For the past year, I’ve been nearly completely dairy free. I’d heard that eliminating it from my diet could help with my eczema, which has grown worse over the last two years, especially made worse by weather, stress and other factors. I first noticed the flare ups in Australia and they came up again while I was in Germany.
It’s not an allergy, like those of some friends, specifically Liz’s peanut allergy and Jodi’s gluten intolerance, and won’t kill me. It won’t even make me sick. Instead, it hurts my stomach now that I’ve lived without it and makes me more susceptible to rashes. I’ve had a few cheating moments, like a couple of pieces of pizza in New York and my biggest weakness, halloumi, in Australia.
The hardest part about giving up dairy is finding suitable alternatives. I’ve started pinning vegan recipes for vegan Parmesan cheese, almond and soy milk cream sauces and other dairy free recipes. It’s made me that much more creative in my cooking.
It thankfully hasn’t changed all that much in the way that I travel. I can always ask for a sandwich without cheese or get soy milk in my chai latte instead of milk. It’s made me avoid certain types of cuisine, including some Mexican and Italian, and embracing more Asian foods.
Gone are the days of genuine pizza, creamy pasta dishes, poutine, francesinhas and the feta-heavy dishes I had in Turkey. And of course, no ice cream or gelato. Also gone are the Southern food favorites like macaroni and cheese, cheese grits and hashbrown casserole.
I’ve adapted by bringing my own snacks with me on trips. I carry small containers of almond milk to have with cereal and in my tea. I have a packet of nutritional yeast that can go on top of an otherwise bland tasting dish. I can also order a lactose free meal on airplanes, although most meals have very little dairy to begin with.
The foods I have discovered in my year of travel without dairy have opened my eyes to what I’d been missing by picking cheese first. In Vietnam, I gorged on plenty of noodles, bun cha and banh mi sandwiches, none of which have dairy. In Turkey, it was lamb kofte and in Italy it’s pasta with red sauce instead of creamy alfredo.
The key to traveling with food sensitivities is being open to new food possibilities and bringing supplies to make things easier. I’ve also switched out cheese for more proteins, which add flavor. Traveling with a specific diet isn’t the end of the world, but with a few changes, you’ll be just fine.
Trying to travel, or eat out at all, with any sort of dietary restriction is tough. I know you read my post about all the dietary changes I’m making these days, and yikes, eliminating gluten is painful. If you find you’re still having skin issues even without the dairy, do some reading about gluten free diets. Tons of what I’ve read over the past few months is about how eliminating dairy and gluten/grains helps with so many health issues, from digestive problems to skin problems to mental disorders to joint pain, and really so much more. Also, be careful with the soy products, it seems lots of people have allergies or sensitivities to soy as well.
Absolutely, Ali. Your post definitely made me think about how changing my diet has changed the way I travel. I’m trying to slowly cut out gluten as well, but it’s slow going.
I feel your pain! I eat a gluten-free, dairy-free diet, and I’m also extremely sensitive to MSG….so travelling in Asia was a challenge to say the least! LOL. Like you, I stock up on snacks whenever I can find them, just in case! It all comes down to planning ahead and doing my research before eating out anywhere.
I hear ya! I have nut allergies. Every nut and some fruits! I went to Asia last year, and it was a little difficult but not impossible. I didn’t have any soups though as most have coconut, plam nut or peanut in them! Most of the time, I either had food that I could see them cooking, food that I made myself in a cookery class, or rice with no sauce LOL!