if you go on vacation and do not get a kitchenette

[lnitti]

What do you do when every meal is eating out? I know some of you have multiple allergens to contend with as we do (dairy, soy, peanuts, tree nuts). And I know we had some discussion on this previously.

Do you totally avoid buffets? Do you order customized things that are not menu items? Like maybe ordering just some pasta with tomato sauce. I've had issues even with chicken because places like to baste it with butter so spices stick.

So many times we go to family functions and only bring our own food and don't eat anything at the restaurant or catered buffet. But if you are going out of town for a few days and don't have a kitchenette where you are staying, you really can't do that.

[scsigrl]

We don't really do vacations for that reason. When we have, we used motels with a kitchenette.

[kjbrown92]

We've done Outback okay, and higher end restaurants. I've also eaten at Whole Foods for lunches while in Vegas, because they label everything. I always tell them at the beginning of the meal exactly what the restrictions are, and make sure they write them down. If you tell them why, then they're more likely to be careful than if you just sound like a picky eater. One time while eating at Red Robin, the waiter came and said sorry it was taking so long, but that the staff was getting new spatulas and stuff for our food so that it would be safe, which was nice. But we tend to get kitchenettes these days for precisely that reason. I wouldn't do a buffet because of risk of cross contamination and not knowing what's in each thing without asking.

[changingseasons]

If we can't get a kitchenette, we cook everything ahead and use the microwave in the hotel room to reheat. Kind of a pita, but we don't have the option of eating out.

[lnitti]

Originally Posted by changingseasons

If we can't get a kitchenette, we cook everything ahead and use the microwave in the hotel room to reheat. Kind of a pita, but we don't have the option of eating out.

Would you also bring a cooler to eat cold foods if you are out for the day and not coming back to your hotel till the end of the day?

[lnitti]

I don't want my family to be so restricted we can't vacation due to 1 person's allergies. IMO that would be very unfair to the rest of the family (especially the kids).

One of the ideas we had was a few days in Niagara Falls (Canadian side). Some of the places have fridges and microwaves. I haven't really seen much of anything with a kitchen except one place that didn't look that great and was a ways away.

[changingseasons]

Originally Posted by lnitti

Would you also bring a cooler to eat cold foods if you are out for the day and not coming back to your hotel till the end of the day?

Yep!

[lmk1]

We traveled (in our SUV) most of the summer last year on a very strict gluten free diet. We very rarely ate out. When you're driving, it's MUCH easier than if you're flying. What we did was have a hot plate for using in motels for making breakfast and dinner sometimes. We also had a Coleman camping stove (propane) that you can set up on any park bench and very quickly cook something. I did miss having baked items, as very few places (even with a kitchenette) have an oven...but otherwise, it was fun. We'd stop places to make lunch and one of us would cook, while the other played with the toddler. We also had a cooler with ice so we could keep raw food in, and just did grocery shopping pretty often. We tried to stay in places with fridges (except when we camped), so we could put the food in the fridge instead of the cooler at night. Every motel has free ice too, so in the morning, we'd refill our cooler with ice.

We ended up going to quite a few farms along the way and buying some meat or we'd look for Whole Foods (or other health food stores).

[rhesp1212]

Since my son is the only one who is restricted right now, I premake all of his foods and take them in a cooler. We make sure we get a hotel that has a refrigerator in the room and microwave if possible. If not, we use the microwave in the hotel lobby where they serve contenintal breakfast. It's a royal pain in the butt, but it's worth it. If we are traveling out of town and will be with family I just make sure I bring everything I need to prepare his meals.

We carry one of those cooler lunch bags around and into any restraunt we go to and he eats his own food while we eat whatever the restraunt has to offer. He's only 23 months though so he doesn't get upset or embarrased or anything like that.

[AllyRae]

We are gluten/dairy/egg/nut free. We also can't really eat out much because our IgA deficient daughter projectile vomits after eating in most restaurants... If it's a short day trip, I freeze meals and then microwave them. Longer trips with no kitchenette, I bring our electric burner (we have a 2 burner electric stove thing...it was like $40)...I can use that to sautee meat, make stir fries, make pasta....basically anything you do with a regular stovetop.

[stephienoodle]

I can't eat out at all except for the occasional item prepared at Whole Foods, though Disney did manage to feed me a boring-but-safe meal when we were there in March. If I'm going out of town, I do whatever I can to at least get a hotel room with a fridge and a microwave is nice, too. If I have no microwave access, I bring everything so that I can eat it cold.

I travel with multiple coolers and have a smaller one that I take any food for a day trip. I have no qualms about bringing my own food into a restaurant so I can safely eat while others in my party eat restaurant food. If they want to give me grief about it, then they can lose business and we'll go elsewhere.

Like one of the above posters said... it is so much easier if you're driving than if you're flying. When we flew to Florida to see family in March, I overnighted some of my food down in a styrofoam cooler with dry ice. I didn't have to worry about it getting lost on the plane and it arrived before I left home so I knew it was there for me. What I didn't ship down, I bought at the local Whole Foods.

[HowtoGlutenFree]

One of my teenage sons is gluten and dairy free, so we usually cook our own meals on holiday. We take his sandwich grill with us so that we know that there is a contamination free way of cooking toast etc for him. He recently took it with him on a school camp which had power on the kitchen tent only!

We're lucky in that there are several heat-in-a-bag instant meals which he can eat, which he has if we have food to go (though you do need access to a microwave for this). Many outlets will make up something for us if we give them enough warning. (eg bring your own buns for hamburgers, own bread or meat for a bought salad etc)

As to eating out, I usually visit the restaurant mid-morning or at the end of the lunch sitting so that I can talk to the chef. Most are really friendly and helpful - I've even spent time in their storerooms checking ingredient lists on packets!
The advantage of going in early is that it can all be pre-arranged which saves the waitress making numerous trips to the kitchen to ask the chef questions. It pays to get them to write it down though, and then you can hand it to the waitress when you order.

I know how tricky it can be. So I hope this helps!

[KimPM]

Originally Posted by lnitti

Would you also bring a cooler to eat cold foods if you are out for the day and not coming back to your hotel till the end of the day?

We get a kitchenette and when going out for the day, we also take food out in a cooler so we can all eat. It just requires a little planning ahead of time, but it works.

[ThatCrazyLady]

Originally Posted by lmk1

I did miss having baked items, as very few places (even with a kitchenette) have an oven.

Cast iron dutch oven in a campfire allows you to have biscuits and cobblers at least (I know lots of others do other things...google).