holidaying in Spain (specifically Ibiza) with a dairy allergy

[ellymae]

We are off to Ibiza at the weekend for a week long holiday and I'm trying not to get myself too wound up about the thought of eating out whilst there.

my 2yo DD is allergic to dairy and a very fussy eater as well. I keep telling myself that if all she eats for the entire week is banana or ham sandwiches and some dairy free snack bars and biscuits that I'll chuck in the suitcase then she won't come to any harm.

But I would obviously like her to try and join in meals with us and this is where I was wondering if anyone could give me any tips as to the likely 'dairy free-ness' (if that makes sense!) of Spanish cooking? I'm assuming they will probably use oils rather than butter but would that be a dangerous assumption to make?

any thoughts greatly appreciated

PS we are staying in a small family run hotel where they will cook meals using their own home grown produce and we will be able to make sure that anything that DD gets is dairy free. Its the beach restaurants etc that I'm worried about as we won't be eating all our meals at the hotel

Where abouts are you? In San Antonio you would be fine to get dairy free stuff as it is so touristy. Imagine if you are going with a child you're in a different part of the island?

Can you speak Spanish? If not, learn the Spanish for my daughter is allergic to dairy and I am sure they will accomodate it.

ewe, San Antonia will be our nearest resort, the hotel is to the north-east of it in the countryside.

DH and I went to Ibiza a few years back (pre DD) and I know there are loads of supermarkets etc but I'm just not sure whether I would be able to get soya yoghurts, pure butter etc (ie all our usual stuff) out there?

I don't know any spanish but had thought about asking the hotel owners what phrases we might need to learn or words to look out for on food packaging

When I was in Spain there were tons of soya yoghurts and other products available in the supermarkets.

I'm not sure about spreads, but you could just pack some pure spread in your suitcase.

Our fall back with DS is chips when we are out, which I imagine they will serve at most beach places will your DD eat those?

Being dairy free your DD will not come to any harm from eating chips for a week as she could probably do with the extra fat.

thats great news trixy! DD is not very keen on chips here (not keen on potatoes in fact in any shape or form!) but I did try and get her to eat some the other day saying that she will be eating them on holiday! She's so excited about the holiday and the thought of 'diggy holes' and 'swimmy mermaids' (her talk for making sandcastles and swimming in the sea) that she did actually eat a few chips so you never know we might be OK.

I can relax a bit more now and just concentrate on the packing, thanks again for your help

You can generally get soya yogurts in big supermarkets, plus soya milk.

The Spanish don't generally cook with butter, especially on the Mediterranean. Things like fish (boiled, fried or grilled) and steak or chicken breasts won't come with any dairy.

Some phrases:

My daughter is allergic to dairy products: Mi hija es alérgica a los productos lácteos.

she can't eat butter, milk, cheese, cream : no puede comer mantequilla, leche, queso, nata.

Do check the soya yoghurt as sometimes they are yoghurt with soya, rather than soya milk.

Next time I am in the supermarket I will have a look.

If you look at the tapas, you are bound to be able to find something for her. Also the Spanish are great chip eaters.

Oops sorry didn't read that she didn't like chips.

My 2 year oldds will eat a small portion of paella, calamares, a pork dish done with tomatoes etc.

The great thing with Spain is you can always get a tapas size portion.

Most super markets here have a health section where you can buy non dairy.

On the spread front, we went to Cyprus last year to see DD's grandparents, and got 'Pura' spread which seems similar to Pure and was definitely dairy free. It seemed to be a Europe-wide spread from the packaging, so hopefully you could find that as well. Or just use a bit of olive oil instead....

Good luck, we've avoided holidays so far apart from the Cyprus trip as it just seems like too much hassle trying to make it work with the allergies! (DD is only 20 months though, so we won't deprive her forever!)

thanks guys again for all your help. I am feeling more relaxed about things now and aim to enjoy mealtimes whilst away!

know what you mean misscreosote about overseas trips. We've only had holidays in Ireland so far visiting family so have pretty much chucked what we needed in a cool box in the car and headed off to the ferry! This is our first proper overseas trip but we all deserve a break in the sun

DD also has cystic fibrosis which fortunately at the moment isn't causing her day to day problems but it does mean that we will be going away laden down with medicines and syringes.... as well as a packet of bourbon biscuits (her favourite!), pepti milk powder and probably a tub of pure as well .

amapoleon, its good to know that we'll be able to get her plenty of chips - if we can persuade her to eat them that is - as the fat in them and the lashings of salt that we will be putting on them will help with the CF side of things

right, off now to start doing some of the packing!

Blimey, sounds like you've really got your work cut out. Sure you'll find lots of stuff your DD can eat - if she's hungry enough then you might find she eats stuff she wouldn't normally anyway. Most importantly, have a fabulous holiday!

I think you'll be fine. Look for 'Platos combinardos' on menus - usually a big plate of sausage, eggs and chips, gammon, eggs and chips, burger and chips etc etc.

The only thing I found difficult with ds1 was that pretty much all the cakes/biscuits are made with butter. We did find some pretty dull biscuits that were OK though.