Eating out can usually be an anxious experience when you are dealing with food allergies! I mentioned in my last post that we ate out a lot last week–and I actually think we did it safely because we weren’t sick when we got home! Here are some tips for staying safe while traveling!
- If you are visiting family, don’t feel awkward about bringing your own food. It’s what you need to stay safe and healthy–usually they understand and are relieved that they don’t have to worry about it!
2. Make sure you inform your waitress. A surprisingly large amount of restaurants have gluten-free menus available now and if you ask while you are being seated they are happy to provide.
3. Don’t be afraid to play the blond card–sometimes I act ditzy and say–I can’t remember if I already said this, but I am gluten-free and dairy free. Repeating it makes an impression on your waitress in case she is having a bad day or whatever and gives you extra peace of mind that you did mention it. (Sometimes I am so focused on ordering gluten-free for my daughter that I forget to mention my allergies, so mentioning it twice helps me too!)
So here are the places that we ate last week that were really nice. First breakfast out was Bob Evans. I was a little nervous eating there because I just haven’t, but breakfast is usually easy and they were super nice! They even had decent kids gluten-free menu choices! Our food took longer to cook, but that was fine–I knew they had to cook it separately and it taking longer confirmed they were doing what they said they would.
Our next meal was the Rainforest Cafe in Disney Springs. I have always heard that Disney goes out of their way for food allergies and even though Rainforest Cafe isn’t owned by Disney they truly didn’t disappoint. I made a reservation through the Disney App (which I totally recommend–those restaurants can get crazy with lines!) and it had a place to put in my food allergies even in the reservation. Our waiter was kind and they even sent the chef out to talk to us about our menu choices and make sure they could make them for us. My daughter was beyond thrilled that she could get a bun with her cheeseburger. Everything took awhile again, but I was again reassured that they were going the extra mile to keep us safe. It was a delicious meal and the several thunderstorms that we had happen while we were there were amusing.
No visit to Disney Springs is complete (at least for us) without a visit to Erin McKenna’s bakery. A completely gluten-free, diary-free bakery that is now offering dairy free soft serve ice cream! All allergy people and parents will understand the thrill it is to go into a place where you don’t have to say no to anything your child wants! We got some donuts for breakfasts and of course some ice cream to eat on the way to the car!
The rest of the week was mac and cheeze from a box, some Canadian bacon, eggs, leftover hamburger buns, and veggies as we could squeeze them in. We also ate at a food court in the mall on the way home.
As always, accidents can happen so I brought my usual kit of “Oops, I got glutened” with me just in case. This consists of charcoal (helps with tummy aches!), peppermint tea, and usually a hot water bottle. This has got to be the first time I didn’t need to use it though!
What about you–what do you do to make sure you stay safe with food allergies on vacation?