Avoiding upset stomach with all inclusive buffet

[Coffeepot72]

Assuming we actually make it onto a plane (very worried about security queues at the airport) can anyone give me advice about healthy things to eat from an all inclusive buffet? I've only ever had one bad tummy on holiday, but we haven't been abroad since the first lockdown and my insides may be out of practice!

I've heard bad things about rice, fruit/veg (I suppose you never know if it's been washed in bottled water or not) and ice cream.

We've done loads of AI buffets and never had a problem. I'm always careful if they are BBQing/grilling meat at the buffet as I've found chicken can be not properly cooked, but beyond that, all has been fine.

Don't eat any salad that contains cold rice which was probably served/presented hot the previous day.

Where are you going?

I've only had 1uoset stomach from a buffet and it was a prawn starter I was so ill I stuck to beige food rest of the holiday stay away from the prawns

It depends where you are going?

@chesirecat99 - we're going to Egypt, we used to go there regularly pre-COVID and only ever had problems once. We're going back to the same area, the hotel we've chosen has very good reviews and only the occasional mention of travelers being ill, but I'm so looking forward to this holiday and want to take all reasonable precautions!

My dp got so ill in Egypt (work) he swore he’d never go back!! I think: no ice cubes, no cold rice and I’d probably stay away from all meat but that’s because I’m not a massive meat fan anyway, and I don’t trust things like chicken if I think it might be dodgy.

We once met some people who had travelled to our resort via Cairo, and had been drinking the tap water ...... !!

I've never had an upset stomach from an AI. Bottled water is a good about anywhere.

We have travelled lots & have been fortunately OK to date. I stay away from rice, seafood, cold meat and salads - try to stick to cooked veg and fruit I can wash/peel myself. Only bottled drinks.

DSis has just returned from an all inclusive stay in Egypt - she ate everything that took her fancy but she and BIL drunk loads of Coke with the reasoning that would kill off any bugs. They were fine!

Hope you will be OK and have a good holiday!

I use bottled water to brush my teeth and wash face, no ice cubes, no salad, no rare meat, no bbq, no shellfish

My DH got stupidly sick in Egypt with an upset stomach. Dodgy prawn - not the buffet. We'd all had something different and were fine.

@DogsAndGin

I use bottled water to brush my teeth and wash face, no ice cubes, no salad, no rare meat, no bbq, no shellfish

This. Egypt is the only place I have been unwell from ai. I would heed the above advice and book into the al a carte restaurants when you can if available. They were my saviour when I went

@Coffeepot72

We once met some people who had travelled to our resort via Cairo, and had been drinking the tap water ...... !!

Mains water in Cairo is fine to drink, it's heavily chlorinated, which is why you probably don't want to drink it, it's vile.

If you want to be cautious, avoid ice, any drinks that aren't bottled or hot (eg juice), any fruit or vegetables that aren't cooked or peeled, rare or cold meats, seafood, rice. Maybe ice cream too if it looks slighty melted and you think it might have been repeatedly refrozen eg big containers that are out on display and the ice cream is scooped rather than individual servings like a Magnum.

DSis has just returned from an all inclusive stay in Egypt - she ate everything that took her fancy but she and BIL drunk loads of Coke with the reasoning that would kill off any bugs. They were fine!

I'm hoping diet coke may have the same effect!

The guidelines for choosing food from buffets are the same for Cairo as for Cambridge - as stated by other posters.
I'll quite happily eat seafood that is cooked in front of me at a grill station, but not if it's been left on a buffet.

Drinking tap water in incredibly stupid - every hotel & boat I've ever stayed in/on in Egypt has signs telling people not to.

I was so ill from food poisoning at an all inclusive once that I spent a week in hospital. The doctor told me it was almost certainly from a water based bacteria so advised in future to stay away from having ice in drinks, salad or fruit that doesn’t have a peel.

From what I have read and personal experience, taking probiotic tablets is a fairly simple way to strengthen your resistance - and eating a wide range of healthy food before you go should have a similar effect.

My step mil (yes it’s a thing) is properly bonkers when it comes to health but has done a tonne of research. She recommends grapefruit seed extract as a prophylaxis for stomach issues/food poisoning. On her say so we used it for 3 years in sub-Saharan Africa and never got full stomach upsets.

I was very poorly in Egypt but we weren't all inclusive.

All the AI holidays I've been on in other countries were absolutely fine however.

I heard that it's the money in Egypt that can make you ill. Always wash your hands after handling it. I was ok following this advice. My dh didn't and wasn't. Mind u he brushed his teeth with the tao water too

My BF was very ill in Egypt while I wasn’t. I think it’s because he handled all the cash, tips, handshakes, rather than the food. Although he did go like a rager at the buffet and had every combination of meat and fish in the one sitting, so it could have been that either!

I had no issues when we went ai last year. I tend to choose whatever the cooking stations are cooking, fish mostly with stir fry vegetables but also had tortilla, and other Spanish foods. I find as long as I eat plenty of salads and veg I stay healthy on holidays, easy when ai but harder when we eat in restaurants because vegetables are conspicuous by the absence so often