Travel Meal Hacks: Allergy-Friendly Groceries to Save Your Trip

Between trying to get a family ready in one hotel room and trying to save money, ordering groceries can be a lifesaver on your trip! With the mini refrigerators in your room or free ice available, you can get quite a bit of food for you and your family, which will allow your family to eat while others are getting ready in the morning. For allergy families, it's extra nice because you can order food you know is safe that you eat at home! I use Shipt, which allows you to request a text if they have to substitute your choice. As food allergy families know, this is a great benefit because the same product can have different ingredients or cross-contamination warnings on the labels.

I have a set list I order from every time I go. It can vary from trip to trip but for the most part, I order the same thing every time. The items I order are:

• Bottled water

• Gluten-free oatmeal for breakfast

• Eggs

• Dairy-free cheese

• Veggie Chips

• Safe granola bars

• Protein bars in case you can’t find a safe meal right away

• Fruit-bananas, grapes, strawberries

• Baggies

• Diced ham

• Deli meat, cheese, and bread for my family

Now that you have the groceries, you may find out that the problem with a hotel is you can't really cook in it, so how do you eat a filling meal? At Disney or Universal, you can have a chef make some food for you but at other resorts with no chefs, an omelet in a coffee cup is a great way to start your day. If you have access to a microwave and a coffee cup, omelets are a great alternative. Put one to two eggs, some cheese, and some sort of protein in the cup. Use a fork to mix and microwave for a minute or two until cooked! If it’s a smaller cup, only use one egg. If omelets aren’t your thing, try ordering some oatmeal in an individual cup. You can use the hot water for the oatmeal at the continental breakfast or follow the directions for the microwave on the side of the cup.

When I went to Disneyland, I made some chicken salad in my room and it was nice to have that option when I was hungry and wanted something to eat without waiting. To make it, you have a couple of options to use for the chicken. Trader Joe's has Just Chicken which is cooked chicken with only salt and pepper as the additional ingredients. You can also use shredded chicken from the grocery store. With my grocery order, I also ordered some safe crackers and bib lettuce to make a wrap. It was a nice treat to have and when I put it in a Ziploc bag, it didn't take up much room in the fridge at all!

Plan ahead and enjoy your trip with the convenience and peace of mind that comes with having your favorite foods on hand. Happy travels!

Kelly

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