Hallie Bulkin argues that the goal of eating on vacation for many families should be safety and regulation around food for children rather than perfect nutrition or gourmet exploration. She shares a personal anecdote about her child, Lily, who became more willing to try new foods while traveling — discovering she liked mushrooms, Parmigiano Reggiano (Parmesan), and balsamic vinaigrette/vinegar — and describes planning a balsamic vinegar tasting in "Medina" as a supportive, low-pressure way to explore tastes. Bulkin notes that travel (particularly to Europe) has helped her picky eater become more adventurous because the environment is more relaxed and regulated.
The goal of eating on vacation is not perfect nutrition or. Or even gourmet exploration. It is for some people, but for your child and for you, it may be helping your child feel safe around food. It may be supporting their regulations so they can enjoy the experience in the trip. Right. And they're not fully focused on new foods all the time. And also, unlike planting the seed for future exploration, even if your child is not sprouting into that right now, to be honest with you, traveling is actually. And because I had zero expectations around Lily trying new foods, she was more interested in trying new foods because we were in a really. Everyone was laid back. We weren't in the daily hustle and bustle. She was very regulated. We were very regulated. And she was kind of like, what's that? And I was like, do you want to try it? Okay. She tried something with mushrooms. Determined. She loved mushrooms. She tried something with Parmigiano, Reggiano. Determined. She loved Parmesan cheese. And this is just kind of how it's happened with her. She recently discovered she liked balsamic vinaigrette and also likes balsamic vinegar. So we are going to support that. And because of that, we're going to go to Medina on our trip and we're going to go do a balsamic vinegar tasting. And listen, she may hate most of them, she may only like the ones we have here at home, and that's okay. But she is so excited about it, and we're so excited about it. I will tell you that, like, traveling to Europe has probably been one of the best things for my kids, and just traveling in general, one of the best things for my picky eater. Because everybody is so, like, laid back and regulated, and we're not forcing things. She does actually become more of an adventurous eater.
