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Episode 9: Traveling with Kids Who Have Eating Challenges with Lindsey Woller
49 Plays17 days ago
Have you ever spent months planning a family vacation only to have the biggest challenge turn out to be finding something your child will eat? For many families raising children with ADHD, autism, anxiety, ARFID, or other feeding challenges, food can become one of the most stressful parts of travel.
In this episode, I sit down with pediatric dietitian Lindsey Woller for our first expert interview on the podcast. We talk about practical strategies for preparing for travel, navigating airports and road trips, handling restaurant meals, and helping children feel more comfortable with food in new environments. Lindsey shares realistic advice that helps families reduce stress while building confidence and flexibility around eating during travel.
Topics Covered:
- 00:00:00 – Introduction
- 00:00:43 – Welcome to Family Travel that Supports ADHD, Autism, and Anxiety
- 00:01:24 – Introducing our guest, Lindsey Woller, RD
- 00:06:19 – Packing safe foods and snacks
- 00:07:57 – Previewing restaurants before your trip
- 00:10:32 – Travel day food strategies
- 00:12:47 – Preventing hangry meltdowns
- 00:14:25 – What to do once you arrive
- 00:20:45 – Letting go of perfection
- 00:23:35 – Connect with Lindsey Woller
- 00:25:35 – Closing thoughts and encouragement
About Lindsey Woller:
Lindsey Woller, RD, specializes in pediatric and family nutrition, diabetes management, enteral nutrition, sustainable weight management, and general wellness. She previously served as the pediatric dietitian at the Children's Hospital of Savannah and has additional experience in both neonatal and adult intensive care settings, giving her a broad and unique clinical perspective across the lifespan. Her passion for nutrition began while studying abroad in South Africa, where she worked in a community garden at a preschool and discovered a love for teaching children about healthy foods. Since then, she has also worked with international nutrition programs in South Africa, Ghana, and Nicaragua. These experiences strengthened her commitment to culturally inclusive nutrition and family-centered care. Lindsey also works with many families with children who have ADHD, autism and anxiety in her outpatient practice with No Diet Dietitian.
Connect with Lindsey Woller, RD:
About Your Host:
Dr. Josette Bianchi is a board-certified pediatrician, mom of three, and a travel lover who believes families should feel confident exploring the world together. Through Family Travel that Supports ADHD, Autism, and Anxiety, she shares practical tips, real-life experiences, and encouragement for families raising children with big feelings, sensory needs, or behavioral differences. Combining her medical background with her perspective as a parent, Dr. Bianchi helps families plan flexible, sensory-friendly trips. Each episode offers simple ideas, honest stories, and helpful tools to make travel more manageable and more meaningful for neurodiverse families.
Connect with Dr. Josette Bianchi:
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Transcript
Vacation Planning for Neurodiverse Families
00:00:02
Speaker
As parents, we spend months planning a vacation. We research destinations, we compare hotels, we build itineraries, especially parents with neurodiverse children.
00:00:13
Speaker
Planning accommodations, quiet resets. We put a lot of work and effort into it to make it great and make it work. And then somehow the entire trip gets derailed because nobody packed enough goldfish crackers.
00:00:26
Speaker
If food has ever felt like the most stressful part of traveling with your child, just know you're not alone. Today, we're talking about eating challenges, safe foods, travel strategies, and realistic expectations with pediatric dietician, Lindsay Waller.
Introduction to the Podcast and Episode Focus
00:00:43
Speaker
Welcome to Family Travel that supports ADHD, autism, and anxiety, the podcast for families who love to travel and have children with big feelings and challenging moments. I'm Joseph Bianchi, a mom of three, board-certified pediatrician, and a travel lover.
00:00:58
Speaker
If you're raising children with ADHD, autism, anxiety, or other behavioral differences, and the idea of travel feels both exciting and overwhelming, this podcast is for you.
00:01:09
Speaker
Each week, we usually follow a simple 3-2-1 format, three places to visit, two places to eat, and one helpful travel tip in a given locale. But today, we're taking a break from that format to talk about something many families struggle with, eating challenges while traveling.
00:01:24
Speaker
This has been one of the most requested topics for us to cover on the show. And I'm excited to have our first expert interview guest. We will be here with Lindsay Waller from No Diet Dietitian, who has a wealth of knowledge and experience.
00:01:40
Speaker
So grab your crew, grab your luggage and your love of adventure, and let's hit the road together.
Meet Lindsay Waller: Nutrition Expertise
00:01:48
Speaker
Okay, today I'm really excited to welcome registered dietitian Lindsay Waller to the podcast. This is our first interview, which is super exciting, our first expert interview, and we are really privileged to have her here, you guys. She is a serious expert in this area, very competent, very talented. i know her both on a personal and professional level, and I'm very excited to have her here.
00:02:11
Speaker
So as both a pediatrician and a mom, I know how important nutrition can be for children's health, behavior, overall well-being, especially for families who are managing neurodiversity and also trying to build in some travel in their lives. Lindsay specializes in pediatric and family nutrition, diabetes management, enteral nutrition, and sustainable weight management.
00:02:34
Speaker
She previously served as the pediatric dietician at the Children's Hospital of Savannah and has additional experience in NICU and adult intensive care settings. So she really has a broad and unique clinical perspective across the lifespan.
00:02:48
Speaker
Her passion for nutrition began while she was studying abroad in South Africa, where she worked at a community garden at a preschool, and she discovered her love for for teaching children about healthy foods.
00:02:59
Speaker
Since then, her international portfolio has grown. She's worked with international nutrition programs in South Africa, Ghana, Nicaragua, and she really has a commitment to culturally inclusive nutrition and family-centered care.
00:03:13
Speaker
She also currently is working for no diet dietician practice, where she works with many families with children who have ADHD, autism, anxiety, and other diagnoses in her clinical practice.
00:03:26
Speaker
And another reason that I'm also really excited to have her here is because we share a Vanderbilt connection. I did my residency there and Lindsay also did some of her training at Vanderbilt. So I am very excited to have you here, Lindsay, and welcome to the podcast.
Strategies for Managing Eating Challenges During Travel
00:03:41
Speaker
Thank you.
00:03:42
Speaker
Hi, thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to be here. This is honestly one of my favorite topics and number one asked question with a lot of my clients and families is how do I navigate travel or travel has been something we've put on the back burner. So this is a topic that I love to talk about and I'm so happy to be here with you to discuss as well.
00:04:04
Speaker
Awesome. I did your intro and your bio, which by the way is amazing. And we're very lucky to have you on the show as our first expert guest. But could you tell us a little bit about your work and your background?
00:04:15
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. So as you said, I previously worked clinically. So I worked in a pediatric hospital. i worked in the clinical setting for about five years. I loved it, but I really wanted to transition over to more of an outpatient setting where I could start to work with families for longer periods of time, start to work on that preventative nutrition and preventative health.
00:04:37
Speaker
So it's been really, I've transitioned about a year ago and it's been really, really amazing journey so far to start to work with families with all different diagnoses. But a lot of the times I do get referrals for picky eating, ARFID, pediatric feeding disorders in general. And that's really my specialty. That's my area that I love to discuss. I love to talk about, and I love to counsel with families on how to navigate, right? Eating is something that kids go through three plus times a day, right? They're supposed to be eating three meals and multiple snacks a day. And for some kids with feeding disorders or picky eating or restrictive eating, that can be really challenging. it has been a great transition to go from clinical to more outpatient. And like you said, be able to work with no diet dietitian.
00:05:25
Speaker
Awesome. Okay, that's great. Okay, so I thought we'd kind of approach this episode really in three stages, talking about what to do before for families, what to do while you're traveling, and what to do when you sort of get there. As I said before, this is probably the topic most people have asked us to cover for the show.
00:05:46
Speaker
And food is really stressful for a lot of families, as you mentioned. it can really be a barrier to travel. So let's talk about first just about preparation, and what are some things you recommend for families to focus on even before they leave their house?
00:06:02
Speaker
Yeah, that's a great question. And honestly, this is where I feel like I spend a bulk of my time talking to families about, right? It's that preparation piece that becomes really important for the success during travel or when you get to your destination. So the few things that I'm usually thinking about with preparation is number one, packing snacks, or thinking about where you can get some snacks or safe foods for your kids.
00:06:30
Speaker
Right? So especially if you have a kid that is brand specific, right? Are you going somewhere where they're not going to have those brands? Are you going somewhere where grocery stores might be different and not carry some of those items? So the first thing I look at is, okay, we always want to make sure we have safe foods when traveling foods that are preferred foods that are comfortable to ease that experience. So is that that you need to pack some food items with you, right? Do we need to do a grocery shop and have some of those items if you're flying or maybe driving, right? Can you pack some of those items or can we look at some of the grocery stores? Can you make sure you have a plan when you get there to be able to get some of these safe food items? So that's number one, right? Snacks and having some of those preferred food items.
00:07:20
Speaker
If you're staying at an Airbnb or a place that has a kitchen, wonderful, right? That gives us an opportunity that we can think ahead for breakfast or maybe even lunch, right? The idea isn't necessarily having to eat out for every meal. How do we still have some safe meals in there for your kids? So that preparation becomes a really key piece. If you're staying in a hotel, maybe don't have a kitchen, you're still gonna have a refrigerator. So can we plan around that? Can we think of maybe some breakfast items or some foods that we can keep in the hotel room again, trying to have that comfort and some of those safe foods.
00:07:57
Speaker
Preparation too, and this is something we'll talk about, is eating out can be a huge challenge. Even starting to look at the restaurants, right? Maybe have a few that you have in mind. Maybe looking at menus, even looking at some of the pictures on there, right?
00:08:14
Speaker
Getting some buy-in with your kids. Can we set the expectation for them? of we're going to eat out and look at how cool this restaurant is. Look at the pictures, look at the environment. Because with with kids that have ADHD or autism or anxiety, new environments can be really scary. So can we help them start to feel more comfortable with some of those environments by maybe showing them pictures or Having an idea, right? Putting that in their mind that we're going to go eat at this place or have a list of places that might be kid-friendly or friendly to to kids with autism or ADHD or anxiety, right? That might have some of those environmentally friendly options, right? Might be a little bit quieter, have outdoor spaces, whatever that may be. But preparation is definitely key when it comes to travel. And I think that's where a bulk of the focus really should sit.
00:09:10
Speaker
Yeah, I love that idea about exploring the restaurants ahead of time. Like here at the show, when we do our look like our destination episodes, we do this 3-2-1 format. And the 2 stands for 2 EATS.
00:09:22
Speaker
We try and cover two eats that are like friendly to our audience, whether it's like you said, like that outdoor seating experience or space to move. And I like doing that because I think it gives people a chance to look ahead and see, will this restaurant actually work? Because maybe even the ones we mentioned won't work, but at least it's a place to start. So I love those suggestions. I think those are awesome suggestions.
00:09:46
Speaker
I love the idea of looking at the menus, showing them pictures of the restaurant. So important, I think, for parents with children who have neurodiversity to sort of do that extra work on the front end to prevent problems later.
00:09:59
Speaker
Yeah. And I definitely agree with the idea of some of the ones that you might pick not might not work for every kid, right? Each kid is so different. And so that's okay if one family had a great experience one place, but you don't think that's going to work, right? That's where that preparation piece comes into play.
00:10:18
Speaker
So I love that. Yeah. I love the idea that you've been offering some ideas in the 321 of restaurants and places to try as well. Yeah, thanks.
00:10:28
Speaker
Okay, so I love all those ideas for prep. I agree. i think that probably this first part we've been talking about is the meat of things. But let's just shift ahead now to while traveling. So whether it's a road trip or whether you're in the airport or some people may be cruising, whatever is happening in terms of your transport, what are some ways to make that part of things easier?
00:10:53
Speaker
Yeah. And I think it goes back a little bit to the preparation, right? So can you have some of those safe foods, those snacks, those comfortable items with you already packed, right? That's where a lot of these are going to become really important because when you're traveling, when you're on the go things always are going to go wrong. And so do you have them on hand, right?
00:11:16
Speaker
Or say you're flying and you get delayed and don't have time maybe to go get a meal. Snacks are going to be what you're relying on. And usually when I think of snacks, I'm going to think of different food groups, right? So do we, yes, kids love their carbohydrates, their chips or crackers, all of that.
00:11:33
Speaker
But can we also have some proteins in there, right? Can we Whether that's maybe some meat sticks or dried edamame or cheese sticks, if you have a cooler, right? Some protein sources to help keep them fuller longer, right? So have something a little bit more satiating, a little bit more fulfilling bridge some periods of time between meals.
00:11:58
Speaker
This also might be a place where we're thinking of, you know, you want to stick with their meal schedule, right? So if usually you have lunch at a certain time, trying to plan around that. If you're driving, can you stop and get lunch to not throw off meal patterns too much? So again, that kind of goes into preparation, but do you have your snacks prepared of multiple food groups?
00:12:23
Speaker
Do you have an idea of where you're going to be stopping for meals, right? Just to keep that consistency the The last thing we want is a kid to be overwhelmed during travel or in an airport and to melt down and also be really hungry and having haven't had good nutrition. Right. So really relying on some of those safe snacks and packing ahead of time is going to be important during travel.
Maintaining Meal Consistency and Introducing New Foods
00:12:46
Speaker
Yeah, I really have been burned by the hangry vibes, super hangry vibes with my kids. And I often make the mistake of just thinking I have enough snacks. It's like you never have enough. You always have to pack more than you think you need.
00:13:01
Speaker
Yes. And then especially if things go wrong, right? Having backup is going to be key because what if, yeah, what if you can't get to that meal? What if mealtime does get disrupted, right? Having those backup snacks of...
00:13:14
Speaker
more substantial food with that protein source is going to be really important. Maybe some fiber too, right? Can you have some fruits or veggies or fiber sources in there too, to help keep them full? but yes, you can never overpack on snacks, right? think. Never.
00:13:31
Speaker
Yeah. Like you said, definitely packing more than you, you might even think you need. Yeah, I think you always have to pack a little bit more than you think you need. And I really like the suggestion. And we've actually, from just our conversations, since we've taken a couple trips since I started speaking with you, just making sure to have the protein, like the edamame example is perfect, especially if you don't want to bring something that may be like allergic in nature. That's been good to just satiate a little bit more. So I love that suggestion.
00:14:01
Speaker
Yeah. One other thing I just want to mention, too, just for listeners, is that if you do have medically necessary foods or liquids, you can check with TSA before you travel as well, because sometimes they will make exceptions for things like that. So for some of our families that have those, definitely check ahead of time, because there are ways you can get exceptions to the rule with TSA. Yeah.
00:14:22
Speaker
Okay, Lindsay, so we're finally there. We made it to our destination. We're on our vacay. We finally got there. What can our families who listen to the show do to make things better? You mentioned going to the grocery store, which I think is huge if you're able to. And depending where you are, that may, you raised a really good point that may have the brands your kids like or it may not. So talk a little bit about that first grocery store trip and how to kind of get your place stocked and some of your other tips for when you finally get there.
00:14:55
Speaker
Yeah. So I like to think that, yes, travel means some change, right? There's going to be the expectation of eating out and maybe trying some new foods, but it doesn't have to be for every meal, right? Can we try to keep it simple? Can we try to keep it consistent It does not have to be that big of a variable change from home, right? And that's the key is how can we build confidence in these kids, right? That they can go, they can travel and they can do it successfully, right? And build that confidence. So I like to think of, okay, having one meal out, but can we keep some other meals consistent? So going to the grocery store, right? What is our typical breakfast? Let's keep it the same. Let's keep it simple. Same with lunch, right?
00:15:41
Speaker
I'm sure there's a go-to lunch that usually pack for school or they're used to at school or when they're home, right? Keep it consistent, right? That's what I would be shopping for at the grocery store. looking to see if we can do some breakfast. Can we do some lunch, especially if you're going to be out doing outings, right?
00:15:59
Speaker
That can be a huge, that can be a little overwhelming for kids. So let's have their lunch be the same. Let's have it be something safe and what they're used to, right? Let's not make that the big variable and change. So that's what I'm looking for. Grocery shopping. Can we keep some of their breakfast, maybe some lunch, some of their snacks, right? You might need to be replenishing that snack bin that you previously had packed. That's what I'm looking at. And then we can incorporate the eating out as well, but that's not going to be the focus of every single day and every single meal. So that's, again, usually what I'm looking for is breakfast, lunch, or picking a few meals that you think is easiest to keep consistent. to keep the routine, to make eating a little bit easier on the go, if possible.
00:16:47
Speaker
Yeah, I think that's great because you're right. and When you're traveling, it's like this balance, right? We want the kids to experience new things and that is part of the point of travel, right? But that's also the part that can be a little bit tricky and challenging. So if there are things that we can keep the same and stick to a routine with, like you mentioned before, like times when they eat,
00:17:08
Speaker
Or if you say foods or breakfast and lunch being similar, I think that that can be comforting for a lot of kids and really helpful. And then maybe experiment with one meal a day or a few times during the week instead of all your meals. And then if it doesn't work out, at least they've had something in their system. Yeah, exactly. Right. And then you're helping again with some of that.
00:17:30
Speaker
If there are meltdowns, not but not inducing any of that hanger, right? Because at least we have a few good meals, like you said. and then picking your battles, picking those new environments to try few times eating out.
00:17:44
Speaker
Exactly. I think sometimes people just need permission to hear like, it's okay if you're just doing some fruit and crackers and macaroni for a few days. Like it doesn't have to be like, we're in Italy, so everyone has to eat like exotically or wherever you may be, you know?
00:18:00
Speaker
So I think that's a good mindset shift for people. I have some friends that listen to the show who they have children who have tons of allergies. We've talked a lot about like picky eating, ah touched a little bit on ARFID and just neurodiversity in general. But what about kids with like major food allergies? Do you have any thoughts there or extra tips that might not be as obvious to all of our listeners? Yeah.
Handling Food Allergies and Imperfections in Travel
00:18:29
Speaker
Yeah. So again, thinking of that kind of falls in the same category of thinking that every single meal doesn't have to be eaten out for safety reasons, because finding some of those restaurants that are going to accommodate allergies can be hard, right? So the idea of, okay, giving yourself permission that it's okay to have a few meals that you're going to pack or make at home, at the hotel, at the Airbnb, wherever you are, And then when it comes to allergies, definitely that's where of the preparation, right? Looking ahead at some restaurants and then even calling, seeing if there's a celiac allergy, right? Calling, seeing, okay, you know, what are the cooking methods, right? Are they separate? Are we using the same fryer, right? can never be too safe. So I think That falls definitely more in the preparation. But the idea too oh yeah is love that is the idea of, again, it doesn't have to be you're eating every single meal out. We can have some safe meals. And then with that preparation and doing some research ahead of time, you'll know some of the restaurants that you might have already called or vetted and discussed some of these food allergies with.
00:19:37
Speaker
But it can be really tricky, right? That is a really hard one to navigate. And so i yeah, I definitely think just doing some research ahead of time and knowing if you're going to be near one of those restaurants you've already vetted, or do you need to think of packing a meal?
00:19:53
Speaker
Because I know not every every restaurant or even if you're doing an outing for the day, they're not always going to be able to accommodate all allergies. and That's okay, right? That's where grocery shopping and having that preparation or packing a meal might be helpful. And then maybe at dinner, you go to a restaurant that's a little bit safer.
00:20:12
Speaker
Yeah, I like the idea of calling ahead just to kind of confirm before you commit to because eating out also is so expensive lately. You don't want to go if you got to end up bringing food for somebody. Right. So I think it's a great idea to call ahead and just confirm.
00:20:26
Speaker
Just taking the extra time, like we said, up front to prevent meltdowns or problems later is so important. Yeah. Okay. I think we're going to shift our signature interview question, if that's okay with you. Any other tips or anything for the traveling piece before we so we shift, Lindsay?
00:20:45
Speaker
The only other thing that I would like to say is I know this can be a lot, but just going in with also the expectation that it's not going to be perfect and that's okay, right? Yeah. Even just going to a new environment, new restaurant, even if your child doesn't eat the meal, even if your child isn't happy with it, that's okay.
00:21:05
Speaker
It's still a win, right? It's a win that you were able to go out to eat. It was a win that they sat through a new experience. It's not going to look perfect. But each time you do it, the hope is gaining that confidence, teaching that your child can successfully enter a new environment and navigate a menu, navigate new food, right? But just knowing it's not always going to be perfect and not having the expectation it will. And that's okay, right?
Encouragement and Support for Parents
00:21:32
Speaker
That's that's okay.
00:21:34
Speaker
I love that. That's perfect for the show because that's like we're all about it's not going to be perfect, but you're going to get through it and you're going to look back and it's hopefully you're going to have more good than bad. And we're just building those skills while we're traveling. Right. So it's a perfect way to do that. So I love that.
00:21:52
Speaker
Okay. So before we close, I want to ask something that I'm hoping to make part of like all our expert interviews. And this can be about food. it could be about travel. It can be, you can answer it however you want. What's one thing that you wish more parents knew?
00:22:10
Speaker
m I wish more parents knew. knew about resources like this. Honestly, I wish parents didn't know that they were alone in this, that there are other families out there that also have concerns with traveling or have concerns with bringing their kid to a new restaurant. I wish they just knew that they were not alone in this. And that's why it makes me so happy to be here today and to be talking to you.
00:22:41
Speaker
because i think this is such a great resource that families should know they're not alone in this, right? They all might be asking the same questions or might have different questions. But yeah, I just, I really wish parents knew that they weren't alone. at the There's resources out there. There's organizations that you can reach out and there's professionals that can help kind of navigate some of these tricky areas. Yeah.
00:23:06
Speaker
Yeah. Thank you so much, Lindsay. I agree. Everybody listening the show, you are not alone. That's why we're here. That's why we started this podcast. And if it resonates with you more people can listen and get some great tips.
00:23:19
Speaker
All right, Lindsay, before we finish, you have so much great information. i know not even just for this episode, but just in general, you have the most creative ideas about eating and nutrition of anyone I've, I think I've ever met. So i just want to know, like, how can people find you get an appointment with you if they're interested or just learn more about all the great work you're doing?
00:23:45
Speaker
That is a great question. And thank you for asking. So I currently work at No Diet Dietitian. You can simply find us through a Google search. We have an amazing team of pediatric dietitians. I am also a part of that team.
00:24:00
Speaker
So you can definitely reach out to No Diet Dietitian. I believe they have a en inquiry on their website. And then you can simply just say that you were referred by Lindsay, myself, or from this podcast. most and We are covered by most insurances. So most of your appointments will be covered, no cost or a small copay, but for the most part, all of our sessions are covered. So definitely just reaching out to No Diet Dietitian saying that you want to work with me or just that you heard about our services through this podcast or through Lindsay. And we will definitely be in touch. And I would love to help any future families or anybody navigating food concerns with their child.
00:24:48
Speaker
That's amazing. Okay, Lindsay, thank you so much. This has been so amazing and you have been an amazing first guest. Thank you for going on this journey with me. We did this together for the first time and I really appreciate it. And i just, I had a really good time, even though I was a little nervous, I had a really good time and you were definitely an easy first guest to do this with. So I very much appreciate your patience and all your amazing answers and just appreciate you in general.
00:25:19
Speaker
Of course. And thank you so much for having me on here. Again, I'm so excited to talk about this topic. So again, thank you so much for all of your work and putting this podcast together and being a resource for families and for having me be a part of it as well.
00:25:33
Speaker
Awesome. Travel doesn't have to look like anyone else's version to be meaningful. Meet your kids where they are, adjust when needed, and keep wandering without limits. You've got this.
00:25:44
Speaker
If this show resonated with you, please follow or subscribe to the show and share it with another parent who might benefit. We'd also love to hear from you. Feedback, questions, places you'd like us to cover on the show. Email me a show suggestion or reach out if you're planning a trip and would like some support.
00:25:59
Speaker
You can also find us on Instagram at Family Travel That Supports. We share tips, info on upcoming episodes, and ask for listener input on upcoming episodes. And lastly, disclaimer, this podcast is for general informational and educational purposes only and is not to be considered medical advice for any patient.
00:26:18
Speaker
Thanks for tuning in, and we'll see you next time.