Food Allergies As Holiday Frustration?

Imagine you arrive at your holiday destination you have been looking forward to for months and on day 1 you are confronted with food allergies and food intolerances in your family.

Those nasty unexpected things like food allergies that can screw up your idea of the perfect start of you well earned quality family time. I use the word idea purposely. Because I found out it that is just what it was. In our mind we make up that vacation has to be perfect, but vacation is like any other day in life. You have to take care of the most important things in life first. And well if you have food allergies and intolerances popping up that’s kind of in the category urgent.

So we, the Dutch Nomad Family, arrived in our home country after 24 hours of traveling that it took us from Bali. Within 48 hours Thijs started showed symptoms of food allergies, which affected his skin and caused itchy eyes.

We already know cheese is a no go for us. Can you imagine this being the case for a Dutch Vegetarian! But as with everything, you do get used to it and at some point the joy of eating this Golden Delicacy doesn’t match the negative effects on your body.

So after only 2 days of leaving our home in Bali Thijs started developing a rash around his mouth, which over the next 2 days spread all over his face and later his arms and legs. While dealing with ignoring a jet-lag, the cold, catching up with friends and keeping a business running, my fogged mind and off balanced body where working hard on observing food intake and comparing it to Thijs’ normal diet.

It may not be a surprise that the big change was the amount of candy, ice cream, bread with “hagelslag” and “beschuit with muisjes”. My kids do get candy, ice cream and bread back in Bali, but that would be in the form of an organic fruit lollipop, energy balls, sugar free candy, 80% dark chocolate, 1 slice of sourdough or black rice bread with almond butter and occasionally a vegan ice cream.

When I got to this point of realisation it became simple, but also hard. Why hard? As I said earlier it takes some time to get into a rhythm a again and than you have to deal with an issue on top of kids wanting to play, eat and enjoy the stuff they don’t normally have. However, something being a challenge has never been an excuse. So I talk to friends, share on Facebook and start finding places I can buy gluten free foods.

I just want to take time here for a sec to sympathise with all moms who have gone through this and are confronted everyday with food allergies and related issues. I’m proud of you that you found your way through all the food labels that almost always says traces of gluten, nuts and seeds. Unbelievable even in the organic health shop this disclaimer is on the oats!

As you I found my way through all the labels and found gluten free products. So I bought gluten free breads, crackers, vegan cheeses and spreads. Stocked up on fruit and raw vegetables suitable as snack and felt ready to start our road trip. I also started using TripAdvisor to look for Vegan Restaurants. This actually has brought us to some awesome unexpected places during our explorations and has made us meet lovely like-minded and inspiring people.

Having our travel food supply in order I realised I needed to do something about the symptoms of Thijs his rash as well, so I got a prescription from the doctor.

Parallel I search in the awesome database of Integrative Nutrition (my health and lifestyle tribe), watched a module on food and simple preparation by Joshua Rosenthal. Totally inspired by his “simple cooking” approach I feel empowered to pull this of during traveling as well. Grateful for the reminder of letting the kids help me with food preparations I get the feeling this food challenge it’s becoming a family effort and joyful experience instead of a weight on my shoulder.

Click here for a FREE Integrative Nutrition Class

A little side track confession from my side: it always surprises me how I can forget my normal patterns so easily when I board a plane and get into traveling mode.

A week into our travels I can now say that the frustration I felt in the beginning has developed to accepting and surrendering to the circumstances. As strange as it may sound it turns out Thijs his allergy actually gives me the opportunity to gather new experiences and connect to people on the subject I love most in life: the relation between health and lifestyle and the role of food in that.

I feel here lies one of my biggest tasks as a mom, educating my kids on food and the effect on it on their body. Unexpectedly this subject has become a part of our holiday itinerary, but as we love exploring, this will for sure provide us with new fun nomadic experiences.

As we were in Paris, I made Thijs and Isis aware on how they feel after they consume some of the local food. And believe me, they have to think hard when I ask them to put the pleasure of eating a croissant in perspective to life experiences like going to the summit of the Eiffel Tower. I commit myself to educating my kids on the value of a happy and healthy lifestyle and how it will affect the way they feel and therefore what they will accomplish in life.

Enjoy Local Foods, Eat Wise and ‘Bon Appetit’!

Inge, Tom, Isis and Thijs aka Dutch Nomad Family

Source: Dutch Nomad Family

Amazing Bali Villa Bloom

Drop your bags, let the kids dive in the pool and be shown around by our lovely manager and cook Penny. While you are settling in she will make sure your lunch or dinner is ready.

Grandparents will love you for finding this Comfortable and Worry Free Vacation Rental.

The pool is situated two levels down from the main house with non-slippery tiles all over the property. The high standard of hygiene in the kitchen and house and the facilities offered, will guarantee everyone to have a holiday you will never forget.

Kids will be gratefull because there is space for Parkour and Free Running in the garden, jumping in the Pool and marsh mallows on the BBQ. And all you parents have to do is find peace of mind, Relax and get a Massage while the Private Chef prepares a Healthy Dinner or Sunset BBQ.

Everything is delivered at your doorstep!

And if you do want to go out and explore, we have some awesome experiences lined up for you!

At Villa Bloom Bali we are specialised in organising Authentic Bali Experience Programs, so everyone participating!  That’s why Yogi’s, Food Lovers and Retirees also feel at home Villa Bloom.

We offer from Outdoor Activities, to Cultural and Spiritual experiences, to awesome cooking courses by our Private Chef who is specialized in Healthy Food.

This is your Ultimate Family Vacation Rental if you want to have an Authentic Bali Experience while staying in a Luxurious Villa surrounded by lush Nature.

A perfect destination for Families, Yogi’s, Food Lovers or Retirees who like to combine outdoor activities with Bali’s spiritual and cultural experiences.

Come and Experience Luxury while creating Unforgettable Memories in Beautiful Bali.

Penny and her team will be taking care of you from the minute you arrive to make sure all your needs are met.

Visit Beautiful Bali Villa Bloom NOW!

Dutch Nomad Family Adventures

Dutch Nomad Family Adventures. Dubai in the United Arabic Emirates is a fantastic holiday destination. The Dutch Nomad Family visited the Middle East for the first time. Cultural and architectural a whole new experience and we all loved it!

The Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world. Your kids will never forget this one! It is 829 meters high. The elevator brought us to the observation deck on the 124th floor at 456 meters within 1 minute! And when the doors open: Wow, you are on top of the world, the city, teeny tiny cars, the sea and the desert around Dubai. Isis and Thijs were fascinated to see all the construction projects going-on and were amazed that it’s all built on desert sand.

Being at the right time at the right place, in front of the Burj Khalifa at sunset there are spectacular dancing fountains and light show. Illuminated by 6,600 lights and 25 colored projectors, it is 275 meter long and shoots water up to 150 meter into the air accompanied by a range of classical to contemporary Arabic and world music. That was impressive.

The aquarium in the Dubai Mall, the largest mall of the world, was definitely worth the visit. It is really big and there is also an underwater zoo. There was a King Crocodile, weighing a whopping 750 kilograms and measuring over 5m in length. Its head alone is more than 150 kilograms! And we never can get enough of seeing Nemo.

Isis and Thijs also visited the Atlantis Waterpark on the Palm Island. The aquarium is really beautiful. The waterpark is awesome as well but we ran out of time. Palm Island is an experience on it’s own. And the kids remember vividly seeing the only 7 star hotel Burj Al Arab. Tom and Inge spent a full day in the Burj al Arab hotel and that was an absolutely awesome experience on all fronts.

Ski Dubai is and indoor ski center for skiing, snowboarding and a penguin encounter.

It is fantastic for kids to meet the penguins and they are able to feed them. They like fish and that’s what they get at Ski Dubai. There is two types op penguins, the Gentoo and the King penguin. Gentoo penguins are the third largest penguins, with a height of 60 to 75 centimeter. The King penguin is bigger, 94 centimeter. Ski Dubai is fun for the whole family.

In the old part of town, we strolled over the spice souk and gold souk. The quantity of gold and all its formations blew us away. The sellers are very friendly to kids and it’s a great place to buy your souvenirs. And then we made a boat trip over the Dubai Creek to a traditional Arabic restaurant, with sunset over the Creek.

A Gold class (first class) ticket in the Metro allowed us to sit in the first cabin of the metro, with a huge front window to see the whole skyline of Dubai in front of us and passing by as we travelled back from the old part of town to Al Barsha. The metro ride was an experience in itself.

Dubai also has Kidszania, an all time favorite for Isis and Thijs. Children can try around 50 different professions and get trained to use the equipment and to follow the instructions. Whether it’s to be a surgeon, a driver, a pilot or a kitchen chef. Look around for Kidszania in each big city in Asia; the concept is fantastic.

The Dutch Nomad Family had a fantastic time in Dubai.