Traveling with Vegetarian Kids

Since our children became vegetarians we have been on a few different types of holidays, from a self catering villa to camping in a tent. Each has brought its own challenges but we are slowly starting to get the hang of it.

I thought I’d share some of what we have learned along the way in the hope that it will help other parents who are traveling with kids who have specific dietary requirements, vegetarian or otherwise.

Research

The most successful holidays have been the ones where we’ve planned ahead and found out what would be available in advance. A camping trip to the Lake District in the UK was a great success as we found a vegetarian cafe to stop at on our way there as well as a fantastic pub near the campsite serving delicious vegetarian food. Luck also played a part as the campsite itself had a shop selling veggie meats, perfect for BBQs, so we didn’t have to travel anywhere else to buy it. We’ll definitely be going back there now that we know it’s so vegetarian friendly.

On the other hand a trip to Lanzarote wasn’t nearly as successful. We had no idea that fish and meat formed the bulk of pretty much every restaurant meal there, with pizza being just about the only other option. Pizzas sold in the nearby shops weren’t using vegetarian cheese, so we couldn’t be sure that the restaurants were and the language and culture barriers made it difficult to find out. If we’d found this out in advance we could have packed some vegetarian staples to take along and use in the villa, but as it was we spent a pretty unhealthy two weeks there.

Keep snacks handy

This is good advice for any parent, but with vegetarian kids or children with special dietary needs it becomes even more useful. Keeping a stash of healthy snacks in your handbag or car means that you don’t have to worry if you can’t find something suitable for them to eat while travelling.

Dried or fresh fruit, nuts and even healthy snack bars can fill a few gaps and avoid miserable children and worried or irritated parents.

Chill out

Sometimes things won’t work out no matter how well prepared you are. These are the times where you’ve got to just relax and go with the flow. Neither you nor your kids are going to suffer irreparably if you end up having a few unhealthy meals. I find that if I start fretting and making a big deal about it then my children do the same and become more difficult. At the end of the day it’s a holiday and it’s meant to be enjoyed, not endured, so try and make the best of it no matter what is thrown at you.