Meal ideas for developing country trip if you can't use tap water to cook...

[Anonymous]

Brush their teeth with bottled water.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You need to use bottled water, boil it or bring some kind of filtering system with you. Everything you said with water, that water needs to be boiled at a minimum.

OP here. Planning to use bottled water and bring a filter. So should I boil the bottled water and then filter is after that? Arsenic contamination of groundwater is a major problem where we are traveling. My husbands family doesn't think it's a big deal but that's all they have known. We will not be staying in a hotel and there aren't any high end hotels or restaurants close to where we will stay.

Have you done any research to where you are going? That should tell you. It would depend on where the bottled water came from. I would filter and then boil everything if you are worried. And, bring medications with you. Personally I wouldn't go.

[Anonymous]

For milk, they should have packaged shelf-stable milk at most markets. That's safe.

For sterilizing, you can boil the utensils in the local water. Anythign bad wont' survive or remain on the metal utensils once they are dry.

I don't know about arsenic, but most places i"ve been that are iffy, and i"ll eat frut and vegs taht have a peel, like avocado, oranages, bananas, etc.

[Anonymous]

Wow

[Anonymous]

Bread and cheese

Bread and peanut butter

Frozen waffles

When my friend went to such a place, she took a million different protein and granola bars along with PB, cookies, and chocolate. Drank bottled water and soda. Lost a bunch of weight, but didn’t get sick. Her travel companions who ate local food got the runs. One brought home a parasite.

[Anonymous]

We spent a month in se Asia with a water expert and were told that the issue was long term buildup of heavy metals and arsenic but that being there for a month and occasionally using tap water wasn’t going to affect us, healthy people who generally aren’t exposed to such things. I think op you’re over thinking it especially as you’re staying with family and presumably they are surviving it.

[Anonymous]

Googling, it appears that there are a few brands of filters that remove arsenic. I would get one off those and also boil the water.

Yogurt seems safe. Cheese probably also safe. I would pack a lot of protein bars. Fruit and veggies are probably safe if cooked or peeled — avoid ones with a high water content like watermelon or cucumber.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We spent a month in se Asia with a water expert and were told that the issue was long term buildup of heavy metals and arsenic but that being there for a month and occasionally using tap water wasn’t going to affect us, healthy people who generally aren’t exposed to such things. I think op you’re over thinking it especially as you’re staying with family and presumably they are surviving it.

She hasi little kids. That’s totally different than a healthy adult. If you have a 20 pound toddler they are going to be affected much more quickly than a 200 pound adult, plus their brains and bones are developing and are more affected. Yes, the kids who live there are surviving —but I’m sure they have long term health impacts and it’s not crazy to want to avoid that. I mean, would you move your toddlers into an apartment with lead paint dust. If you could avoid it? Probably not even though loads of kids have grown up that way.

[Anonymous]

If you cook things (including water), it is safe.

I think you need to visit a travel clinic. They will print out advice for you. It is very doable.

Avoid all raw food, including uncooked vegetables rinsed in water (such as salads) or fruit you do but peel yourself.

(And ice cold cubes, as well as unpasteurized milk or cheese ).

It is very doable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For milk, they should have packaged shelf-stable milk at most markets. That's safe.

For sterilizing, you can boil the utensils in the local water. Anythign bad wont' survive or remain on the metal utensils once they are dry.

I don't know about arsenic, but most places i"ve been that are iffy, and i"ll eat frut and vegs taht have a peel, like avocado, oranages, bananas, etc.

+1 to the UHT milk.

Also, we use to wash/soak our fruit and vegetables with a little bleach to kill anything. I looked it up and the ratio is 1.5 tablespoons of bleach per gallons of water. Obviously you rinse very thoroughly.

Will your kids eat tuna salad or chicken salad? bring packets or cans of tuna or chicken, little packets of mustard and mayo.

[Anonymous]

Op, I am confused. If the issue is arsenic, why are you sterilizing utensils in the microwave?

Are you worried about quality of produce there? Where do your dh’s relatives get their groceries? They must get them somewhere.

Powdered milk is pretty available in developing countries, it’s the liquid milk that’s more rare and expensive. And they have all kinds: whole, 2%, non-fat. Why would you lug it from here?

Can your kids survive on the menu you wrote for a month?

Bring packed meat: would they canned tuna? Canned chicken?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For milk, they should have packaged shelf-stable milk at most markets. That's safe.

For sterilizing, you can boil the utensils in the local water. Anythign bad wont' survive or remain on the metal utensils once they are dry.

I don't know about arsenic, but most places i"ve been that are iffy, and i"ll eat frut and vegs taht have a peel, like avocado, oranages, bananas, etc.

+1 to the UHT milk.

Also, we use to wash/soak our fruit and vegetables with a little bleach to kill anything. I looked it up and the ratio is 1.5 tablespoons of bleach per gallons of water. Obviously you rinse very thoroughly.

Will your kids eat tuna salad or chicken salad? bring packets or cans of tuna or chicken, little packets of mustard and mayo.

op. no. they are picky. one kid won't eat bananas or oatmeal but i mentioned we are going to try them before the trip. i found sourdough crackers that travel well. cheese isn't typically found where we are going. i thought of packing turkey pepperoni. i just made a large order from vitacost with some neat items such as high protein muesli, probiotics, different oatmeal packets that are high protein, fiber cookies, dried cranberries and vitamin multi gummies for all of us. we will get all of the vaccines and we have been to a travel clinic already for advice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op, I am confused. If the issue is arsenic, why are you sterilizing utensils in the microwave?

Are you worried about quality of produce there? Where do your dh’s relatives get their groceries? They must get them somewhere.

Powdered milk is pretty available in developing countries, it’s the liquid milk that’s more rare and expensive. And they have all kinds: whole, 2%, non-fat. Why would you lug it from here?

Can your kids survive on the menu you wrote for a month?

Bring packed meat: would they canned tuna? Canned chicken?

op here. so i can avoid using tap water. I can use bottled water to sterilize. i want to be in control of our meals and lets just say hygiene isn't the same there.
the last trip they didn't always use soap to clean utilities. i'm sure his family will tell me i am over reacting because they didn't have to deal with a kid who was in the hospital for 11 days when we came back. he was also sick there and went to the hospital but the hilliness came back. it's possible he got it again or the dose they gave him wasn't enough. i would like to avoid an extended stay in the hospital. it cost us thousands.

[Anonymous]

Do not travel to this place, especially with your children. It has proven unsafe for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Googling, it appears that there are a few brands of filters that remove arsenic. I would get one off those and also boil the water.

Yogurt seems safe. Cheese probably also safe. I would pack a lot of protein bars. Fruit and veggies are probably safe if cooked or peeled — avoid ones with a high water content like watermelon or cucumber.

op here... most of those filters are filters you need to install. i was thinking to do a portable water bottle type of filter. we were told to only use bottled water. no dairy or meat. no salads and only fruits we can peel. the pollution is very bad there and a lot of fruit will sit outside at the market.