by Traveling to discover local dishes and snacks is one of the most exciting parts of any journey, especially for foodies. Yet, for some, like our son who has autism and food sensitivity, this can be challenging. He often finds new foods overwhelming—everything tastes stronger to him, sometimes so intense that it’s hard to handle.
Some are saying he is a picky eater, which can be true if you just refer to the definition. However, it has a negative connotation to it. I don’t like that it implies that he just refuses food because he doesn’t want to try or that he has an attitude. Which is not the case for him.
As we set out on our world tour, my biggest concern was whether he’d find enough to eat. I was really afraid he would refuse to eat everything or that his diet would be severely impacted. He eats a variety of items at home but it’s very brand- and type-specific (think only penne pasta with a particular rosé sauce or Colby Jack cheese).
So, how did we manage to travel for a year with our kid and his food sensitivity? It can be challenging, but it is not impossible! Here are a few tips that helped us make this world travel project enjoyable for him as well.
Try variation of favorite food
A good way to start was to consult an occupational therapist. We didn’t do food or feeding therapy per say (though it is a wonderful idea), but she suggested we make a list of all the food he can eat and then offer him different variations.
For example: if he likes penne pasta. Try offering him rigatoni.
If he likes bread. Try different kinds of bread such as baguette, croissant, rolls, buns, other brands of sliced bread, etc.
Try different types and brands of chicken nuggets, of cheese, etc.
We did that, only 1-2 meals a week, to not overwhelm him. The most important thing was to include him also in the process. By hiding it from him, he would have been too defensive. He would not have understood why we tried these new things. Making him part of it was essential for us.
I also showed him videos of how pasta is made. He found it funny to know that a lot of different types of pasta were made with the same dough. It sure can taste different texture wise, but it should be really similar for the taste, if we use the same sauce. Fair enough, he was willing to try and now, he eats penne, spaghetti, rigatoni, macaroni and shell pasta. That’s a huge improvement!
This advice helped our son immensely. I agree that “forcing” him to try new food with a significant difference in texture or taste would be too hard and demoralizing. Combining the food therapist advice and including him in this journey was a winning combination for our family.
Research and planning
Like any project, the first part is to do some research and start planning. It can be a long process, even more so with a year long world tour. So keeping his food sensitivity in mind, we planned the trip based on the slow introduction of different food.
Starting with Europe seemed to be the best plan for us. It would be just enough familiar food-wise yet so different. I knew it would be quite difficult to find the same exact food and brands that he is used to at home. My biggest fear was that he would not be able to eat enough while traveling, affecting his growth as a tall teenager. At least, his diet consists of a lot of fruits, and luckily we would easily find apples or bananas everywhere.
A good way I found to reassure him (and myself!) was to watch some youtube videos of “grocery tours” around the world! I remember pausing videos to look at the items on the shelves and my son being happy to know that he could find his favorite pasta or snacks.
Ultimately, it went smoothly in Europe, because we found a lot of similar food. The anxiety went up a notch when we started our Asian portion of the trip. We knew it would be different. It was a bit more arduous.
Thailand was especially hard food-wise for him, but despite the differences, we always found something he could enjoy. The only time we had to prepare in advance was at Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai. We were staying 2 days over there, so we brought him food since he wouldn’t have eaten what they served. We should have brought our own food too though! Now, knowing we would have intense food poisoning for 3 days after that!!! (but that’s another story!)
For our family, it was harder to visit remote places like a 2-3 hiking in the mountains or in a village far away where we would have to eat in the house of someone. Those experiences were too intense for us. It was finding the balance between making sure our son was able to eat sufficiently and in the meantime, had the chance to explore unfamiliar surroundings.
Ahead of time (when possible), we would look at online menus. In some case, like in Japan, they offer fakefood menus in front of their restaurant or leave a menu by the frontdoor. So it was really helpful to decide if there was a good option for him.
Often, he would just order 2-3 glasses of milk instead and we would cook dinner back at the airbnb or hotel. Multiple times, Mcdonalds served as a rescue plan post-restaurant dinner!
Again, research and planning helped facilitate our travel adventure. Doing this before a big change would ease the transition, calming his anxiety and be prepared for what’s next for him. While not completely removing the element of “surprise” when arriving in a new country, it became a routine for him. It was almost like he was starting a mission of “find my food for the next few weeks!”. He was becoming more curious and even had fun exploring the grocery/convenience stores or some restaurants.
Get Kids Involved in Grocery Shopping
Realistically, being a family of 5 traveling full time for several months, we had no choice but to book apartments or hotels with a kitchenette so we could cook some meals by ourselves. Going to the restaurant 3x a day, for 5 people, it would have exploded our budget in a month!
Grocery shopping became one of our first activities in each city, and we always brought the kids along. It’s also a fun activity to do! We could observe the differences with what we were familiar with, see which sections had more selections (telling us the specialities of the place), what were the seasonal items, what local people were putting in their cart. You can actually learn a lot about the culture of a country just by seeing the items available.
Most importantly, we always brought the kids to grocery stores because they could choose what they wanted based on what was available. So they can make their own choices; see the options. Our son was able to decide which cheese would be the closest to his favorite one. It was “hit or miss”, but he was the one making the decisions. He knew the only options and was more understanding (instead of being angry at us because we took something disgusting).
The very first place we visited was Mainz, Germany, where he surprised us by enthusiastically trying different cheeses at a farmer’s market. The vendor gave a few samples so he could try the cheeses before buying something. He had the funniest description when he told us “it tasted like a nightmare!!!”.
He realized pretty quickly he wouldn’t be able to find his favorite Lays BBQ chips around. After multiple brands and similar types, he always managed to find one that he likes. Interestingly, he discovered his new favorite flavor: Consommé Calbee (in Japan). This taught him that there might be other foods he’s not aware of yet and they might become his favorite as well. So he has to keep trying to find out.
Be prepared: snacks on hands at all time!
Always bring a small backpack with water bottles and a few snacks. Just in case. It’s a small step, but it made a world of difference.
When we figured something he liked, we always tried to keep a bag with those items (whether it’s a snack or fruits). In case we go to a restaurant and he is not able to eat anything. At least, he will be able to have a little something in his stomach to continue until the next meal.
If for different reasons you are unable to bring food with you (activities that outside food isn’t permitted for example), make sure to have a plan for before and/or after the activity.
If you have a car, keep some snacks in there. Maybe find a restaurant, grocery or convenience store near the activity. You don’t want to spend 2 hours searching for a place or something to eat with a “hangry” kid!
Same advice goes for airplanes: Let’s face it—airplane meals can be a hit or miss, even for those without food sensitivities. So, before boarding, we always made sure to buy something for him. Airport convenience stores usually do the trick, but it is quite expensive. If we had enough time, we would grab a small meal before boarding (like Mcdonald or whatever fast food chains available). Although not the healthiest option, he had at least something to satisfy his appetite especially for long 9-10 hours flights.
A little preparation goes a long way. We learned over the years that a little preparation goes a long way, even more so with our special needs kid. It made traveling easier and more enjoyable for everyone.
Impacts and reflexions
Now that we’re home, he’s back to some of his pre-travel routines, but with a broader palate.
The other day at a restaurant, instead of ordering his usual chicken fingers, he surprised us by choosing spaghetti Bolognese. It may seem small to others, but to us, it gave us a smile and sense of accomplishment. We realized for the first time the amazing impact the travel brought to our family (on so many levels). It showed him—and us—that trying new things, even when it’s hard, can lead to unexpected discoveries.
Sometimes, it’s hard to take that step in the unknown because we don’t know the outcomes yet. With this family world tour under our belt, we are now confident that we could explore some countries that were in our “maybe” list.
We really hope you discover the best ways to make traveling with your food-sensitive child a complete success. We hope our experiences inspire and empower you to dive into new adventures—no matter how tough they might seem!