When we were booking our managed isolation tickets I had specified dairy free as a dietary requirement for our stay.

One of the things that I noticed about the dairy free menu is that nearly all of the food I had was also gluten-free.

Food was delivered to us at set times of the day. We were given breakfast, lunch and dinner. With the option to always have snacks with each meal and an option for dessert at dinner time.

We were given a menu one week in advance to choose what we wanted. With the breakfast, they would give me different types of dairy free milk. It was different each time and I sampled oat, almond, soy and coconut. Of them all the coconut was the best tasting.

At lunches and dinners there was always an option to eat a curry, or a gluten free, vegetarian, vegan and sometimes a dairy free option. Some days when they didn’t specify a dairy free option I’d pick something and hope for the best. On occasion I’d get something completely different to what I had requested, but I didn’t complain as it was guaranteed not to contain dairy.

Yet, I need to confess that this time I did not remain completely dairy free. My partner ordered some food from the local supermarket that were quintessentially New Zealand snacks. Of course most of them contained dairy and unfortunately I gave into temptation.

We did order pizza. Mine was dairy free, something that I didn’t find common in the UK unless you ordered a vegan pizza.

I will find exploring NZ supermarkets interesting to see what kind of selection is available for vegan food, and dairy free options. As in the UK big supermarkets do cater for it, but some better than others.

I wonder how living with my partners parents will adapt to me being dairy free. In time we will see.

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