Baby Mealtime Tips & Tricks: Travel Edition

Jan 12, 2025Plate & Play
Baby Mealtime Tips & Tricks: Travel Edition

Travelling with a baby can be a thrilling adventure, but it also comes with its fair share of challenges—especially when it comes to mealtime. Here are some practical and stress-free strategies I discovered for keeping my baby comfy and fed while on the go. 

1. Feeding Essentials

One of the first things I learned when travelling with my baby is that feeding essentials are a must. I can’t tell you how many times a travel-friendly baby seat has saved the day. Whether we’re at a family member's house, a restaurant, or even in a hotel room, a portable baby seat ensures my little one always has a safe, comfortable place to sit for meals as not every location had baby-chairs available.

Tip: Small, foldable, lightweight ones are the best being easy to pack and set up.

They are also useful in facilitating baby-led weaning (BLW). It contained food to the tables, which we could easily wipe down, and we always made sure we cleaned the floors of excessive food messes. 

Alongside the baby seat, I never left home without a portable bib.

Whether it's baby food splatters or the excitement of trying new foods, a good bib is an absolute lifesaver. Our Nordic Rainbow Bibs and Disposable Bibs are great because they are not only easy to clean but also durable and comfortable for my baby, making mealtime a lot less stressful. Most places typically offer baby utensils, but bibs really did save us from multiple outfit-changes! 

2. Flexibility is key

Sometimes, the restaurants or accommodations we visit aren’t able to make the exact food requests we need for our baby—like food without added salt or sugar. In these situations, I try not to stress. I’ve learned to keep an open mind and adapt, often reminding myself that the occasional meal with added salt or sugar was alright. It's all about keeping the balance!

3. Keeping the familiar, while holding space for exploration

At every mealtime, I make sure there’s always one familiar food. This could be something as simple as a familiar fruit, veggie or snack. Keeping a sense of familiarity during travel is crucial for babies who thrive on routine.

However, I also make sure to leave room for food exploration. Travel is the perfect time to introduce new tastes and textures. Whether it’s a soft fruit, a new grain, or a local dish, I make sure to let my baby explore new flavours. We do call it a food adventure, after all!

4. Keep it simple

Fresh fruit—like sliced bananas, apples, or pears—works wonders for quick, healthy snacks and I always try to have easy-to-prepare proteins like eggs on hand. These foods are fairly easy to find, and, more importantly, they’re easy for my baby to eat no matter where we are.

5. Familiar staples

One thing I always make sure to pack are some familiar flavours from home, especially when finding baby-friendly food is a challenge, or personally when halal meals were harder to find. I love having a few of our ready-to-eat baby meals on hand. 

Our baby and toddler meals are clean, convenient, and perfect for busy travel days. Whether we’re on a plane or exploring a new city, I rest easy knowing my baby is getting the nourishment they need.

6. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate

Especially when travelling in warmer climates, keeping my baby hydrated is crucial. I regularly nursed and ensured to bring along a water bottle. If your child is still on formula,  ensure that sufficient is brought just in case of emergencies!

Travelling with a baby doesn’t have to be stressful, and with a little preparation, feeding on the go can be seamless. The key is to pack the right essentials, stay flexible, and maintain a balance between familiar foods and new experiences.

Hope these tips help in your next adventure; have fun making wonderful memories with your little one!

Frequently asked question

Baby-led weaning is a feeding approach where babies are given safely-textured table foods and allowed to self-feed, rather than being spoon-fed purees. It's associated with supporting oral motor development, pincer grasp and jaw development.

Yes. Meals are made with BLW-friendly textures, but every dish can also be blended down after reheating to a smoother, spoon-feeding consistency, so families can use whichever approach suits them.

Yes. Plate & Play meals can be blended down to a spoon-feeding consistency after reheating, so families who spoon-feed exclusively can use the meals just as easily as families doing baby-led weaning.

No, and they don't need to. Plate & Play meals are designed to be your baby's weekly staples, so cooking becomes something you do when you want to, not something you're obligated to do every day.

Yes. All Plate & Play meals are delivered frozen using cold-chain delivery. Someone needs to be available to receive the order and move it into the freezer promptly.

No. Plate & Play meals are made with no added salt, sugar or preservatives.

Plate & Play dishes are suitable from 6 months onward unless stated otherwise. Infant portions suit babies roughly 6-12 months, and Toddler portions suit 13-24 months, though bigger appetites can extend toddler portions to 3-4 years.

Choose a bi-weekly or monthly delivery frequency, select your meals, and Plate & Play automatically delivers baby and toddler meals on that schedule, so the weekly rotation is sorted in advance.

Meals can be reheated by microwave (3-5 minutes medium-high for dishes, 30-45 seconds for finger foods), double-boiling or steaming (10-15 minutes), or on the stovetop from defrosted (5-7 minutes covered). Air frying is not recommended for dishes.

Since the meals contain no preservatives, they're best consumed within one month of receipt when stored properly in the freezer. Once thawed in the fridge, consume within 24 hours.

Meals are delivered frozen via cold-chain delivery, Monday to Saturday, typically arriving within 1-2 working days between 3pm-10pm. Self-collection is also available at the East Village Mall store.

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