If you’re abroad with kids you must inevitably face a common conundrum: what to eat and where. It’s not as simple as
it may seem. For me, if I’m alone or with friends in a place like Mexico, I’ll generally eat right off the street.
Nothing satisfies me more than a plateful of
fish tacos slathered in the
local salsa…salsa that has often been sitting out in the sun for the last three hours. That’s OK for me because I trust
the hardiness of my stomach, but I doubt I would expose a young child to the potential gastro-intestinal dangers of
street eating.
So what do you do? How best to manage feeding the younguns’ when you are overseas, especially when your little people
are likely to demand familiar vittles like hoot dogs and hamburgers to the local fare.
Here is an article in Fodors takes on the topic. Lisa
Oppenheimer offers suggestions for how to best get the kids fed without feeling like you are taking them to McDonalds.
First among her suggestions is Never arrive hungry: the reason being that starving kids are likely to
be both more finicky and irritable. She also points out that Murphy’s Law dictates that the hungriest customers will be
served last. Another tip: Be creative. In other words, if your kids are particular (and what kids
aren’t?), make sure that the place you choose will adapt to odd American diets. Will they put ketchup on spaghetti? If
you ask this in some places, it’s possible you will be ushered out the door by an angry cook wielding a meat
cleaver.
The ideas here are basic, but reasonable. Call it food for thought for the traveling parent.