As you may have noticed, this blog has taken a little hiatus while I was travelling to Thailand. Today I want to share some photos of my trip and what exactly I ate in order to stay healthy and gluten/dairy free.
I must admit this trip wasn’t without its stresses:On the way there, we missed a connecting flight in Dubai meaning a 7 hour wait at the airport (!) and because of this I didn’t get my pre-booked gluten free meal. I basically lived off gluten-free snack food I’d packed (see this post to read about what I took along.) for 30 hours which wasn’t the best! It was also really humid in Thailand but because of my surgery I wasn’t allowed to swim (in case my wound got infected). Despite this, I am still really glad I managed to make the trip and see my brother get married. As those with chronic conditions know, the thought of missing out on big events is horrible even if you’re not feeling 100%. I also managed to find it relatively easy to eat well which didn’t surprise me since I had been to Thailand several times before (and blogged about healthy eating there here)
Before I get to the food diary, here’s some beautiful pics of Thailand itself. We went to Koh Samui this time and it was a perfect chill-out part of the country.
Yes that is the world’s best infinity pool and I couldn’t bloody swim in it! (at:Weekender resort)
Gorgeous scenery.
So what did I eat? Well as I mentioned before, I was determined to stay gluten and dairy free the whole trip. I had originally had my dietary needs translated on to a card. This worked really well in some places but some places just refused to serve me anything more than rice! Luckily, I was able to use my common sense (since my intolerance isn’t as serious as coeliac’s disease, I was prepared for a slip up if it happened) and figure out what was good for me.
Breakfast: I’d packed myself some Alchemy porridge pots but unfortunately they all burst in my suitcase (it really was a disaster journey!) So I tended to eat a light breakfast in my room of the items I’d packed: rice cakes, banana and almond butter (I’d emailed ahead to make sure I could have a fridge in each hotel I was in).Around 10, I would head for a juice or a coconut water. Nothing beat a fresh coconut in the sun…
The only way to drink coconut water (tomato ketchup optional)
Lunch: Pad Thai was a massive favourite for me. This sauce is traditionally made with gluten free fish or tamarind sauce so it’s usually safe.
However it’s always best to check as some might use Chinese based soy-sauce.
Pad Thai: Prawns, Rice Noodles, Lime, Beansprouts, Tamarind Sauce, Egg and Peanuts.
Sunbed Snacks: As I’m a big snacker, I packed a few supplies with me. However, I also managed to pick up some healthy options too at the local 711. The sweet potato and yam sticks were really delicious. The banana and jackfruit chips were freeze dried so were the perfect option to snack on around the pool with virtually no fat or added nasties.
Dinner:Dinner was probably the easiest meal of the day for me since there was so much barbecued seafood on offer! If you love seafood, you can’t go wrong in Thailand. Most types of fish or prawns are available steamed with naturally gluten free dressings such as fresh lime or garlic (and usually for under a fiver too!) I’d usually just have these with rice noodles or rice. I occasionally treated myself to mango sticky rice, which is a great option for a dairy free desert since it’s made with coconut milk.
Steamed whole fish with garlic and lime.
Drink: I usually stuck to coconut water or freshly made juice. I don’t usually drink alcohol and this holiday was no exception. However, I did have a glass of champagne to toast the happy couple and a cocktail (I just asked for schnapps and pure lemon juice) on the last night.
Plane food: On the whole, I was impressed with Emirates Gluten Free offerings (I finally managed to sample it on the return journey). Most dishes were fairly plain, e.g. chicken/fish with rice or potatoes which was a little boring but safe. Desert was fruit salad which I did find a little bit unoriginal! With all the great free-from deserts out there, a bit more variety would have been nice.
Overall, I managed to stay healthy, other than the usual churning stomach that everyone gets when first adjusting to a different climate. I’d definitely recommend Thailand as a great destination for ‘free-from’ healthy eating.
Oh no- your journey there does sound a bit disastrous! But sounds like the rest of your trip went well. How lovely that your brother was getting married there! I’m glad you could eat mango sticky rice- that is my absolute favourite!