these while at home and found that Lucy did just fine with most foods so we were okay with letting her have some of our seafood fried rice or grilled Salmon (also choosing seafood with lower mercury levels is safest).
Introducing New Foods
As I stated previously, we did introduce a few new foods to Lucy at home to make sure she would not have an adverse reaction while we were traveling. For example when she first had eggs, shrimp, fish, and peanut butter was all while we were at home. It is always a good idea to try these while you are home and can watch for any signs of allergic reaction or illness.
When we introduce new foods to her while we are traveling we just add a little bit at a time and see how she reacts to the taste and if her body has any reaction afterwards. I feel very lucky to say that we have a baby who loves to eat and loves trying new food! We even let her try some things that might be spicier or sour, sometimes she will shudder and pull a face, but then she usually asks for more!
Play it safe, or stick to what you feel most comfortable with trying. You will know what you and your child are ready for.
We have always aimed for Lucy to eat what we eat, not only making our travels easier, but it just makes everything easier. It is important to us that she is not afraid to try new things or becomes a finnicky eater. Hopefully this is something she will stick with and not outgrow.
What foods do you like to try with your child while traveling? Are there foods that you discovered while traveling and found to be surprisingly tasty?
-XO Carly
What success have you found when feeding your baby away from home? What has been a problem for your child when eating abroad?
**Another Baby Maybe is always sharing fun tips, photos and more on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. We’d love to see you there!**
We also practiced the “we all eat the same thing” style of feeding our son, within reason of course. It does make your life much easier. I tended to error on the side of caution as it relates to street food as well. Our son did get sick in Mexico (so did my husband) when he was 4yo but I was prepared with meds from our doctor. I dosed him immediately and it was a manageable situation.
When flying, I would pack a small cooler with enough food for our son for 24 hours. Basics like sliced fruit, cheeses, crackers, etc. so if worst came to worst, he was covered. We once spent the night in an airport with no access to food or drink aside from water and being able to feed him made the difference between a hellish situation and a tolerable one.
Our son could not get enough conch in the T&C Islands when he was 3 yo. He also loved johnny cakes and lobster in the VIs. He had his first Ting in the VIs as well. My husband gave him his first raw oyster during a trip to the Eastern Shore of MD.
I remember eating at a roadside stand when he was 4 months old. The West Indian woman hacking BBQ ribs with a cleaver insisted that he would want to gum a rib bone, a rib bone with an extremely sharp edge. She could not understand why I thought that was a bad idea. We agreed to disagree.
I would suggest some level of caution with fresh fruits, especially in India or SE Asia (hard to say with a straight face considering how I used to stuff myself silly with mangoes in season). The issue is that fruits may have been recently washed with tap water, which can make even a healthy adult ill. That problem is easy enough to avoid; just peel whatever you eat, and carry a small towel with you to thoroughly dry anything you pick up off a cart or open-air market. You can also buy from supermarkets, which will be a little more expensive – which in India meant the difference between paying 20 cents and 30 cents a pound for mangoes – but are usually safer.
Also, a question I used to get a lot from other potential expats when I lived in India – if you’re squeamish about your child eating local food, yes, it’s easy to obtain the same processed foods and juices that you do in the U.S. from the supermarket. It’s not like it was in 1987, when you couldn’t even get a jar of Heinz baby food or a box of Tropicana orange juice. You won’t have any issues finding those items today in medium-to-large cities.
@Heather – Traveling with meds from the doc is a great idea! I like the idea of being able to treat the symptoms as soon as possible! Good tips on the cooler snacks too, we have been fortunate to not have run into a situation like that yet! It sounds like you have a brave eater. I hope that by us enforcing the “She eats what we eat” mentality that Lucy will be a brave eater too! I think I would have used the same caution with the bone rib too! 🙂 Thanks for reading the blog!
@Meanmeosh – Good point on the fresh fruit, bringing a towel along is a great idea! I definitely think the ten cent difference is worth the peace of mind! 🙂
Most of the fruits we ate in SE Asia were peel at eat fruits. We also did not eat fruits off of the street with Lucy but rather in clean establishments, hotel restaurants and from grocery stores where we could use bottled water and a towel to clean the fruits.
We will definitely use that same caution on our first trip to India this fall!
Thanks for reading!
This article was very helpful to new moms. I like that you included tips of what to have and what not to have. Introducing new foods is really hard and I think I’ll hold off from that idea. I am hoping that you can share recipes for baby food soon.