Eating well on holiday

A few simple rules worth remembering:

• Home cooking wins. You pick fresh ingredients and you know exactly what went into the dish. (Valeo has a shared kitchen for self-catering — book a room here.)
• If something tastes off — stop eating. In hot weather food poisoning is easy to catch; an off taste is the first sign the food has gone bad.
• Try new exotic dishes one at a time. Wait a day before testing the next one. If the soup contains nothing you recognise — probably best to skip it. Travelling already stresses the body; an unfamiliar dish on top can push it over.
• Be careful with food sold on the beach (chebureks, shrimps, fish, baklava). If you must have a cheburek, buy it from a stall where it is cooked in front of you — even then you cannot really judge the meat.
• Stay hydrated. Heat means you sweat more — top up with water, cold soups, home-made kompot.
• Personal hygiene. Microbes multiply quickly in heat — keep up the showers, wash dishes promptly, change clothes often.

If you’re travelling with children or going somewhere remote, bring a small first-aid kit: antiseptic, activated charcoal or another adsorbent, cotton wool and bandages, a fever reducer, insect-bite remedy, sun protection, painkillers.

Bottom line. If you want to enjoy the sea — not spend your holiday in hospital — watch what you eat. You don’t need to stand by the stove all day, of course, but cook for yourself at least sometimes, especially with kids in tow. Don’t go overboard with beach food — a homemade sandwich or some fruit is usually a better bet. Introduce exotic dishes slowly; remember that some seafood is a common allergen for children. And bring that small first-aid kit, just in case.