Rant: Kids Menu= Horrible Diet

I am trying to work my head around this as well. We eat pretty clean at home... when we go out I will let my DD5 have the occasional McD's chicken nuggets and fries. With water... her choice! LOL. She usually gets this about once every three weeks... at other restaurants she gets something more substantial.

If we happen to go to McDs more than that I sub apples for her fries. She's usually pretty good about it. She really just wants to go for the PlayPlace anyways! LOL.

These CS menus are one of the main reasons we chose the DxDP. It does seem though that many places will sub grapes or carrot sticks for fries, but from what I've read (we haven't been there yet), it is not every place.

It's not just Disney unfortunately - a lot of Counter Services places are just horrible. I will usually automatically put some of my salad etc on her plate.

A lot of places (don't know about Disney) will give a kid a sub of a small handful of green salad vs fries if you ask nicely and they have it unpackaged. As long as it is cost-effective for a restaurant - they are usually pretty much there to please.

I wouldn't be shy at a TS to ask for grilled chicken to replace the tenders. A similar amount wouldn't likely cost more for the restaurant. I would also be willing to pay an extra dollar or two if I had to. A lot of chefs/cooks I know are health conscious and are very kind to go the extra mile making sure kids get good nutrition.

It's not so bad if you are going out occasionally here at home and she gets 'treat' food, but I am putting a plan of action into place for two weeks of it while we are there.

I'm starting to get into the habit of only asking her what she wants from things I've preselected (lucky she can't READ! LOL) so often 'fries' will not be on the menu.

I'm thinking most of our snack credits will be spent on bottled water and fruit (with the occasional Dole Whip, Mickey Bar, gooey cookie I keep hearing about!) I will also be asking to do substitutes where ever I'm not totally in agreement with a kid's meal. They may, they may not, but I can be pretty nicely persuasive and if they can't I will share some of mine with her.

We are also planning on doing breakfast in our room most mornings (using a lot of two-credit meals for shows etc.) So I can feed us oatmeal with raisins, flax and wheatgerm (I'm bringing a kettle and bowls!)

One thing I'm finding when travelling is how hard it can be to get a person's daily fibre. I've already purchased some fibre pills. There is nothing worse than feeling bloated when you are vacationing.

Even though we have what we have available and even though it is not 'right' in my opinion to be 'leading' on these eating habits for our kids so nonchalantly, I still think you can work around it, even if they have their fill of grapes and carrots for a week.
 
Yes, that can be done but it's not the point. Why has it become ok to serve our kids this crap for a lack of a better word.

because that is what the majority want, and it is cost affective.
Restaurants are there to make a profit, pure and simple. And, as people have said, for many vacation food/eating out food is a treat, not the norm.

What people choose to feed their children in general is a matter of personal choice. Obviously nutrition is not a big concern for many. As a soapbox, you will have many years of complaining about others if you choose. Or you can just feed your child healthy food and go on with life.:confused3
 
Actually, healthy eating is cost-effective and what people want when they are educated on it. Have you seen any of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution? It is really eye-opening.

Most people do NOT want to be overweight and unhealthy. But it is easier.

I do 100% agree it is a parent's and a personal responsibility to do what is best nutrition-wise for their family... but it is systemic as to HOW ingrained it is into the North American culture and sad to see how processed and sugar-filled everything is. How KFC, for example, challenges families to "Give Mom a break" and go out and get a bucket of chicken!! :scared1: Ya, I'm SURE that's what mom was hoping for on Mother's Day! LOL.

I do think a 'food revolution' has started. Yay! And people speaking up is the reason WHY McD's now carries salads and you can get carrots and grapes and such for CS meals.

I highly doubt nuggets will ever be removed off a menu, nor do I think they need to be, but I look forward to other healthy foods being added.

If those who WANT this stuff keep asking for substitutions, even if you are shy, and are nice about it... restaurants WILL change to meet the growing demand.
 
This was probably the main reason I did not want the meal plan. My kids eat this way very occassionally and I felt a whole week of this would upset their stomachs. However, free dining came along and it was much more cost effective for us. What I ended up doing is scheduling all our TS meals at buffets so that the kids can choose other things and are not locked into the nuggets. For the CS meals, I'm thinking that they will need to pick something grilled or pasta most of the time. Because we are not paying for it, I'm also thinking of them splitting one kids meal and then sharing off of our food to bablance it out. There are good (or better choices) out there but you have to look. Two years ago we got a really nice spaghetti and meatball lunch for the kids at an AK CS meal. It was filling and yummy and not a nugget!
Jessica
 
I agree that eating well is cost effective. Restaurants don't run on the principles of my home. They have to make a profit feeding the masses.
 
I have a kid who likes the traditional kid menus. He's in the majority, luckily. Like many kids, that's currently how his taste buds are wired, and there's no rewiring them at this point. It will change down the road....I certainly eat things now that I never ate when I was a child.

But when Disney tried to make their kid meals more healthy, all they did was make them more awful and very repetitive.

So OP just spend a little more, and go to counter service places that offer a variety, and share. It's really not that difficult.
 
These are mostly sit down dinners which my family cannot afford to attend. My kids sometimes do appetizers instead, or share with us. We tend towards those restaurants that have better selections like CHH or Flame Tree.
The adult meals are really no better at most Counter Service restaurants :confused3.

My DD is a vegetarian so I have had my own issues over the years.
 


because that is what the majority want, and it is cost affective.
Restaurants are there to make a profit, pure and simple. And, as people have said, for many vacation food/eating out food is a treat, not the norm.

What people choose to feed their children in general is a matter of personal choice. Obviously nutrition is not a big concern for many. As a soapbox, you will have many years of complaining about others if you choose. Or you can just feed your child healthy food and go on with life.:confused3

Sorry Indiana but you are completely missing my point. This should not be the norm. As one poster said its because of money well I find it hard to beleive that in the long run with all the medical issues that eating these types of foods bring, that it is indeed cheaper. Obviously we as parents need to stop this from happening and say that it's not ok. I'll pay the extra 15 bucks if I know my child will be eating healthy food. Even school lunches have gone down the hill. My soapbox rant is that this food is not ok and than MAYBE if more of up stood up and shared or disgust things will change.
 
We've found some decent kids meals at some of the CS places. At Pecos Bill's they have a grilled chicken kids meal that my DS loves. It is strips of grilled chicken with ranch dressing to dip it in. I am pretty sure that at ALL CS places we've eaten at, you choose two sides: french fries, grapes, carrots, jello. You really have to just look carefully at the menus. I honestly think they are doing a better job with the kids meals than they have in the past. It is not ALL hotdogs and chicken nuggets anymore.

Electric Umbrella--Epcot
Kid's Picks, for guests 9 and under
All meals: $4.99 each
with choice of two: applesauce, grapes, carrot sticks or fruit punch gelatin
and a beverage: 1% milk, bottled water or apple juice box

Cheeseburger
Turkey Pinwheels
Kid's Cheeseburger

Sunshine Seasons--Epcot
Children's Selection - Sweet & Sour Chicken and Beverage $6.49
Children's Selection - Macaroni and Cheese with Beverage $4.99
Children's Selection - Make your own Mini Sub and Beverage $4.99
Children's Selection - Chicken Leg with Mashed Potatoes and Beverage $6.49

Cosmic Ray's--Magic Kingdom
Kids' Picks
(Children 9 and under)
(All Sides of Restaurant)
All meals include choice of 2 side items: grapes, carrot sticks or apple sauce
Choice of: 1% Mickey Milk, small bottled water or apple juice

Chicken Nuggets $4.99
Mixed Greens Salad with Chicken $4.99
Peanut Butter and Jelly $4.99

Here is a link that was updated on 8/3/10 with counter service menus.
 
Actually, healthy eating is cost-effective and what people want when they are educated on it. Have you seen any of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution? It is really eye-opening.

Most people do NOT want to be overweight and unhealthy. But it is easier.

I do 100% agree it is a parent's and a personal responsibility to do what is best nutrition-wise for their family... but it is systemic as to HOW ingrained it is into the North American culture and sad to see how processed and sugar-filled everything is. How KFC, for example, challenges families to "Give Mom a break" and go out and get a bucket of chicken!! :scared1: Ya, I'm SURE that's what mom was hoping for on Mother's Day! LOL.

I do think a 'food revolution' has started. Yay! And people speaking up is the reason WHY McD's now carries salads and you can get carrots and grapes and such for CS meals.

I highly doubt nuggets will ever be removed off a menu, nor do I think they need to be, but I look forward to other healthy foods being added.

If those who WANT this stuff keep asking for substitutions, even if you are shy, and are nice about it... restaurants WILL change to meet the growing demand.

Totally agree. You can buy a perdue whole chicken and have it cut up for about $10. Fry it yourself and know what's in it or spend 25 bucks for hormone ridden food.
 
Totally agree. You can buy a perdue whole chicken and have it cut up for about $10. Fry it yourself and know what's in it or spend 25 bucks for hormone ridden food.
FWIW, all chicken is hormone free by federal law. Purdue is simply touting something they are required to do anyway :rolleyes:. Both Purdue and KFC's suppliers still feed their chickens antibiotics proactively with their feed even if they are not sick so they can remain healthy until they are slaughtered.
 
I have a kid who likes the traditional kid menus. He's in the majority, luckily. Like many kids, that's currently how his taste buds are wired, and there's no rewiring them at this point. It will change down the road....I certainly eat things now that I never ate when I was a child.

But when Disney tried to make their kid meals more healthy, all they did was make them more awful and very repetitive.

So OP just spend a little more, and go to counter service places that offer a variety, and share. It's really not that difficult.

Taste buds wired? If you allow your kid eat only certain things how will they become adventurous eaters? I guess this is my other issue. Parents have let their kids become "picky" eaters. I know that if I didn't at least try dinner I was stuck with PBJ. So I became more open to eating things as a child. So now parents who have kids who like trying different foods are put in a situation where they are buying a full meal and will more than likely waste it because the portion is so big. Thus adding trash and playing a part in a wasteful cycle but I digress.

I'm not attacking you but my question is, if there were no other choices if he had to eat a REAL meal what would he do? How would you as a parent react would you encourage him to try a new item or would you search out the food item HE wants to eat?

I had girlfriend who for the longest time only ate chain food- food. We went to the Key's and she refused to eat at any of the local places because they weren't a Friday's or Olive Garden. Mid trip we left her at the hotel because we wanted to go to local places. She ate one meal alone, guess what next day she went out with us. Now granted we were 22 at the time but still! Her parents had allowed her to do this on all family vacations to the point that as an adult she was very boring when it came to dining.
 
FWIW, all chicken is hormone free by federal law. Purdue is simply touting something they are required to do anyway :rolleyes:. Both Purdue and KFC's suppliers still feed their chickens antibiotics proactively with their feed even if they are not sick so they can remain healthy until they are slaughtered.
Perdue is antibotic free too.
 
Sorry Indiana but you are completely missing my point. This should not be the norm. As one poster said its because of money well I find it hard to beleive that in the long run with all the medical issues that eating these types of foods bring, that it is indeed cheaper. Obviously we as parents need to stop this from happening and say that it's not ok. I'll pay the extra 15 bucks if I know my child will be eating healthy food. Even school lunches have gone down the hill. My soapbox rant is that this food is not ok and than MAYBE if more of up stood up and shared or disgust things will change.

no, I have lived your point for 22 years. I now know that what I think has nothing to do with what other people do. I can rant about what junk people feed their kids, or better yet I can take a friend a nice basket of veggies. Or make tasty meals when people visit. I can choose grapes over French fries or not order chicken fingers to prove my point with the power of the dollar. I can donate produce to the women's shelter and foodbank. In my experience that is far more affective than a rant and soapbox where youbare either chastising the people who disagree or preaching to the choir. My opinion.
 
Perdue is antibotic free too.

Are PERDUE® products antibiotic free?

Perdue does not use antibiotics for growth promotion in our chickens. We use antibiotics as directed by our company's team of veterinarians, all of whom are board-certified by the American College of Poultry Veterinarians. The antibiotics are used in stringent accordance with FDA and USDA guidelines. All PERDUE® products are free of harmful residues as determined by routine onsite USDA sampling.
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When did the Kids Menu become such a let down. It's all High carb/bad food! Everything seems to be glorified Pizza and chicken fingers mainly. UGH! This frustrates me I understand people have "picky" eaters but what about those who aren't? Kids who want to try items on the adult menu but just need a smaller portion. When did the kids menu become the crap fried food menu? :mad:



With my two, I tend to order adult CS meals and have them share.


If on the DDP, you can substitute the dessert for a small salad. I know it's not a posted option but I had no issues on our last trip doing this at all.
 
We managed for find things that were not chicken nuggets and french fries for our last trip and we will do the same this trip. As for taste buds being hard wired it takes between 18 and 22 introductions of a new taste for a person to develop a taste for the item. We do the Disney Dining plan. We search the menus and I have no problem sharing my food with either of my children. My sons would rather have spinach raviolis instead of chef boyrde but then again I never "expected" them to want that type of food. I expected them to eat what we eat. The latest thing we introduced was smoked gouda..a few faces later my son declared he loves it now...Keep trying to introduce new foods they will eventually develope a taste...
 
Here is another issue...try feeding a 7 year old with Celiac (gluten allergy) at WDW counter service restaurants. TS is alot easier, but CS is almost impossible because of cross contaminations with the food.

Lots of fun. But this is a problem anywhere we take her, because she extremely sick if she gets gluten exposure. :sick:

:eek:
 
My daughter summed it up pretty well with a simple line; "But Daddy, the kid's menu sucks!" As for costs; If timed well you can do a buffet at a reasonable cost and really fill those tummies. Crystal Palace has excellent food with a good selection for the kids. I find that I really need a sit down, eat all you want meal late in the afternoon.
 
Not sure what all the ranting is about in regard to WDW. We've been going as a family with young kids since 2004 and I've never had an issue finding a healthy food option for my kids at counter service or table service meals. There's not always a large variety of heathly foods, but there is ALWAYS at least one healthly choice. Plus, we are on vacation so I don't stress out about it too much. We have 2 really good, healthy eaters, 1 okay eater and 1 VERY picky eater, who by your definition, pretty much eats "crap" the whole time we are at Disney. At home I can prepare the few healthy things she will eat, but one or two weeks out of the year, on vacation, I'm just not going to worry about that. Quite frankly, if all 4 wanted to eat "crap" for a week at Disney, it probably wouldn't bother me. I mean it's few days out of the entire year. Of course, that hasn't happened, because as I stated, we've never really had an issue finding something decent for them to eat at WDW.
 

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