Managing Dietary Restrictions in a New Country
Going abroad to study is a thrilling experience. However, making sure there is food that meets your dietary restrictions can be challenging. You may encounter unfamiliar products, restaurant menus filled with unfamiliar terms, and food labels that differ significantly from those in your home country.
However, students who follow a halal, vegan, or gluten-free diet must pay particular attention to this problem because a dish that seems right to you might have a forbidden ingredient, and something described with familiar terms may not correspond to your dietary needs in exactly the way you expect it.
Fortunately, all problems related to finding food abroad will disappear once you figure out what you should look for. Learning the terminology used by the local population, studying labels, asking detailed questions, and choosing the right locations to order food will help you develop a convenient food routine in a foreign country.
Understand Food Labels and Local Terminology
The first thing you should do after moving to a new country is to understand how the information about products is represented in this place. Words like halal, vegan, vegetarian, or gluten-free can be written in the local language, and certification and allergens can look different from what you have been used to.
It is necessary to learn how the restrictions associated with your diet are described in a new country. It is especially helpful when shopping in supermarkets or eating in restaurants. With the help of translation apps, you can figure out the meaning of many ingredients; however, you should understand what guarantees the label provides.
Never rely on the pictures on packages or names of products. The sauces, snacks, desserts, or ready-made meals can contain ingredients you did not expect them to include. It is useful for students with dietary restrictions to prepare a list of ingredients that they cannot eat both in English and in the local language.
Finding Halal Food Abroad
A person eating halal food needs to pay attention to more than just staying away from pork. Depending on the case, the type of meat, ingredients used to prepare a particular food, and its handling may matter as well. Students should look for places that specifically state that they serve halal meals. It is useful to know who certified the particular food since this gives extra information besides what the restaurant may state.
It is also necessary to pay attention to seemingly meat-free dishes, as they may include ingredients that are not allowed. Sauces, stock, seasonings, and desserts may contain things to watch out for. The most useful places will be local halal restaurants, international food sections of the local supermarkets, special grocery stores, and Muslim communities. Another possibility to find halal food is to try university dining services and ask about preparation methods for those meals.
It is important to remember that the absence of pork is no guarantee of halal food. In case of any doubt, students should ask what ingredients are included in the dish and how the food is prepared.
Finding Vegan Food Abroad
A person living on a vegan diet should be able to eat well abroad, but they need to pay attention to things besides the label of their food as being vegetarian. Vegetarian meals may include some animal-derived ingredients which are not vegan.
When eating at restaurants, students should pay attention to such ingredients in such foods as sauces, dressings, soups, desserts, baked products, and prepared meals. Butter, cream, milk, eggs, honey, and gelatin are just a few possible ingredients to watch out for.
The advantage of supermarkets in searching for vegan food is the ability to see the ingredient list before buying any food products. Students should learn local names of various animal-derived ingredients and look for vegan products where possible.
Knowing a few restaurants which regularly prepare vegan meals will also be very helpful as it would make going out to eat a lot easier. When ordering something at the restaurant, students should not use phrases such as “I am vegetarian” when they need vegan food. They should be clear about the food that they cannot eat.
Finding Gluten-Free Food Abroad
Students who have to consume gluten-free products should be careful when reading ingredient lists and food preparation details. In addition to usual products that contain gluten, like bread or pasta, there are also some sauces, processed foods, baked products, cereals, and other prepared foods that can be gluten-free. Depending on the reasons for your gluten-free diet, cross-contact during cooking may also matter.
Find out how to identify gluten-free products in your destination country. Find labels of gluten-free products or read the allergen information if it is provided.
While dining in a restaurant, ask the staff whether dishes include wheat, barley, or rye and are prepared separately from other products that include gluten. Don’t rely only on the visible presence of bread or pasta to decide whether the dish is gluten-free.
For students who need a gluten-free diet because of health conditions, it is important to communicate the importance of avoiding gluten-containing products to the staff of the café or restaurant. Clear questions will help to understand that the problem is really serious.
How to Explain Your Dietary Needs Clearly
Another extremely useful skill for managing dietary restrictions of international students is how to explain your needs clearly. Before traveling abroad, you should learn several key phrases in a local language. You should be able to tell what products you cannot eat and ask whether the dish includes any specific ingredient.
Rather than asking, “Is this safe for me?” ask “Does this dish include milk?” or “Is this cooked with wheat?” Specific questions are much easier for the staff to understand.
For halal restrictions, you can ask about meat sources and preparation when needed. For vegan diets, ask about the presence of dairy products, eggs, honey, and other animal-originated products. For gluten-free diets, ask about wheat, barley, rye, and cross-contact with other products.
It may also be helpful to have a written version of your explanation of dietary restrictions. It is especially useful while traveling when you are tired or when you have problems with communication.
Finding Reliable Food Sources as a Student
Firstly, make sure to discover a couple of reliable sources of food that do not require you to explore each time you decide to eat. Start with a university. See if the university dining service offers halal, vegan, or gluten-free meals and whether you can get information about ingredients. In this way, you will find out what meals they offer regularly.
It is also necessary to check supermarkets. See what supermarkets near your accommodation offer what you need. Perhaps it will be easier for you to purchase ordinary staple foods than some special products when cooking by yourself.
Some restaurants and cafés may also help you in your situation, but be careful when choosing them because a restaurant that provides clear information about ingredients and its dietary options will be easier to visit than those where employees cannot provide answers to your simple questions.
For students staying in big cities, there may also be some specialized groceries and international food markets that may give you more options for the ingredients you may use.
Conclusion: Make Eating Abroad Easier With Preparation
Eating abroad does not need to be complicated. Mostly, it all depends on your preparation and does not depend on finding some perfect restaurant or supermarket in your city.
You will need to learn how to use the local terminology, check the ingredients’ labels, confirm food certifications where possible, and ask directly in restaurants about the ingredients. Halal diet students will need to check the ingredients, meat source, and the process of cooking food. Vegan students should pay attention not only to the vegetarian label but also to such products as dairy, eggs, honey, and other animal-based products. Gluten-free students need to read the list of ingredients and allergen information.
But most of all, you need to make a small network of reliable sources of food near your university and accommodation. If you already know where to purchase food and where you can eat, it becomes much easier to eat your meals.
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