Eating in St.Vincent and the Grenadines with a chronic illness
As a chronically ill person with what presents as a Mast Cell Disease, Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth, and other diseases that are impacted by what I eat, I had an interesting time in St. Vincent and the Grenadines trying to feed myself.
I went to visit family, so I had access to a kitchen to make food to feed myself and my gluten-free husband (and my family). So how does one eat successfully in a small Caribbean island nation with multiple chronic illnesses anyway?
Make sure you have a kitchen
If you stay in St.Vincent and the Grenadines, you need to have access to a kitchen if you have dietary restrictions. I ended up needing to cook for myself many times instead of eating out. I recommend getting an AirBnB instead of a hotel for this reason.
When looking for ingredients, I had a reasonable amount of success finding gluten-free flours and cake mixes at Sunrise Supermarket in Arnos Vale and Massy Supermarket in Kingstown and Stoney Ground. I also found vegan margarines and lactose-free items at these locations.
Buy local
When shopping to stock your kitchen for the trip, buy local versions of things that you can eat. For example, if you tolerate carrots, find the ones marked “local carrots” to save some money on getting your ingredients.
Call ahead to restaurants or look them up on instagram
I called a few restaurants to find out the menus in advance. I also had success searching for the restaurants on Facebook and Instagram. You can also check out pick up and delivery options using the Karibites website.
What to look for if…
….you have celiac disease:
I don’t know of any places that would be appropriate simply because kitchens are unlikely to have separate utensils and stations for celiac disease.
My general rule is to try higher end locations regardless of what country I am in. Rice dishes are safe but a lot of meats come with sauces so ask for no additional sauce. Steaks without sauces should be fine as well if you are willing to try eating out.
You can find gluten-free baked pastries at Carib beans Superfood Coffee at the Kingstown Cruise Ship Terminal but I don’t know if their products are certified for celiac disease.
….you have Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Most places have fries or white rice. Unfortunately, if you have IBS, you need to avoid a lot of the meats. Vincentians almost exclusively start all meats with a marinade made of onions, garlic, chives, and other spices.
I found that fries were a safe bet and steak.
I was able to eat at these places in the Grenadines:
Combination Café in Mayreau where I had fries. You can also try stewed conch or lobster here but they are going to be marinated. If fish is your thing, their fish dish is also really special.
Sparrow’s Beach Club Union Island where I had steak frites. However, my steak was blue when I asked for medium but you may have a different experience. For the steak, it didn’t taste like it had been marinated so it should be safe for IBS or SIBO sufferers.
I was able to eat at these places in St. Vincent:
New Baystones Bar and Restaurant (steak with fries)
Carib beans Superfood Coffee (Vegan blueberry tart)
…you have gluten intolerance
My husband has a gluten intolerance but doesn’t have celiac disease. He ate everywhere that I went and here are some options:
Conch kebabs with fries at Sparrow’s Beach Club. He enjoyed the kebab.
Bun-less Philly cheasesteak with fries from Pitmaster Smokehouse which he said was fine but it was a lot of meat to get through.
Grilled fish with fries at New Baystones Bar and Restaurant. The fish (barracuda) was tasty.
…you are vegan or vegetarian
The only dedicated vegan dish I saw was a vegan and gluten-free blueberry tart at:
Carib beans Superfood Coffee. They also have an assortment of smoothies and dairy-free milks. I will say that I was a bit underwhelmed with the flavour as it was more muted than I expected. The crust seemed to be an oat based crust and it was very tasty.
Vegan soft serve ice cream is sold by Softee Soft Serve Ice Cream and they have vanilla and chocolate. I haven’t tried this ice cream but I will on my next visit.
For vegetarian dishes, there are dedicated places where you can buy Ital. Ital is food that doesn’t contain meat and uses very little additives. It is based on the Rastafarian religion.
You can find a version of the Jamaican Ital at places like:
Kye’s vegetarian cuisine in Paul’s Lot/Paul’s Avenue. They have vegetarian rotis, lentils, macaroni pie (macaroni and cheese) and soya chunks among other things.
Cafe Soleil has vegetarian dishes marked on their menu.
….you are dairy-free
Most places can accommodate a dairy-free diet since Vincentians tend to cook more with oils and not butter.
Safe types of foods are meats, seafood (except if prepared with garlic butter), fries.
Everything I ate was dairy-free and I would recommend asking the server if you aren’t sure how something is prepared.
Here are some places I’ve visited in the past whose menus would work for a dairy-free diet:
….you have a Mast Cell Disease or histamine intolerance
Most places will work in terms of sides like rice or potatoes as those are usually made fresh, however, meats are tricky because of marinades (green seasoning).
As I mentioned, I often ate fries if I ate out because my histamine intolerance also overlaps with SIBO/IBS and so I don’t play nice with green seasoning.
I was able to have the vegan and gluten-free tart at Carib-beans
I had fries and steak at New Baystones Bar and Restaurant and at Sparrow’s Beach Club
I didn’t eat out much but if I wanted to, I could have gone to many places for fries but it was still during the pandemic and there are only so many fries I can have before one of my other chronic illnesses complains about too much inflammatory food.
If you do find any of these tips helpful, let me know. And if you go to St.Vincent and the Grenadines, let me know what was your favourite part about the trip.
