Vacations with an MSPI ebf baby

JamieSF

Hello! I am new to this board. My 4 month old has MSPI (or dairy and soy allergies, currently unclear). We are going to Hawaii for a week in July for a wedding and I am wondering if you ladies have any eating out tips. Unfortunately, we are staying in a hotel (no kitchen) and I am also a vegetarian (have been for 16 years). I am starting to dread this vacation because I won't be able to eat! We have a bunch of friends going and there are many outings and meals at restaurants planned.

g_belle

If you can find out now what restaurants you're going to- look up their menus/call them for one now so that you're already familiar with what they offer.  I'm assuming that you'll at least be doing breakfast in the hotel so give them a call and see if theya re able to accomade/send you a list of ingredients.  Could you upgrade to a room with a mini-frige so that you can buy some staples to have on hand?

Also- pack some safe/easy to travel snacks in your suitcase so that you have back ups.  Safe granola bars, trail mix, fruit snacks etc. should all travel well.  And I'd assume (never been there) that fresh fruit is easy to get in Hawaii.  If you can get to a grocery store you could get some bananas/berries etc. to keep in your room since they don't need to be cold.

thatsmary

I eat out as a vegetarian EBF of an MSPI baby. Albeit not often and I can't guarantee against cross contamination, but I've never seen any specific reactions after eating out. Anyhow, https://www.goeggless.com/ is a great resource for vegans, but of course you still have to think about things that may have soy. I've asked to see ingredient lists on boxes at chain restaurants, I've asked eggs to be cooked in oil rather than butter, I've called ahead to see what's in the pizza dough. Get creative.

I don't know if you'll have a car or where it is, but I quickly looked that there is a Whole Foods in Honolulu. I often bring stuff with me to "eat out" with others. Honestly when I've been to Hawaii it was hard enough just being vegetarian. You may want to look up some veggie friendly places; they tend to be the most forgiving of "strange" diets.

livinreality

Also make sure you talk to the manager, not just your server.  We found a lot of times that the servers would not be able to tell us what is in the food accurately whereas a manager knows how to look this up. I found that being both dairy and soy free is hard because most places use one or the other on the grills.  I always opted for fresh food and had back up food in the diaper bag.

thatsmary

livinreality:

Also make sure you talk to the manager, not just your server.  We found a lot of times that the servers would not be able to tell us what is in the food accurately whereas a manager knows how to look this up. I found that being both dairy and soy free is hard because most places use one or the other on the grills.  I always opted for fresh food and had back up food in the diaper bag.

And if you can at all the cook directly to ensure that they don't decide too "add" to your steamed veggies.

magdusia

Take me with you! please! i'll cook for you I was in Hawaii for my honeymoon and it was pure heaven.

anyways..  you might loose some weight unfortunately.  I would stick to LOTS of salads and find out if there are any vegan restaurants near your location -you'd be surprised.  Many times vegan places use almond milk or other non soy products. 

do you eat fish? i'm also a vegetarian and for a long time i ate fish (i know.. it's cheating)..  But hawaii has amazing fish and you can just have them grill it in olive oil.  If no fish.. just have them grill eggplant.

I would bring as much with you as possible. Perhaps a portable stove plate? they are small -we did that for our recent trip and i made pasta every night and sometimes took it to the restaurant with me.  

i don't know what you would order other than a baked potato (bring your own butter? and Dayia chreese?), grilled vegetables and salads.  Oatmeal for breakfast (in water) unless you bring your own rice/almond milk. 

have fun!!!

JamieSF

Thanks for all of the tips! I'm not used to ordering "off menu" (to get plain food), but it sounds like you ladies have success with that so I will definitely give it a go! On the plus side, eating this way will help me look good on the beach!