My family recently took a vacation to Georgia where we stayed in Atlanta and Saint Simons Island with our 2.5 year old. We visited friends, explored the areas, rented bikes, spent a lot of time on the beach, and had many delicious meals. We had a great time albeit, I will admit, it wasn’t always easy...or fun...but I’m here to tell you, it is 100% possible to travel with your toddler!
Once you have decided that yes, you can do this, and it will be fun...it will!...there’s A LOT to plan out. From finding flight times that work with sleep schedules, creating the perfect yet overly long packing list because, hey, the weather can change at any second, and, if your child is still in diapers (it me!), deciding whether or not you’ll pack or buy them at your destination. The list goes on and on and of course includes what food to bring while you travel. That’s why I’m here to help you with this step so that you can spend all of your free time planning out the other things and hopefully, yes, enjoy the time you’re spending away with your family.
For our recent trip, we took a 3 hour flight from NYC to Atlanta and then a similar flight back from Jacksonville, Florida. We also rented a car for the entire trip so that we could easily, and comfortably, make the 5 hour drive to the island from Atlanta. Even though the flight durations were relatively short, I knew that I had to have plenty of snacks and food options ready on hand. As any parent knows, you never know what your child will eat in new or different environments! Usually I don’t recommend offering lots of different choices for meals (hell no to becoming a short order line cook for our kiddos!) but in times like these, I make exceptions. On top of deciding what to bring, I had to consider the fact that our flight down to Atlanta was during my son’s typical lunch time so I wanted to have something substantial that represented an actual meal. To be honest, I was really worried that he wouldn’t eat on the flight, especially since this was the first time he was getting his own seat on a plane (goodbye free flights after 2 years old!) and he might be overly excited...or upset...who knows what emotional rollercoaster is in store for toddlerville. Luckily though, he proved me wrong.
For the Flight
So...what to purchase beforehand so that I was fully prepared? According to the TSA, gel ice packs are allowed on flights though there are some special instructions if you’re going to bring them. I also learned about these (and these) pretty convenient reusable lunch bags with built-in ice packs but didn’t have one in time for our flight. Either way, we were packed to the gills between all of our luggage, carry ons, stroller, and car seat so I decided to only pack options that didn’t need to be refrigerated just to avoid the extra weight. That also meant no thermos or any heavy bottles of the sort. If you have the bandwidth, or arm strength, to take either option (thermos or cold bag), that will definitely open up more choices. Side note - I did fill one of my son’s water bottles for him to drink on the way to the airport but luckily remembered to dump it out before we went through security. The nice thing was that I then refilled it once we were through and was happy to see that there were water bottle stations near the bathrooms at LaGuardia. Yay for airports getting on board with the green initiative (as well as the amazing pumping stations I saw). Look for those fountains before you purchase water if you have a reusable bottle on hand.
Things I considered when choosing the food options I’d bring for the flight:
What favorite lunch options and snacks will make the least mess? (This unfortunately ruled out hummus and yogurt)
What lunch will fill him up but not need to be heated? (This ruled out pasta, quesadillas, and beans)
What nutrient dense options are the most convenient to pack?
How many different choices should I bring?
I am very fortunate that my son doesn’t have any food allergies which opens up the list of things I can choose from. I decided to bring plenty of options in the event that he was either really hungry or very picky, with the likelihood of the latter. I knew whatever I had left over we’d use throughout the trip and that was exactly what happened. We picked up our snacks at Trader Joe’s, my favorite store for toddler snacks, and put them in our carry on. Here’s what we brought:
Bagel with Cream Cheese, cut in quarters
Bambas
Pea Crisps
Trail Mix, individual packs **
Fruit Bars
Lara Bars
Fresh Berries
Banana
**Nuts are a choking hazard for little ones. My son does ok with nuts at this point but make sure you consider this, especially if your children are new eaters and/or don’t have all of their teeth.
Now I know that seems like a lot (or maybe it doesn’t to some of you, hehe) and it was, but I would rather be over prepared than under. I was grateful we brought all of those options, especially because the leftovers (packaged options) came in handy for the beach. Our son surprisingly ate really well on the plane! He ate most of his bagel, some pea crisps, berries, and a bar. I didn’t offer everything or tell him what I had. I offered the bagel and fruit first and then the pea crisps. He ate so well that I didn’t even need to mention the other options.
Once You’ve Arrived
My son was well behaved on the plane, despite not napping, and then fell asleep as soon as we got into our rental car at the airport, which was only a 20 minute drive away from our friends. Since he was sleeping, we decided to go to the grocery store right away so that he one of us could shop without waking him up. In my opinion, going to the grocery store is a must when traveling with the kiddos. It allows you to have food for meals and snacks wherever you’re staying. We didn’t want to rely on going out for every meal, especially because our son isn’t always the best eater at restaurants, and since we were going to be in a new environment, I wanted his food to be something that he felt comfortable with. I thought of some staple meals that he likes for breakfast like waffles with peanut butter and avocado toast. I also knew we’d likely be out for lunch most days but possibly home for dinner so I chose quick but familiar options like sauteed beans with broccoli, bread with hummus, and vegetables for sides and snacks. We also lucked out because the friends were were staying with had various tomatoes growing in their garden and Veghead loved picking and eating them with every meal. We even picked a bunch and brought them with us to the beach! Overall, I didn’t want to get too much at the grocery store because I knew our schedule would be unpredictable and I didn’t want to take up too much room in my friend’s kitchen so we only got a few items. When we got to the beach house, we went to the store again to get more food.
Things I picked up at the grocery store to make meals with and for more snack options:
Bread
Avocado
Frozen Multigrain Waffles
Natural Peanut Butter
Broccoli
Canned Black Beans
Hummus
String Cheese
Baby Carrots **
Snap Peas
Yogurt
Pretzels
Berries
**Baby carrots are a choking hazard for toddlers and babies. Make sure to cut them into matchsticks to avoid choking.
What To Do About the Inevitable Picky Eating
Although Veghead was super excited to travel, go on a plane, and meet my friends and their two sweet dogs, I could tell pretty early on that he was not himself. Aside from the obvious signs (whining more than usual, not sleeping or napping well, asking for his blankie a lot), he ate much less at meals and even refused snacks that he normally loves. If this happens, remember that it’s normal. Try to offer foods often and regularly but don’t pressure your child to eat as that will likely make things worse. Due to the much pickier eating than normal, I was glad that we brought our favorite multivitamin along. So, even when he wasn’t having the best day, he still took his multi every morning which was key because as a plant-based kiddo, getting those nutrients in through supplementation are really important.
PS I have a discount code for our favorite vegan kid’s vitamins for my clients. Thinking about help for your little one’s nutrition? Schedule your free call today!
And We Lived To Tell About It...
Our flight back home was in the late afternoon so we had similar snacks that we brought on the way down. Again, the kiddo was great on the flight and once we arrived home, I could tell that he was happy to be there. We made a lot of great memories on our trip and also learned a lot of lessons. It’s ok and normal for kids to eat less when they’re taken out of their comfort zone and usual routines. Just try the best you can, pack and purchase comforting foods for them, stick to their routine (as much as you can), bring a daily multivitamin, and remember that it’s normal for them to eat less so don’t pressure them to eat. Let them have fun, be kids, get dirty, cry it out because they’re frustrated and a little uncomfortable, and also remember that they’re only young once so enjoy this special time and take a lot of pictures!
