The Green Parent

Anytime you venture out on vacation, you put yourself at the mercy of the food selections that will be available  to your family at your destination.  Things get even more complicated at Disney because its not like you can just dash out of the park to pick up something else if you don’t like the selections you’re offered.

Fortunately, there are plenty of  healthy, well-balanced, eco-savvy meals for both kids and adults…you just have to know where to look.   For instance, if your kids get hungry in Animal Kingdom, you could make a pit stop for a burger and fries.  Or you could pick up a turkey sandwich with apple slices at Tamu Tamu Refreshments.  For snacks, skip the chips and head over to Harambe Fruit Market and pick up some pineapple, apples, bananas, or a celery and carrot plate.

It would be a little insane to try to list all

of the healthy food selections at all of the Disney World restaurants, so for now, I’ll limit the list to just those found in the Magic Kingdom.  If you need more specifics or a detailed list of healthy foods at any of the other “kingdoms”, drop me a line and Ill see what I can do.  Here’s where to find the healthiest food choices in Disney World:

Casey’s Corner

Apple Slices $1.29

Columbia Harbor House
Anchors Aweigh Sandwich – white tuna with lettuce and tomato on toasted multigrain bun $6.99

Lighthouse Sandwich – hummus with tomato & broccoli slaw $6.49

Garden Harvest Salad – mixed greens, chicken, garden vegetables, cheese and sunflower seeds $7.19

Bowl of Vegetarian Chili $4.49

Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe

Grilled Chicken Sandwich served with apple slice or french fries $7.19

El Pirata y el Perico

Vegetarian Taco – two corn tortillas filled with refried beans and served with refried beans and white rice $5.49

Golden Oak Outpost

Vegetarian Flatbread Wrap $6.79

Liberty Tree Tavern

Declaration Salad – field greens and vegetables tossed with your choice of our tavern strawberry vinaigrette or roasted garlic buttermilk dressing $5.99

Main Street Ice Cream Parlor

Ice cream and other sweets as well as tofutti and rice dream

Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe

Vegetarian Burger served with fries or apple slices $6.29

Pinnochio Village Haus

Mediterranean Salad – mixed greens, chicken, roasted red peppers, black olives and red onions, mozzarella cheese $7.19

Plaza Restaurant

Chicken Strawberry Salad – fresh garden greens, grilled chicken breast, fresh strawberries, gorgonzola cheese, tossed in a white zinfandel vinaigrette dressing $11.99

Vegetarian Sandwich – fresh mozzarella, hummus, basil pesto, cucumber, roasted red pepper, tomato, and lettuce on a freshly baked foccaccia bread served with broccoli slaw or sweet potato chips $11.49

Grilled Chicken Sticks with apple wedges, rice, soup or salad, and BBQ sauce $7.59

Tomorrowland Terrace Noodle Station

Vegetable Noodle Bowl with Tofu $6.99

Tofu with Steamed Rice $7.59

Tony’s Town Square

Eggplant Catasta (Stack) – Layers of Eggplant, Fresh Mozzarella, and Parmesan with Marinara Sauce $12.99

Vegetable Calzone – Filled with seasonal Vegetables and fresh Mozzarella $11.99

Toontown Farmer’s Market

Assorted fruit ($0.99-2.99) and yogurt ($1.99)

If you’re a vegetarian, check out this link to find a listing of the at all of Disney World’s restaurants.

Buying Groceries?

If you are fortunate enough to stay at lodging in Disney World that has cooking facilities, I highly recommend getting some groceries at any of the nearby grocery stores to feed your family.  Even if you just buy some fruit and healthy snacks to supplement your meals in the park, it will seriously reduce waste and save you a fortune to bring some of your own food into the parks.  If you won’t have a car during you stay, you can have groceries delivered to your room for a minimal fee.  There are a number of grocery services available…we used  on our trip and I can wholeheartedly recommend them.  They have a fantastic selection of organic foods, their prices are reasonable, and the surcharge for doing all of the shopping and delivering the food to our room was only about $20.  Totally worth it!

On more thing.  I was pretty happy to learn that Disney makes sure all of their second servings to good use by donating them to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida which distributes food to needy families.  Each day, a Disney Harvest truck makes the rounds among the resort’s restaurants and convention centers to pick up excess prepared food that has not been previously served. The truck delivers food to 41 agencies each week and feeds over 1,000 children in Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties. During the past year, Disney Harvest served over 704,000 pounds of food.

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