Going to the Beach and Bringing Along Some Food Allergies

 

We’ve been living with food allergies for over a year now, but we haven’t done much traveling (thanks COVID!). After two summer beach trips, here's my run down on going to the beach with food allergies.

Road tripping with food allergies

What we were prepared for- we had already planned to eat at rest stops, bringing our own lunch and snacks. That way, we know all the food is safe and we are eating in the clean, fresh air blowing off the interstate (oh, the soothing sounds of cars traveling at 70 mph). We still haven’t figured out if there’s anything at any restaurant that our kid can eat and this way we don’t have to worry about it.

What we were NOT prepared for- how sad it would be to buy snacks at the gas station. One of the best parts of road trips? Browsing gas stations to get a deliciously different snack from what we normally eat. I’m talking Combos (where else are you going to eat pizza flavored stuffed pretzels?), candy (milk chocolate covered peanuts and tree nuts, obviously), and checking out what random hot food they have (you’re telling me that chili dog isn’t calling your name?). When we went into the gas station to look for snacks, do you know what the safe options were? Oh. The same crackers we had in the car. The same cookies we have at home. Oh! We can get a smaller bag of the same pretzels. Plain chips. Lame. Lame. Lame.

Beach snacks with food allergies

What we were prepared for- before leaving, we asked everybody going on the trip to only bring safe foods on the beach. You know, where you can't easily wash your hands before accidentally contaminating all of the shovels and buckets and beach toys that my kid is playing with. This was met with some resistance, but generally the family stopped eating the peanut butter cheese sandwich crackers while sitting on the beach (at least when we were around).

What we were NOT prepared for- the amount of peanuts washing up on the beach. I had no idea it was a thing to eat peanuts at the beach and then just toss the peanut shells in the sand. Baseball game? Yes. Beach? Never done it. It happened not once, but twice this year! We were playing in the sand when a batch of peanut shells just washed up into our area. Logically, I know that these peanut shells are harmless. She’s allergic to the peanut protein, right? And, whatever peanut protein dust happened to be left on the shell was definitely washed away by the ocean water. But still. I snatched that baby up and eased on down the beach.

Group eating with food allergies

What we were prepared for- we knew the rest of the family was going to eat things that my kid is allergic to. When we presented the idea of limiting allergens at the share beach house, we were told we were asking for way too much. I get it. She’s got a lot of allergies. But for 7 days? You can’t try to adjust your diet? That was a hard pass. So, we knew would have to prepare separate food for her. Wipe down the table a lot. Remind everybody to wash their hands.

What we were NOT prepared for- trashcans with missing trash can lids. The worst part? It was eye level for my kid. She was drawn to that trashcan like a moth to a flame. When I was trying to cook in the kitchen, every time I turned around she had her head in there, trying to grab whatever was the shiniest. Things that had been tossed into the uncovered, completely accessible, kitchen trashcan:

• Egg shells
• Cracker packets with peanut butter still on them
• Aluminum foil cover for casseroles covered in cheese
• Butterfinger wrapper with melted chocolate and crumbs spilling out

I changed that trash bag so much we ran out of them by the weeks end. I kept putting the trashcan on top of the counter only to find it back on the floor. Guys. At the very least, keep your poison out of reach.

I guess this is all to say, while you may feel like a crazy food allergy person at home, you will definitely be a crazier food allergy person at the beach.