Eat Clean foods at WDW

[Brbird]

Hello everyone!

I'm new to this forum--actually new to DIS. I will be going to WDW in May as part of my husband's and my 30th anniversary celebration!! We've been to WDW 3 times before with our kids, but since then I have had to be a lot more strict with my diet, moving to a "clean eating" diet. So I have researched foods at each park and have compiled a list of dishes at each park that I think will work for those of us on an "clean eating" diet.

I have emailed WDW (thanks for the fan who posted the email address!) about the sugar content in the tomato soup, broccoli slaw, and jungle safari soup -- so those might come off my list when I hear back from WDW. I also posted this on the "disney restaurants" thread.

List of foods that I believe either are or can be easily modified for a "clean eating" diet:


AK:

Rainforest cafe
Jungle Safari Soup –
Paradise House Salad -
The Big Islander Chicken
Caesar
The Little Islander Caesar Salad
Volcanic Cobb Salad
RainForest Natural Burger

Safari Turkey: Smoked turkey leg??

MK:

Aloha Isle:
Fresh Cut Pineapple Spear
Aunti Gravity:
Whole fruit

Columbia House:
Garden Harvest Salad
Lighthouse Sandwich
Broccoli pepper corn salad
Fried Shrimp Basket
Grilled Salmon

Cosmic Ray:
Chicken noodle soup
Grilled Chicken Sandwich

Diamond Horseshoe revue
Ceasar Salad with Chicken

Golden oak outpost:
Vegetable Flatbread
Pecos Bill:
#4 Vegetable Burger
#5 Caesar Salad with Chicken

Pinocchio village haus
Tomato Basil Soup
Caesar Salad

Plaza restaurant:
Chicken Strawberry Salad

Tony’s town square
Minestrone
Mixed Greens
Seasonal soup
Tomato and Mozzarella Salad
Chopped Salad
Mulit-Grain Pasta Primavera
Tony's Flatbread
Seasonal No-Sugar Added Sorbet

EP

Katsura Grill
Chicken Cutlet Curry
Chicken Cutlet Pan

Kringla bakery
Tossed Salad
Ham and Apple Sandwich
Fresh fruit cup

LaHacienda
Ensalada de la Hacienda
Sopa de Frijol
Pescado a la Talla

Liberty Inn
Angus Smokehouse burger
Black bean vegetable Burger

Marrakkesh
Harira Soup
Chicken Couscous
Vegetable Couscous

San Angel Inn:
Ensalada Mexicana
Mahi-Mahi a la Veracruzana
Pollo a las Rajas

Tangierine café:
Vegetarian Platter
Mediterranean Side Dishes

Teppan Edo
Garden Salad
Miso Soup

Tokyo dining:
Edamame
Ebisu

Via Napoli:
Minestrone
Pollo
Wood Fired Authentic Pizza Napoletana

Electric umbrella:
Southwest Black Bean Flatbread
Fruit Cup

Sunshine Seasons:
Ceasar Salad
Rotisserie 1/2 Chicken

HS

50s prime:
Chicken Noodle Soup
Ceasar Salad with Chicken
Aneheim produce
Assorted Whole Fruit
Carrots

Backlot express:
Greek Salad
Grilled Vegetable Sandwich

Catalina Eddies
Caesar Salad

Cool Set refreshments:
Apple Slices
Assorted Whole Fruit
Carrot & Celery Sticks
Carrots
Granny Smith Apple Slices
Grape Cups
Mixed Fruit Cup

Mama Melrose:
Caesar Salad
Mixed Greens
Vegetarian Minestrone

Peevees polar pipeline:
Apple Slices
Assorted Whole Fruit
Carrot & Celery Sticks
Granny Smith Apple Slices
Grape Cups
Mixed Fruit

Sci fi dine-in
Vegetable Burger
Whole Grain Pasta
Fresh Fruit Salad

Starring Rolls Café
Whole Wheat Veggie Pita

Studio catering:
Grilled Vegetable sub
Toluca legs:
Turkey Leg


2004: Fort Wilderness (tent trailer)
2008: Fort Wilderness (trailer)
2011: Fort Wilderness (trailer)
2012: off-site, short trip, first "couple-only" WDW for 30th anniversary!!

 

[Horse]

Thanks! Great list. I'm printing it now and bringing it with me. I also have found it difficult to find healthy item choices at WDW, so I would go through menus of restaurants I would consider going to before my trips. Now I can just use your list. Thank you so much

 

[buffettgirl]

if they give you the sugar content of any items I'll fall of my chair.

but please do tell if they post it.

I am curious about some of the selections - fried shrimp basket?

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I think that's a lot of work for nothing. All sit down restaurants should offer plenty of items which you can eat to stick to a "clean" diet. You can always ask for things like sauce left off items, foods grilled or broiled rather than fried (and I agree - fried shrimp basket?), brown rather than white rice, etc. Why waste so much time making such a list?

 

[dclfun]

I don't have any problems with the OP making a list, as I'm a list-maker myself and it's fun to do research. I do have to wonder though about some of the selections. Caesar salad, for instance has a high-fat dressing, and turkey legs are very salty, so I'm not quite sure what a "clean eating" diet entails. Is it only processed sugar that you're trying to avoid?

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

I think its great to eat healthy....but...this is a *choice*, not a disability*

AKK

 

[buffettgirl]

not to mention that almost any item that comes off a "grill" is going to be soaked in butter.

 

[scottmel]

I like Tosca Reno too! Clean eating lady...I tend to do as previous posters suggested - order grilled with lemon etc. I too love to avoid sugar and find dining out rather easy at WDW. I enjoy staying club level for this reason - so many veggies and fresh fruit makes it way easier than a counter service for me

 

[utterrandomness]

I think its great to eat healthy....but...this is a *choice*, not a disability*

AKK

Actually, I'm currently moving towards an eat clean diet for medical reasons.

Why does it matter if it's a disability or not? This is where I would come for information about what is available at WDW in terms of food options because so many people here have allergies and experience with doing Disney with food limitations. Perhaps these people also have disabilities, perhaps someone referred them to this board. Why does it bother you so much?

 

[Schmeck]

Most of the items on the list, unless they are whole foods (like carrots in a bag, an apple, or a banana, unaltered) are going to have a very high level of sodium. I've found most of the prepared food at WDW to be high in salt content.

Smoked turkey leg - lots in injected 'smoke flavor' and sodium in processing. Might as well take that right off the list, no way it can be served unsmoked, as it gets purchased smoked. (Or at least it did, when we knew one of the WDW vendors).

Counter service foods are going to be tricky to get altered. Most come pre-packaged, already prepared. Be ready to spend a lot of time at the side, waiting for some backtracking to find a source that can be prepared the way you request. Most requests may not even be able to be met.

Table service gives you much more flexibility. The most flexibility would come from getting a suite with a kitchen, where you can prepare your own food and rent a car to do your own grocery shopping.

 

[SueM in MN]

REMINDER:
It is OK to disagree about something. It is NOT OK to make comments on why someone is choosing to follow a specific diet.
It does not matter why they are choosing to do it. People who know something about the diet and want to comment - fine.

If your only comment is that you don’t agree with the diet or think the OP should not be posting questions about it here - NOT fine.

To the OP - since the Clean Diet is not something most people have heard of, for talking with CMs at WDW, you may have better luck with making a list of items allowed and not allowed on your diet. That is what some posters have found works well for unusual allergies or diets.

 

[JennyDrake]

Just my 2 cents--I'm not sure what you mean by "clean" but the turkey legs (which you list as OK) are loaded with salt, nitrates and MSG. They do contain sugar as well.

I think Sunshine Seasons could have some great offerings for you!! Also look into Boma and Jiko.

 

[cornflake]

Add me to the list of the confused - aren't most of the soups listed tinned soups? I mean... I was not operating under the belief that Disney restaurants had people in the back making up vats of broth and chopping 8 million carrots a day.

Hence, how would tinned, processed, institutional-grade, sodium and preservative-laden soup = clean eating?

As I've understood it, eating clean is about whole, unprocessed, natural foods close to their natural state. Tinned chicken noodle soup would seem to violate that every way possible. Same as the caesar salads, as noted by someone else.

Double ditto for veggie burgers, they're, in general, frozen, processed soy and chemical discs that are often deep fried by cooks who don't know what else to do with them.

 

[mistysue]

OP-
What exactly to you mean by clean eating? If you are ok with the fried shrimp basket, what exactly are you not ok with? Were you only looking specifically at places you planned to go? If I wanted to eat clean at AK- rainforest cafe would be at the bottom of my list and I would certainly look into their other salads before getting their burgers with chips.

I want to suggest, since you are ok with burgers, you might find steak a little cleaner than ground, pre-seasoned (salts, colors and sugars added in processing) frozen meat patties. The veggie burgers I would have the same concern. It is easy to think of them as better, but they rarely are by the time you account for who knows what making it into the soy. Then they often deep fry them.

Like PP's have mentioned, I would be wary of pre-packaged soups, the turkey legs, and even the breads you are including. I also think the salads that weren't pre-tossed in dressing or topped with pre-grilled (flavor/sodium/color injected) chicken would be much better than caesar ones. Rotisserie chicken sounds like a good plan, but it will have a LOT of additives.

 

[dclfun]

I'm not sure about all locations, but the chefs at Boma DO make all the soups from scratch and they are delicious. I'm not sure if they qualify for the OP's diet but they are definitely not "tinned" soups made with processed ingredients. There are also two "soups of the day" at Mara, which is the Jambo House QS location that are also made in the same way.

 

[Brbird]

I don't have any problems with the OP making a list, as I'm a list-maker myself and it's fun to do research. I do have to wonder though about some of the selections. Caesar salad, for instance has a high-fat dressing, and turkey legs are very salty, so I'm not quite sure what a "clean eating" diet entails. Is it only processed sugar that you're trying to avoid?

Yes, most of these items I couldn't have "as is" but could easily be adjusted. I never have salad dressing, for instance. But I did not know that grilled meant covered in butter! I'm glad someone told me that so I can avoid grilled.

Yes, I'm sure the turkey legs do have a lot of salt. Personally, I have no problem with salt, but I suspect the turkey legs also have other problems, too, so that will be a "last choice" option.

 

[Brbird]

I think that's a lot of work for nothing. All sit down restaurants should offer plenty of items which you can eat to stick to a "clean" diet. You can always ask for things like sauce left off items, foods grilled or broiled rather than fried (and I agree - fried shrimp basket?), brown rather than white rice, etc. Why waste so much time making such a list?

I know that at sit-down restaurants I could any anything, we we can't afford to go to a sit-down place more than one time.

At our last visit, I didn't make a list ahead of time and ended up walking around looking at multiple quick dining options to find anything that would be anywhere near something I could eat. I just wanted to avoid that.

 

[Brbird]

if they give you the sugar content of any items I'll fall of my chair.

but please do tell if they post it.

I am curious about some of the selections - fried shrimp basket?

Yea--about the fried shrimp basket--that was a mistake. I was copying several items meaning to go back and delete the ones that don't work and I obviously forgot to delete that one! No--fried shrimp is certainly not an option for me!

Well, you don't need to fall off your chair. I did get a response back from Disney. They did not tell me if the soups have sugar, but they did tell me what I'm pasting below that is good to know.


**FROM DISNEY** The locations listed below have Quick-Service menu items or products that, upon request, may accommodate common food allergy or intolerance requirements.
Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park:
- Restaurantosaurus
- Flame Tree Barbecue
Disney's Hollywood Studios:
- Backlot Express
- Studios Catering Co.
- ABC Commissary
- Toy Story Pizza Planet
Epcot:
- Liberty Inn
- Sunshine Season
Magic Kingdom Park:
- Cosmic Ray's Starlight Café
- Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn & Café
- Main Street Bakery
- Columbia Harbor House
- The Pinocchio Village House
Most Quick-Service locations in the Walt Disney Resorts are able to accommodate special dietary needs and provide menu items and ingredients upon request.

 

[buffettgirl]

..except sugar, or carbs. Unless the food is prepackaged they will not give you this info.

 

[SueM in MN]

Yea--about the fried shrimp basket--that was a mistake. I was copying several items meaning to go back and delete the ones that don't work and I obviously forgot to delete that one! No--fried shrimp is certainly not an option for me!

Well, you don't need to fall off your chair. I did get a response back from Disney. They did not tell me if the soups have sugar, but they did tell me what I'm pasting below that is good to know.


**FROM DISNEY** The locations listed below have Quick-Service menu items or products that, upon request, may accommodate common food allergy or intolerance requirements.
Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park:
- Restaurantosaurus
- Flame Tree Barbecue
Disney's Hollywood Studios:
- Backlot Express
- Studios Catering Co.
- ABC Commissary
- Toy Story Pizza Planet
Epcot:
- Liberty Inn
- Sunshine Season
Magic Kingdom Park:
- Cosmic Ray's Starlight Café
- Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn & Café
- Main Street Bakery
- Columbia Harbor House
- The Pinocchio Village House
Most Quick-Service locations in the Walt Disney Resorts are able to accommodate special dietary needs and provide menu items and ingredients upon request.

Don't get too excited -that information is on their website, so they just emailed you the information that is readily available.

That said, I would concentrate on those restaurants because they are most likely to be able to make substitutions.