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Written by Charlotte Stirling-Reed
When travelling with a baby who is already eating solid foods, many parents get a little nervous about eating foods abroad and what you should take with you. Here are some of my tips for offering food to a baby whilst on holiday.
- Call ahead or ask ahead if at all possible – this might mean contacting the hotel before you arrive and finding out what’s on the menu or if they have any provisions for little ones. Also, if you’re staying self-catering, a google search to find out what supermarkets are available can help set your mind at ease. Even contacting the airline and asking what you can or can’t bring on the plane can help.
- Take snacks for travel. Most of the time babies under one don’t really need snacks, but travelling and holidaying always makes things a little different. I find that snacks that are easy to carry, less messy and offer a good dose of energy to your little one are handy. Even better if they take some time and concentration to eat. On our recent holiday we took breadsticks, oatcakes, oatie bars, veggie crisps and banana bread as snacks. You can make homemade options if it’s easy for you or shop bought ones will be helpful if you have less time and they aren’t every day options.
- Take the pressure off yourself – remember that this is just a few days out of a whole lifetime, so try not to get too worried if your baby is having different foods to their norm or eating out of routine or having a little more salt or sugar than normal. It’s not going to have a huge impact in the long run, don’t worry.
- Pack some firm favourites. Babies like familiarity so try and pack some bits that you KNOW they will accept and eat, just in case. Holidays can be great for helping babies to explore new tastes and flavours, but it’s always reassuring to have the odd pouch or packet of something familiar that you know they’ll eat.
- Pack equipment. Bibs, spoons, food containers, wipes, cool bags, thermos flasks and even a portable blender if you have one. All can be really handy, especially if you have a young baby. On the plane I’d even say take spare pairs of clothes for you and baby as you never know what might happen!
- Try to explore foods with your baby – let them see you eating lots of variety and involve them in your mealtimes as much as possible on holiday. Hopefully they’ll join in.
- Try to stick to your normal food/milk routine when you’re there, this might help baby accept more foods on offer as they do like familiarity and what for them is normal. If your baby is eating less on holiday or has gone off food, this can be perfectly normal, but sticking to their normal routine can certainly help.
Some foods that can be helpful to take or to have whilst there:
- Packets of oats – ready oats without added sugar are great too
- Weetabix or your baby’s fav cereal
- Packets of ready cooked plain rice
- Pasta – pesto pasta also a good one for travelling.
- Pouches – if baby has these you might want to top up on a few of their favourites (age dependent)
- Crackers, oatcakes, breadsticks for on the go snacks
- Stock up on fruit e.g. bananas and soft fruits from the breakfast buffet to have as snacks through the day
- Fish – if your little one is used to fish then often this can be a great option for lunch and dinners
- Fruit salads and yoghurt can be a good option for breakfast, snacks or puddings for little ones
- Smoothies
Charlotte is working in association with Stokke and their iconic Tripp Trapp chair (www.stokke.com), the chair that grows with the child. Together, they are running a free webinar giving advice on how to feed your family on Monday 17th July from 8pm – 9pm. To find out more and register, click: How To Feed Your FAMILY Webinar with STOKKE – SR Nutrition
And, you can pre order her new book, How to Feed Your Family now. Out 20th July 2023 and she has lots of helpful downloadable resources for Family Feeding on her website.
Stokke also has an array of products to help you travel with your growing child. The JetKids BedBox by Stokke is a ride-on suitcase that transforms a standard economy seat into a first class seat for children, encouraging them to sleep while in the air – www.stokke.com
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