My husband Peter and I love traveling, and we try to do it as much as possible. My allium allergy is not in the top 9 food allergens, and sometimes traveling can be tricky. Allium allergy is when you are allergic to onion, garlic, chives, shallots, ramps, scallion, and leeks. Besides an allium allergy, I have fish, shellfish, and mollusks. I created this food allergy travel guide so it can help you enjoy your holidays and travel with an allium allergy, or any other food allergies.
What To Do Before Trip When You Have Food Allergies
Destination
After we choose our destination, Peter and I check what the local food is like there. We check the most popular meals, must-try dishes, and desserts. After we gather the information, we decide if it is safe for me to try the local meals.
Accommodation
The next step is booking the accommodation. We love to book a room with a refrigerator. We use it to store the food. Sometimes we book a room with a free breakfast.
I find that breakfast is one of the easiest meals to get around with an allium allergy. Hotels usually have a huge buffet with lots of different things. There is always plenty of bread, cheese, jams, and sometimes you can boil an egg. On our last vacation, we went to Nice, and we booked a room with breakfast. They had so many different things to choose from, from delicious cheeses, croissants, baguettes, jams, fruits, porridge, pancakes, and you could even boil the eggs on the spot!
If you opt out of hotel breakfast because you have other food allergies, then having breakfast in the room could be the safest option. When we have a room without breakfast, we always buy ingredients to make a sandwich, and we buy paper plates and wooden cutlery.
Research and Planning What We Do
We always love to check what we are doing on our holiday. We love active holidays with lots of city exploring, sightseeing, checking museums, monuments, and cool things in the city. Besides checking what we do, we also check the restaurants, the menu, and think about what could be the safest option. We always check the menu, reviews, and photos of the food. We find Google Maps as the best source (hopefully it will not be full of AI hallucinations in the future).
Allergy Plan
Sometimes it can happen that I will accidentally eat alliums, and the only thing we can do is to be prepared. Before every trip, we go through the plan for what to do in case I accidentally get exposed to alliums. We have it written down, printed in a few copies, and it is on our phones. We usually do this a day before the trip (we made the plan years ago, and now we just go through it to refresh our knowledge).
Packing
When it comes to packing, the most important thing is to pack my allergy medications. Each of us carries a set of my allergy medications, and they are always within easy reach. If we are traveling by plane, we put it in the carry-on luggage that goes under the seat, so it is very easy to access.
Medication that we always pack:
ANTIHISTAMINE – is one of the most important medications when it comes to allergic reactions. It helps to calm down itchiness, rash, and angioedema.
EpiPen – is the most important medication when it comes to anaphylaxis.
Inhalers and other asthma medications
SODIUM BICARBONATE – it is a lifesaver when I get heartburn, or I accidentally eat alliums. It helps me calm down my stomach. It is the only thing that helps me with heartburn.
DIGESTIVE ENZYMES – for weakening my allergy symptoms.
PROBIOTICS – for boosting my immune system, so that my body can fight off allergies.
IBUPROFEN – for the headache. I have crazy headaches when I consume alliums, and ibuprofen helps me.
Besides medication, I always have antibacterial wipes, a copy of my medical documentation, and a medical note from my doctor.
Food
For the traveling part, I always prepare and bring food with us. This way, we have a breakfast option (if our plane, train, or bus is very early), or a lunch or dinner option. I usually make a sandwich or make my Pumpkin Seed Muffins. For sandwiches, I always make cheese sandwiches. Sometimes I would add prosciutto (if the label says that it has pork and salt), or allium free ham (I always check the label, and I use the one that has no spices, flavoring, aroma, natural flavoring, or mention of alliums).
One thing I always make sure of is not to make anything with peanuts, nuts, or sesame. Sometimes on the flight, they ask people not to eat them because someone has a tree nut or sesame allergy, so that I don’t end up without food if they make that announcement. Also, I avoid them because I want to be mindful of other people’s allergies and respect them. In the end, I feel like all allergies feel the same (you get the same fear, symptoms, and experience the allergy reaction).
How To Stay Safe During The Holiday When You Have Food Allergies
Once all the planning is done and everything is packed, it is time to go! This is the moment we always look forward to. All the preparation is behind us, and the only thing left to do is enjoy the trip. Here are a few tips to help you enjoy your holiday with a food allergy.
Ready Meal On the Plane
I never eat ready meals on the plane because they do not have allium-free options (as far as I know). I always have food with me, and I always eat it before they serve the food on the plane. I also do not eat snacks because lots of them are made with onion or garlic flavor (example, sour cream & onion flavor chips).
Dining out
When we are traveling, we always have a big breakfast, snacks, and then an early dinner. When it is time for dinner, we always avoid rush hours (they are usually from 6 to 9PM ). Sometimes we send the message to the restaurant in advance and ask about alliums in their food and if there are safe options. Often we do not get an answer, or it is a wrong one. We find the best option is to ask on the spot.
I always carry an allergy card that the waiters can easily give to the chefs and ask them. This way, nothing gets lost in translation, or in a game of broken telephone.
One thing that we have noticed is that dining in Europe with an allium allergy is easy. Most of the restaurants have safe meals for me to enjoy, or they can make substitutes (e.g., instead of tomato sauce, they will put sour cream on my pizza). One of the most allium allergy-friendly countries that we have ever visited is Italy. So far, I could eat almost everything, and they didn’t even have to do any substitutions.
My husband Peter always tries my food first to see if there are any alliums, and if it is safe for me. He also orders food without alliums.
Grocery shops
When you are buying groceries, snacks, or food, you have to check the labels. I find Google Lens very useful. You just scan or take a photo and then the Google Lens will translate it. It is easy to use, and very useful when finding out the safe food to buy.
Snacks
Snacks are an important part of traveling for us. Some of our go-to snacks are protein bars, nuts, apple chips, bananas, pretzels, tortilla chips, rice cakes, oat cookies, and salty potato chips.
Sometimes, for the snacks we also take some baked goods like croissants, chocolate rolls…
Desserts
Peter and I are huge sweet teeth, so trying delicious cakes, cookies, ice creams, and other sweets is number one on our list when it comes to food.
Desserts are always allium-free and completely safe!
On our trip to Nice, we explored the market where they were selling macarons. We took a few of them to try to have a picnic on the beach. It was a wonderful experience!
Traveling in pairs with an allium allergy or any other allergy can be simple and fun. You have to do a bit of planning in advance, including what to do in case of an allergic reaction. I find traveling in pairs much easier than traveling alone because of my allium allergy. My husband, Peter, is amazing, understanding, and he always tastes my food to see if it is safe from alliums.
I hope that my guide on how to travel with your significant other when you have an allium allergy or allium intolerance is helpful! Take care to pack all of your medications, plan ahead what to do in case of an allergic reaction, and prepare your allergy card!
