🍽️ Nutrition for children at resorts in Turkey and Egypt: tips for parents 👶

Turkey and Egypt are a frequent choice for families with children, as the most familiar option, where there are many hotels specially tailored for the entertainment- demanding public. Most often there are no questions with animation – I don’t like warming up on the beach, a disco in local amphitheaters will do. And if you are bored with the natural beauty of the sea waves and the construction of monumental sand castles, then the pools of the water park will help out. However, what to feed children at the resort (especially if they can’t be persuaded to do everything at home) is the very question that can make parents worry. Worrying won't help matters, so let's figure it out!

Type of food at the hotel

First, let's determine what types of food are available and which are more suitable for families with children. If you are inclined to rent an apartment and are ready to get your own food, read here. And in this article we will look at resort holidays. When choosing a hotel, it is important to pay attention to what type of food it offers.

It is better not to consider options BB (breakfast only) and HB (breakfast and dinner). Unless you have your eye on some very good restaurant not far from the hotel in reviews or during a previous trip and are confident in the culinary talents of the chef. FB (breakfast, lunch, dinner) should also be excluded, because drinks under such a system will be paid for at least in the evening. But you don’t want to fuss around looking for a bottle of water for your child.  

The most suitable options for a “headache-free” holiday would be AI (All Inclusive) and UAI (Ultra All Inclusive). The last option is generally ideal for relaxing with a child, because with it you can feed a hungry fidget even at night. 

Reviews

Be sure to check out the hotel reviews. No matter how the resorts themselves paint themselves on the positive side, there can be pitfalls even in the most expensive hotels. On the forums you can find real reviews about local food and photos of the assortment on the table. And also stories of how the hotel's pioneer parents fed and entertained their children here.

You should also not exclude the recommendations of tour operators, especially those specializing in tours to Egypt and Turkey. Experienced agents, who have been sending families with children on vacation for years, often collect feedback. Prepare a list of questions and wishes for the tour so that it is as close as possible to the planned option. A good tour operator will select a vacation to suit the client’s budget and needs, understanding that if he likes it, he will come back again.

Age

0+

Things are easiest with infants. For this category, “food” is most often located somewhere nearby and does not leave the baby for a long time. But for children on formula and complementary foods, it is better to take food with you, especially if there is an intolerance to some ingredients. Moreover, it is more convenient to take pureed fruits on the road in doypacks than in glass. 

Near hotels in Egypt and Turkey, as a rule, there are small shops, but it is not a fact that they will have baby food. So, if you run out of something, you will have to go to large supermarkets. It is necessary to take into account that labels with ingredients will most likely be in the local language and it will not be easy to make out what is written there. 

In some family -oriented hotels, you can find an assortment of local purees on the tables. But it may turn out to be meager and no one can guarantee that a new mixture or jar of broccoli will not cause an allergy in the child.

Introducing food from the common table also needs to be done delicately, even if the food is already in the child’s diet. It is better to take vegetables and fruits whole and rinse them additionally, while sniffing the cutlet or chicken chop for freshness (trust, but check!). 

Life hack: Despite the recommendation to take uncut foods, it is not advisable to give some of them whole to children under 5 years old. For example, it is better for a child to cut cherry tomatoes, grapes or sausages into pieces so as not to choke. This can be done quite easily with a serving knife.

It is better to take bottles and a sterilizer for diluting mixtures with you. Despite the fact that such devices can be found in some hotels, when used en masse their cleanliness leaves much to be desired. Boiled water is the minimum you should count on. 

And don’t forget to check with the hotel representative about the availability of comfortable high chairs. 

5+

If a child is used to eating from the common table at home and new foods that appear in his life do not cause unpleasant reactions in the body, then there will be no problems with choosing foods. In good hotels in Turkey and Egypt, the buffets are bursting with variety, and if your child doesn’t like one, you can choose something else. 

However, problems of a different nature may arise with this age group. A child who is carried away by games in a hot climate may simply not want to eat. More precisely, he will want to, but only when the whole family is already back on the beach.

Life hack: The desire to eat more often comes to children exactly an hour after they leave the hotel dining room having eaten almost nothing. When children run around on the sand a little and test the warmth of sea water or a swimming pool, the desire to eat will arise. This is where it would be nice to have an edible stash on hand.

Of course, you won’t be able to take out food in plates, but it’s quite possible to put a couple of buttery flatbreads and a handful of sliced ​​fruit in tight zip bags. And with the words “I told you!” give the required portions to the baby rushing past and incredibly busy with all this resort fuss. But again, you shouldn’t eat all this if you spent more than a couple of hours on the beach – during this time the food may well go bad. And be sure to keep bottled water on hand. 

Teenagers

On the one hand, it’s easiest with older children – they are already independent, they know what they want, and their bodies are not as whimsical as those of preschoolers. On the other hand, having reached variety, they can limit it to products that are prohibited in everyday life. For example, sweets or fast food.

So parents of teenagers need to monitor their child’s plate and nutrition and set the right example themselves, even at the resort. 

Life hack: Very often hotels offer children's menus, which include fast food. And sometimes you can’t find anything else in it. So instead, you need to look for hotels that offer dietary meals in their canteens and restaurants. Often these are boiled unsalted meat, fish, vegetables and broths. The choice is not large (3-4 types of products per meal (you can’t hope for variety), many dishes are pureed.

In addition, sometimes it is easier to choose a hotel with good reviews for food, with a varied menu, and feed the child as he is used to at home from a common table. 

Seasonality

It’s easy to decide when it’s best to go so that there are fresh local products on the table – in both Turkey and Egypt, vegetables, fruits and berries are available almost all year round. 

The least harvest in Egypt is harvested in early spring and most in summer. 

In Turkey, citrus fruits appear in abundance in the fall, but such products are not suitable for every child. In spring, buffets are ready to boast of ripe cherries and strawberries. And from mid-summer you can enjoy melon and watermelon. 

At the legislative level in Turkey there is a ban on the use of chemicals in farming. So you can buy on the market without much risk. And good hotels, as a rule, also purchase high-quality vegetables and fruits.

General rules for food in hotels

• Find out in advance the menu that the hotel offers. See if there are cereals, omelettes, soups, pasta, mashed potatoes, fresh vegetables, fruits, meat and fish, yogurts, desserts, and snacks;
• No matter what relaxed vibe you get, don’t forget to wash your child’s hands before any meal or snack. It is better not to ignore this simple rule, familiar from childhood, in hot conditions;
• Drink plenty of water, preferably bottled. Start teaching your child this rule at home. If the baby is used to compotes, then they may simply not be available at the resort;
• Take fermented milk and perishable products from the refrigerator. Let them sit and they will warm up. But you will be calm that the products are not spoiled;
• Try to choose food from the common table without complex spices, sauces and mayonnaise. 

If you want to learn more about what to do in Egypt, read the article here. And if the choice is in favor of Turkey, read what to expect from local resorts here.