I said, 'What about Breakfast at... Disney?'

A little background...

There are various ways to 'do' Disneyland Paris. You can stay completely outside of the Disney Resort, and be completely independent; you can stay in a Disney 'Partner' hotel, or you can stay in one of the Disney Resort Hotels. 

Having heard reports that Disney could cater for those with food allergies, The Hub suggested that we try one of the resort hotels - in order to save time as much as anything. The Hub, being self-employed (every day he takes off work for holiday he is basically losing money - so each day costs him twice over), was prepared to spend the extra - so we could make the most of our short time there. 

Big gulp! 

I agreed, but must admit to feeling some trepidation about putting our food fate in the hands of unknown others!   

The four star hotel we chose, New York, was about as close to the Disney Village and Parks as you could get. The only hotel closer to the attractions was the five star Disneyland Hotel - which is basically built right over the entrance to Disney Park. 

Our deal included half board: breakfast (eaten in the hotel) and vouchers for dinner that could be redeemed in resort restaurants/hotels, as well as a voucher for a refreshment break. This could, apparently, be exchanged at a number of venues within the parks, for a hot or cold drink and cake.

Now you might think that paying extra entitles you to a better quality of food, but it would appear not!

Back to Breakfast...

Mickey Mouse place mats! 

You are expected to book a time for breakfast! No rockin' up at whatever time you choose! You have to tell them at check-in. We opted for an early-ish hour, just before it was due to get busy - that way we thought we'd get more choice.

It was nice and fairly empty, at the time we chose...

WRONG!

If you have an allergy, you need to mention it to the staff who seat you. You then get presented with this - every morning!

A basket of Free From

A basket of Valpi Form products. That's it!

Everyone else gets buffet tables loaded with all sorts of stuff to choose from.

Put quite simply, Disneyland Paris Resort Hotels do not negotiate over food with anyone. If you have an allergy, or are coeliac, Valpi Form is all they're prepared to give you for breakfast. It stays in it's packets and you help yourself - presumably to reduce the chances of cross-contamination. 

That's great if you have multiple allergies, and are anaphylactic, as you know exactly what you are getting, but then you've got to hope that the last person to handle the packets had clean hands too - that weren't smothered in your allergens!

I mean, someone else with no milk allergy might have handled the boxes with buttery fingers - you just have no idea.

However, if you have just one allergy or are OK with 'may contain traces' you might wish for a bit more flexibility. When you compare this experience with our breakfast at Beefeaters in England (read about it here), you might feel a bit hard done by! 

What's in the basket...

1. One serving (two slices) of gluten free and milk free bread (wrapped). This appears to be soya free, but doesn't state anywhere that it is. Also it is made without egg but may contain traces of egg. No mention of nuts!

See the English Ingredients label?

This bread was quite hearty. It was quite moist, not too crumbly and not at all holey (unlike some gluten free breads I could mention). I liked it.

It was a good job that I liked it, as I had to eat it as it was - the toaster on the buffet table was (inevitably) used by anyone and everyone.

The other problem was that there was no margarine provided in the basket. There were individual sunflower margarine servings on the buffet tables, but there were no ingredients labels on them. So, The Hub Googled them. 

The only information The Hub could find online was for larger tubs of sunflower margarine by the same firm, which did contain milk. Now, sometimes products of different sizes/packaging contain different ingredients and these could have been okay, but because we couldn't tell, we just stuck to straight jam or honey on our toast (you could check the ingredients list of these, because they were on the side of each jar)! 

2. One box of Crac Form (the name made me laugh) which is a bit like Crackerwheat crackers. You can clearly see what it's free of on the front: 

Love the free from labelling on the front!

I must admit, this stuff doesn't float my boat - it's not at all filling and feels like you're eating some form of polystyrene!! However, if you're egg free, well, there's not much else you can have!! It came in two large packs inside the box - so basically, if you weren't the first person opening the packet (and you wouldn't want a whole one) you ran the risk of other people having handled it.

3. One box of Chocolate Chip Cakes (individually packed, within the box).

Individually wrapped

These were gluten, dairy, soya and peanut free, but not much good if you can't have egg!! They were quite nice as free from cakes go - they were soft and not dry or crumbly. Not my usual breakfast fare, but... needs must!

4. One box of Marble Cake (individually packed, within the box). These seemed quite popular, but were basically the same as the chocolate chip cake, without the chips!

5. One box of Chocolate Chip Cookies (in packs of three, within the box).

Not much translation skill required here :)

These tasted like standard chocolate chip cookies, so were quite acceptable, but... I wouldn't have biscuits for breakfast. However, when there's not much choice...

The ingredients. Bit blurry, I'm afraid!

so what can you do??

These were gluten, milk, soya and peanut free. No mention of egg in the ingredients, but no indication why not.

5. One box of Shortbread Biscuits (in smaller packs of about three or four, within the box).

Sorry, not the best shot!

The packet just said 'gluten free' and 'lactose free' but there was no other mention of milk or indeed of soya, so we took a risk and both 'Baby' and I seemed fine with them. They did actually taste quite nice.

Taking a chance...

However, not entirely satisfied with what was on offer, and being less risk adverse than myself, when it comes to feeding 'Baby,' The Hub sourced some bacon and fried potatoes for her, from the buffet table. I wasn't exactly happy with this, but it happened whilst my attention was elsewhere and she was happily tucking in, before I realised what was happening!

From time to time The Hub does this - uses his own man logic. To him, it's logical that bacon is cooked in fat. He is not so aware as I am, dealing with 'Baby' day-to-day of cross-contamination issues, although I do try to 'educate' him. 'Baby' is very sensitive to traces of milk, but not anaphylactic, so it's never fatal, but it's still unpleasant for her. Sometimes it pays off, but there are other times when it doesn't. 

Risks taken and survived (on this occasion), I risked the bacon (visual inspection revealed that they were served in big metal trays, in which they may well have been cooked, with nothing drippy served either side), but not the fried potatoes, as processed potatoes (which these clearly were) are often coated in wheat flour of some kind to make them crispy. Having no idea if this was the case, I steered well clear!

'Baby' loves her bacon!

'Baby' didn't come to any harm from eating either these or the honey-coated cereal, that was also available from the buffet table. Although, I must admit, The Hub did Google the cereal ingredients first! These were served from large plastic dispensers.

'Baby' eats her cereal dry!

'Baby' often eats her cereal dry, although there was actually no need for her to do so, as soya milk is available, on request,  from the hotel. We, in fact, brought our own milk for 'Baby' as she is extremely fussy. Being long-life, it was OK to pack, and once open, was stored in the fridge at hotel reception!!

It turns out you can store stuff there as long as you package it appropriately (we tied 'Baby's' milk inside a plastic bag, and wrote our name all over it). You also have to sign a form to say that you are leaving it there at your own risk (there was a small fridge in the hotel room, but it was stuffed full of hotel refreshments, so we didn't use that).

There were a few other items on the buffet table that we helped ourselves to - fruit and drinks. However, the coffee needs a mention!

Pour moi!

I don't know about you, I NEED coffee in the morning - first thing! 

But... this coffee was served from a machine - the kind that also dispenses coffee with milk, or hot chocolate!! Not to be recommended for those with milk allergies, or who are breastfeeding an infant with milk allergy, then!!

You could however have bottled water or fruit juice.

Good job we passed Starbucks on our way to the Parks each day, then!!

Some reflections...

If you're gluten free, you'll be fine with a Euro Disney breakfast. It may not be what you're used to, but you won't starve. You'll also be fine if you're dairy free and okay with soya. Beyond that, you may want to bring your own bread/muesli/dairy free milk/whatever. 

I took some Genius dairy, gluten and soya free brioche in my luggage, and some almond milk for me, but it wasn't necessary - there was bread and cake for me and as I couldn't eat any cereal and usually drink my coffee black, the almond milk was useless.

All in all, although I know the restaurant staff are probably fairly low paid and possibly low-skilled in terms of food preparation, I can't help wishing that the hotel was more flexible in terms of catering for food allergies. It shouldn't be that hard to make sure that bacon or fried egg was gluten, dairy and soya free, at the very least!! And as for the coffee... pfft!!

If I'd known how generally inflexible and ill-informed the staff at Disney were, I'd have taken 'Baby' some bread rolls from good old Angleterre, as by the end of the week, my lil' wheat eater was begging for bread. Although bread in the UK is generally milk free, I had no idea about French bread, so wasn't giving in to her desperate pleas. Who'd have thought that something so simple as bread would have been such a sticking point?? It's hard when they're little and don't understand. I'm just glad she didn't have any non-allergenic siblings, to make her jealous!!

My conclusion is: Beefeater definitely did it better - for us, anyway!!


Related Post: 



Travelling Eurostar with the Dairy Free Baby and Me

Dairy Free, Gluten Free Breakfast at Beefeaters

Don't know if you're planning a trip to Disneyland Paris, but if you're dealing with food allergies you've got to think carefully about how you're going to get there. 

We opted for Eurostar - catching the train from Ashford station, in Kent. For us, given the hour that Eurostar sets off (one train to Disneyland each day, means no choice over time of day. That meant an over night stay somewhere. 

We decided to book a family room at a Premier Inn, not far from the station. One of the main reasons for this, was that The Hub discovered we could order a dairy and gluten free breakfast from the Beefeater Restaurant that was situated right next door!

Marvellous!

Eat as much as you want and kids go free.

Even better!!

We'd stayed at a Premier Inn a few years ago, but not realised that this option existed. Time to check it out, then!

I have to admit, I was pretty ecstatic to discover (as I perused the breakfast menu, the night before), that they serve unlimited Costa coffee at breakfast. A former tea addict, I am now, thanks to The Hub, firmly converted to 'proper' coffee!

Of course they serve tea too! 

I was also pleased to note the following:

Oo!

See that? 'Gluten free bread is also available...' as is soya milk. 

Wow! Okay, many of us dairy free folks can't have soya milk, for one reason for another, I can't, and 'Baby' won't touch anything other than what she's used to, but I was impressed - I've stayed in a few hotels, since going dairy free and never noticed a hotel offer this option before. But maybe I lead too sheltered a life??

Having perused the allergy menu online, we turned up at the Beefeater for breakfast. I could not fault the polite service we were given. The buffet table was laden with the usual fare you're offered at most hotels: cereal, juice, etc. etc. Okay, there was no white linen on the tables, but there was the Costa coffee, as promised. It was served from a flask, but didn't taste too bad for all that.

Better than instant, any day!

As we thought 'Baby' would happily eat it, we ordered a cooked breakfast. 'Baby' was able to have sausage with her cooked brekkie, as it was dairy free. She also had hash browns.

Of course she didn't eat ALL of this, but I ordered a choice of things that I thought there was a chance of her eating!

I couldn't, have sausage, as the sausage wasn't gluten free, or hash browns, due to a 'significant risk' of cross-contamination, but I wasn't bothered, as there was still plenty of food on my plate:

Not going without

There was also dairy free sunflower spread on the table:

This toast's 'Baby's'

And look! Here's my gluten free toast! Happy days!

Two slices! I did eat it all, as I had no idea how well I would eat later in the day!

It was just as well we enjoyed that breakfast, it wasn't exactly a taster of things to come!

But more on that another time...

Weaning the Dairy Free Baby - The Battle of Baby's Brekkie

One of Baby's favourite bowls!

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, isn't it? I'm constantly learning just how much of a wonderful thing it is, as I continue my journey of weaning Baby. When I first set out on this journey, I naively assumed many things and certainly had no idea of how much a battle it might prove to be. 

Getting Geared Up

Baby being our first (and, at the rate we're going, potentially our only) The Hub and I were eager to get geared up properly for weaning. The Hub's idea of getting geared up was choosing a high chair! 


Gleefully, one  morning, he announced that whilst I'd been sleeping (I slept a LOT when I was pregnant) he'd bought a Baby Bloom on ebay, for half the price! Bargainous! We also bought the bowls, spoons etc. of course, as every parent does. However, dairy being my main concern, we also wanted to start by getting the right advice, especially as Baby was still unable to tolerate dairy. So I asked the GP to refer us to a dietitian, which (much to my relief, because for some people it's a real battle) he duly did. 

The Hub chose the high chair

Preparing for Action
In the meantime, not sure how long it would take to see the dietitian, and wanting to get Baby off to a good start (not being fussy, but prepared to eat a good range of fruit and veg) I eagerly devoured a few (short) books as well as articles in parenting magazines and online. 


Just for good measure, I consulted Gina Ford's book on weaning, as I was still prepared to give her a go, despite our 'failed' attempts to raise a 'contented baby' the Gina Ford way (she is contented - just not in the approved Gina Ford way).  I also dutifully attended a weaning session at a local Mum's and Baby's group, which was led by our Health Visitor. 

At this stage, I just thought that if we put the 'right' stuff in front of Baby, she would eat it - and would continue to eat it quite happily throughout the rest of her life. Looking back now, I scoff at my naivety - there were quite a few things I was yet to learn... the hard way!


I definitely should have taken more notice, during the Health Visitor-led discussion on weaning, when one Mum volunteered her top tip re. fussy eating. She said of her children, that if they didn't eat something, she left it on the table. When next they complained of  hunger, she would sit them back at the table and place in front of them the meal they'd previously refused.


I did wonder (at the time) at what tender age this treatment began. I also wondered whether the youngest, was accustomed to seeing her two elder siblings treated this way and therefore just 'towed the line'. At the time, I thought this approach sounded rather draconian, but it's a tactic that I've been considering myself recently, particularly this morning, after yet another breakfast battle.

For some reason, our battles over food, at the moment, all involve breakfast. Lunch is pretty well set and so is dinner, although we've had our battles over these too. Breakfast, as it's often considered the most important meal of the day, I try to get in before we go anywhere. The operative word here, of course, is 'try'.


She could, I suppose, be refusing breakfast because she's still quite full from the night before, or because she has a monumental number two clogging up the system which needs to be cleared. Sometimes, when she has been refusing food, this has proven to be the case. With food allergic children, constipation is always a possibility (it could be signs of a reaction to something else). Other times, refusing breakfast has been a sign that she's a bit off colour, however, more recently, it just seems that one determined young lady seems set on thwarting me.


Let's talk Tactics
I have tried various tactics, some of which have worked for a short time, others only once, before losing their charm. These have included:

Baby loves hearts!

• Using cute cutlery/plates/bowls with her favourite characters on them (eg. Gruffalo).
• Funny faces - arranging food into faces.
• Saying things like: 'I bet (insert name of fave person/tv character) loves eating this!
• Cutting food into fancy shapes (eg. hearts, stars etc.) with food cutters. 
• Leading by example - eating the food that I'd like her to eat.
• 'Pinching' her food - this works if she like it and is just being a little bit slow.
• Letting her 'pinch' our food - this works, if The Hub's eating Bratwurst.
• Refusing anything else she asks for, until she's eaten properly eg. biscuits, cake, chocolate, boob  etc.
• Going without (taking snacks instead). However, she rather likes this approach and ends up  grazing through all the snacks in my bag (eating the kinds of things that just leave you wanting more and refusing the 'healthy options').
• Veiled threats - 'When you've had breakfast, you'll be able to go out,' ie, 'If you don't eat breakfast we won't be going anywhere!'
• Choice - asking her to decide from a range. However, even when she chooses, she may steadfastly refuse the rest after only one mouthful - no matter how many times the food is placed back in front of her!
• I've also tried variety - being Dairy free, does not mean you have a completely restricted diet (unless you have other foods to which you are also allergic). 

However, all to no avail! Although, to be fair, it's not that she hasn't been eating anything - it's just that she hasn't been eating as much of anything as she used to, and not enough to keep her going through the morning. Which gives the impression that I'm not quite hitting the target (as far as she's concerned) but it's not for want of trying, as we have experimented with a fair variety of foods.

So what ammunition have I been using?

To begin with:

• Baby formula and baby rice/cereal - her first breakfast. This worked well until Hipp stopped manufacturing her favourite (dairy free) blend and then she went off Nutramigen altogether.
• Fruit breakfast with granola (made by Plum, but it looks like it's no longer available).  We alternated between two flavours, however, it was always a bit touch and go, as to whether she'd eat them. 
• Fruit purées of various kinds.

Next:

• Eggy bread. I cut it into tiny squares, so she could chew them. At this stage (having no other milk than Nutramigen, or breast milk) I could hardly offer her cereal, as the Health Visitor's Assistant had insisted we should. However, I reasoned that bread was made with a cereal and egg was a good source of protein and iron, and contained some Vitamin D,* so it wouldn't be too bad for her. Also, in this form the egg wouldn't be too dry, and yet, would be properly cooked. This worked quite well for a while... then she went off eggy bread.

Since then we've tried:

Scrambled egg & toast

• Fried egg on toast - using olive oil. She couldn't manage to eat all of it, so I concentrated on getting her to eat the yolk - that's the bit with all the iron and Vitamin D.
• Scrambled egg on toast - using Pure Dairy Free Margarine
• Poached egg on toast - mainly when she's had a tummy upset and can't take anything oily. We use Delia's method, as it's pretty fool proof, but you do need a timer!
• Cereal and milk - mixture of Cheerios and Rice Krispies with Alpro Junior Plus 1 (not keen on the sugar, but...)
• Fish Finger (Youngs Free From, but Sainsbury's also do a free from fish finger) and a Hash Brown (Mc Cains)
• Toast with honey/jam
• Porridge made with Alpro Junior Plus 1
• Pancakes (made with coconut milk) - only the once to be honest (with some mixture left from Shrove Tuesday - see previous blog on pancakes). Despite a smiley face made of banana and chocolate buttons (which I thought would be a winner) pancake went down like a lead balloon (although she ate the chocolate drops)! So that idea was quickly abandoned.

What now?
Well I'm not completely stumped! I have a few more breakfast ideas up my sleeve.
Further Weapons in my Arsenal:

• Waffles - I've steered clear of these, so far. Partly because making them is a bit involved (no suitable ready mix available that I know of) and partly because of the washing up! Cleaning waffle iron a bit of a faff too!
• Scrambled eggs with additions - I could add smoked salmon or bacon chunks but I'm a bit worried about salt content of these.
• Healthy Muffins - steered clear of these so far as they're a bit too much like cake (in my opinion) and there's a bit of extra effort and washing up involved.
• The Hub's Breakfast - he doesn't always have breakfast, but at the weekend, he sometimes treats himself to sausages. Baby loves Daddy's Bratwurst!! I have to admit, there's nothing like the smell of cooking sausages to get those gastric juices working! However, I'm not sure that she should have those every day of the week!!

Hmm! Maybe I've hit the nail on the head here - with The Hub's breakfast. I have been considering recently whether, as parents, we have been setting her the best example - Hub rushing off to work, each morning, without his breakfast; me eating mine by the laptop, as I catch up on the latest...


Maybe, we should try and get back to sitting round the breakfast table together, but you should see our table - covered in my never-ending washing-to-be-sorted pile!! Speaking of which...Ho! Hum! Back to the grindstone...


Meanwhile, if you happen to think of any other ideas, maybe you could pass them our way??

*Update! Eggs have recently been found to contain twice as much Vitamin D as was previously thought! Meaning they contain two thirds Vitamin D daily requirements, so they make a really great breakfast!!

Related Post

Weaning the Dairy Free Baby - First Steps!

Further Reading:

Neocate Weaning Guide
Neocate Food Allergy Cookbook
Feeding Tips for Toddlers: from One Year (Nutramigen)

Anyone for porridge?

Anyone else woke up to another soggy, wet day? Just the day for trying out porridge, I thought! 

Beginning to thicken!

Porridge used to be a favourite of mine, when I went on camps as a young 'un. One morning some joker decided to add a special ingredient to the mix - one saucepan had green food dye and the other blue. A lot of porridge went to waste that morning, but not mine!

Well, this morning, I decided to give it a go with gluten free oats and almond milk. 

"I don't like porridge!" declared Baby, in disgust, when she discovered what I was up to. 

"That's alright," I replied, "because its not for you anyway!" 

"Hmph!" she said (she's developing quite an effective 'hmph' these days).

'Making porridge is really quite simple, even for me,' I thought to myself. However I DO recommend not decanting your oats into a smart jar, 'cos you lose the instructions for making porridge, as I found out this morning.

Et voila! The finished article! And it tastes YUMMY!

Once I'd located the recipe elsewhere, 50g of oats were poured into the pan, followed by 300ml  of almond milk. It was brought to boil and stirred but didn't thicken. This turned out to be because I needed more heat - I had erred too much on the side of caution following other culinary disasters.

Eventually the porridge thickened and I added my special ingredient - a good splodge of golden syrup! You should try it - it's much nicer than sugar!

"Mmm!" said Baby, when she saw my bowl of porridge. 'Woo hoo!' I thought, 'she's going to eat it and like it this time.' Then I saw the heavily laden spoon making it's way to my mouth. 'OK,' I resigned myself, 'maybe next time!'