healthy eating AND allergy safe on vacation?

Is it possible to eat healthy AND be safe from food allergies on vacation?

Based on my last week and a half of vacation.... no. Of course, I would never say never- I do think it is possible but it's hard.

While eating healthy can be a challenge on vacation it gets even more challenging when it comes to being on the lookout for food allergens.


Example: My 1st meal on vacation. We arrive in New York City, drop our stuff off at the hotel, and stop in at one of the restaurants in the hotel for lunch. I ordered a caesar salad with grilled chicken on top. Not necessarily a healthy choice, but the only menu item with grilled chicken. I got the salad and noticed the croutons and chicken had a light green color to them. Right off the bat I think PESTO! While pesto may be all good it is not for me because I am allergic to pine nuts, so I asked my server what was on the croutons and chicken. She said it was a garlic mixture. I was still skeptical, so when she came back several minutes later I asked again but this time I specifically asked if it was pesto. She said she would check with the chef. When she came back several minutes later she said it was pesto but the chef said they do not use nuts. I could have eaten it based on that, but I didn't. Because I have had people tell me before there were no nuts in a dish only for me to have a reaction since they didn't consider pine nuts as nuts. Anyway, I didn't eat it. I'd rather not go through that mistake again.


This was my immediate reminder to be careful! Very careful!

-- I stuck to my personal policy of no desserts at restaurants -- no matter how badly I wanted New York Cheesecake!

-- I asked servers questions.

-- I read the menu and looked for potential problems.

-- And I learned that next vacation I need to bring my own chocolate with me!!!


There was still plenty of delicious food that I could eat!


Some fresh and amazing New York Pizza!



A great grilled cheese and fries and surprisingly delicious iceberg wedge salad here. This is also where everyone else found their favorite NY Cheesecake!

And in Canada there was plenty of Tim Hortons. It was everywhere, and I am now a fan.


Needless to say why I was craving some fruits and vegetables when I got home...