Travelling and jar food?

A

anotherone

Registered User
Hi all

Travelling to Phuket with our 1 year old and am starting to think that the amount of jar food that we're bringing is ridiculous (at home he is fed congee with the occasional jar food). As we will be staying far from the town centre there might not be any decent supermarket nearby that stocks similar baby food as what the wee one's been on.

Anyone with similar experience? The baby is not very good with chopped up meat and veg yet so feeding him what we eat is not really an option.

Many thanks in advance!
 
at one year of age, your no-longer-a-baby can eat pretty much EVERYTHING you do, just in smaller quantities and pieces.

if he's not ok with that yet, then order food with sauces... makes it easier to swallow. like the chinese fish with corn sauce type of thing. also stuff like fried rice or noodles works well.

otherwise you may be in trouble....
 
You may want to try the local congee which is widely available. The congee in Thialand is influenced by the Thai Chinese, Chiu Chow style. It is a very watery rice soup, not starchy like the Cantonese version. It is called "choke" in Thai(same as the Cantonese pronunciation). Can have fish slice, minced pork, shredded chicken, minced or sliced beef. The hotel should be able to make it easily if you explain to the staff that you want "choke" for a small child. Otherwise it is availble in the street markets or noodle/rice shops. Similarly there are lots of Chinese-style noodle soups cooked in broth that should be fine for a small child.

Also there are lots of excellent and inexpensive tropical fruits in Thailand - local (small) bananas that are very sweet, mangoes, papayas with a squeeze of lime. Just make sure it is peeled and not bruised.

We had a holiday in Thailand when my child was about 10 months old, food was never a problem. We stayed in an apartment and bought the food from the shops or even the markets (kilos of fresh fruit).
 
Firstly, whereabouts in Phuket will you be? There are lots of supermarkets outside of Phuket Town, like a huge Tesco Lotus in Central Phuket and smaller supermarkets elsewhere. If you give your destination, I'm sure other people will be able to advise on a nearby supermarket.

You also don't say whether you're in a hotel or self-catering accommodation... Any decent hotel should be able to accommodate simple food requests. Call them and ask about their children's menu and baby food.

Secondly, don't carry jars. Buy a few 'pouches' of baby food from Ella's Organics and other brands at Bumps to Babes. They are much lighter to carry. They have Stage 3, suitable from 10mths +. Just take enough for the flight, and the first day or two.

Yes, theoretically, a 1-yr-old can eat 'adult food' mashed up or cut into small pieces, but some children just aren't ready for this. However, experiment in the next week or so with soft rice, mashed up other veggies, or well-cooked pasta with tomato sauce (again, easy to mash up), steamed fish etc.

Don't panic. You will be able to manage. Just prepare for a different menu and see it as a opportunity to move your baby's eating habits to the next stage.
 
Does you baby still eat rice cereals? those are easy to bring.
As other poster said, there are lots of mimi-marts around. You can get yogurts, milk, some baby food (I remember I can only find the sweet ones though). You can also make one big shopping trip to town (there's a Carre Four) or to this mall called Central Festival where there is a huge western supermarket and stock up on some stuff.
I do find my kids more adventurous when it comes to eating when we are on trips.
Worst case, if your hotel has a microwave, you can try to order rice and add hot water and make congee in the microwave.
 
Thanks all for your response. We'll be staying in a hotel up north (near the Banyan Tree) so Phuket Town will be at least an hour away each way. There should be a microwave (but not a full-on kitchen) in our suite so I shall try out Biggie's suggestion. I would hate to pay extortionate prices for some "choke" though!
 
you may be pleasantly surprised and baby may accept new foods... good luck!

maybe you could go to town after arriving at the airport on the way to the hotel and just stock up on your way to the hotel?
 
Thanks guys. Just checked out Ella's today and sadly they are only 190g instead of the usual 250g that the boy eats. Not to mention the price of these pouches (regardless of the brand), and for much smaller quantities!

So now I've got myself a couple of Hipps' Organic ones that come in plastic containers - which are 1/3 more expensive than the jars and for only 220g! But these may still be cheaper than any "special orders" at the hotel....

Don't think I'm an overly-protective mum or anything - it's just I don't want to experiment (too much) with his diet while on holiday.
 
There is a Tesco's not too far from the Banyan Tree (are you renting a car), but not sure how much baby food they will have . . . when we went with our 2 year old, we bought pasta there and prego sauce etc...since we were in a villa and had a kitchen. I actually brought a container of UHT milk and juice from Hong Kong with us.
 
Can your little one eat egg? That would be easy to do at restaurants. If you're not sure, you could always try egg yolk only first.
 
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