Eating Healthy at Walt Disney World: Yes, It's Possible

Ah....vacation. Time to throw away the diet and embrace any number of calories, carbs and fat grams. Vegetables? What are those? Fruit? Sure! As long as it accompanies lots of whipped cream, syrup and pastry. Lean meats? On vacation? Before you read any further, let me assure you that if you have this mindset, Disney has plenty of options for you. You can start your day with an enormous egg, cheese and bacon croissant with a cinnamon roll (dropping with glaze, naturally!) and wash it down with a thick ice creamy cappuccino "smoothie". Lunch can consist of a rack of barbecue ribs, deep fried onion rings, a large coke and chocolate cake for dessert. Snacks? Try a cream cheese stuffed soft pretzel or a Mickey rice krispie treat. And dinner? Prime rib, au gratin potatoes and cheesecake.

Sound good? Sure. Maybe for a few days. But then you may just find yourself craving (gasp!) fresh food. Fruit. Vegetables. Yogurt. Milk. Something that isn't deep fried or slathered in sauce. Or maybe you head down to Orlando with the conviction that while you do want to indulge on occasion...it is vacation...overall you want to stick with nutritious and delicious foods. Is it possible? Definitely! Is it even easy? It is!

Breakfast. You can start your day however you like. Head to the parks or your resort's counter service restaurant or gift shop for something small, quick and easy, or make a reservation for a sit down meal. At the counter service locations, you can often find whole pieces of fresh fruit and bowls of cut up watermelon, and assorted fruit. Small boxes of cereal and milk are also available, as well as juice and yogurt. Even the Boardwalk Bakery where the pastries reign supreme, you can find a beautiful fruit plate and excellent yogurt parfaits. Table service locales will also serve up healthy options. Places like Kona Café at the Poly and Spoodles at the Boardwalk offer fruit platters big enough to share. You can request eggs prepared the way you like without calorie laden sauces and often omelets are served with veggies. Ask for toast to round out your meal and fuel yourself with healthy food while your tablemates enjoy their bacon, sausage, pancakes and stuffed French toast. Also note that kid's breakfasts are served up with fresh grapes at most locations.

Lunch and Dinner. Disney has made a change across property to health up their meal offerings. Counter service locations are no longer using any trans fats and hot dogs, burgers and sandwiches are offered on multi grain bread and buns. You can substitute apples or grapes for fries at many locations and grilled chicken sandwiches are found in many places. Cosmic Ray's at the Magic Kingdom offers a rotisserie chicken meal with mashed potatoes and green beans or cooked carrots. This meal is more than enough to share, and once you peel back the skin on your chicken you have a delicious alternative to a double bacon cheeseburger. Also in the Magic Kingdom, Columbia Harbor House offers a vegetarian sandwich with broccoli slaw on whole wheat bread and the option of fresh carrots or grapes instead of the fries. Flame Tree Barbecue, where ribs and pulled pork and beef are extremely popular also offers a cold smoked turkey sandwich on whole grain with coleslaw and a barbecue chicken salad with a balsamic vinaigrette. Even their desserts include a frozen lemonade, which still has sugar, but is a better choice than the key lime pie. Nearly every counter service location has healthy options and don't be shy about asking for substitutions. Resort counter services also offer these options and in addition also have the fresh fruit and fruit bowls in their grab and go sections.

If you're sitting down for a table service meal, never fear. While the entrees offered do include the decadent and delicious, there are healthy options everywhere. If you are dining at a buffet, you will find some of the largest varieties of fresh vegetables and steamed veggies. Disney has switched their carving station's prime rib to a leaner strip roast or sirloin so feel free to indulge! Fill up on the healthier items and then go back for the treats. At other table service restaurants, you can also request alternatives to your meal's preparation. Prefer to have your chicken cooked without butter or sauce? Ask. And don't hesitate to ask if they have any vegetable option for the sides instead of fries or potatoes. When it comes time for dessert, ask for any sugar free or fresh fruit options. You'll be surprised at how delicious these desserts can be, and pleased by how little they weigh you down as you leave to head back to the action.

Snacks. Looking for a healthy pick me up during the day? Each park comes complete with a fresh fruit cart where you can find whole pieces of fruit, pineapple spears, watermelon chunks, dill pickles, carrots and celery with dip and assorted beverages. Ice cream carts either carry or can get sugar free ice cream or fruit bars. At the Magic Kingdom's Aloha Isle, guests can also enjoy a traditional Disney treat. Frozen dole whips, a non dairy pineapple sorbet type soft serve is fat free and low in calories. Add some fresh pineapple juice for a dole whip float or simply stick with the juice or fresh pineapple spears for a healthy taste of the tropics.

Searching out the healthy options at Walt Disney World is easier today than it has ever been. Disney is aware of guest's increasing desire to add fresh and healthy ingredients into their vacation diets and they are serving up the good stuff. Take a few minutes to check out the menus and options and insert some fresh and light in between the rich and decadent for an excellent and balanced vacation!