How do you/do you eat healthy on vacation?

[LilyWDW]

I think there's a lot of middle ground between eating a very restricted diet and "just giving in and eating whatever." That middle ground is usually where I spend my vacation.

This is where I stand as well. Heck, that is really where I stand in my every day life. I eat healthier and cleaner then I ever have in the past, but I still allow myself treats here and there. It's called moderation.

I do find that I can't handle as much of the heavier foods as I used to be able to. I have to find a balance and keep it light sometimes or my stomach lets me know it is not happy.

Another thing to keep in mind, especially for those who count calories... you will NEED more calories during a day at Disney then you would at home. Most likely you are more active at Disney and are burning more calories. So be sure to take that into account as well.

 

[kris4360]

For some of us it's not a diet, rather a lifestyle choice. We choose to eat whole foods-fruits, veggies, meats, fish, chicken, we do eat rice and legumes, eggs. We eat limited sweets, and we bake treats at home. This way of life makes us feel great! So when we steer away from clean eating, and eat lots of processed foods, fatty foods, fried or sugary foods, our systems don't do well. We get sick and it's just not worth it. Our family definitely has treats and indulgences at wdw all the time, and even that has repercussions! Meaning we eat breakfast in the room, and perhaps something at the TS lunch upsets my stomach. Granted I do have gut issues, the point is some people can't just lose the diet and eat 3 heavy indulgent meals a day for a week

I'm glad I can steer away from it and still feel great.

 

[Eliza'sMom]

Have you looked at the menu for Landscape of Flavors at Art of Animation? There are so many options! Egg white frittata, made-to-order egg white omelets, fruit, all kinds of things. Maybe you could even get scrambled egg whites. I think you've got the best options right at your hotel. And doesn't the room have a fridge? You could buy Greek yogurt and milk and healthy cereal or granola to supplement. We stayed one night at AoA and the selection in that food court is huge and much healthier and more varied than pretty much anywhere else.

 

[sunnydays28]

Have you looked at the menu for Landscape of Flavors at Art of Animation? There are so many options! Egg white frittata, made-to-order egg white omelets, fruit, all kinds of things. Maybe you could even get scrambled egg whites. I think you've got the best options right at your hotel. And doesn't the room have a fridge? You could buy Greek yogurt and milk and healthy cereal or granola to supplement. We stayed one night at AoA and the selection in that food court is huge and much healthier and more varied than pretty much anywhere else.

Thank you Eliza'sMom, that is a big help. I'll admit I have not looked at it in detail, only in passing have I read from other people that there is pasta, naan bread, pizza, and the label food court makes me think of typical food court choices. I will go look up the menu tonight.

Lots os great tips here, thank you all!!!!

 

[Ro Z]

HAAAaaahaaaha.. Sorry-we eat what we want!

 

[disneychic]

I'm not quite as limited as the OP but, I do eat very healthy (low fat, non dairy, no red meat, etc). So, we do eat breakfast in our room (we are DVC members so its a bit easier as the 1 bedroom units have full size kitchens). Lunch for me is always a salad or a veggie wrap and because we go multiple times per year I know where/what I can eat. I love Boma for dinner and will usually eat there more than once - I could live on the cous cous! There are tons of healthy dining options and the restaurants are great with dietary requests. I think you could pretty much go anywhere an property and find something you can eat and enjoy!

 

[sunnydays28]

HAAAaaahaaaha.. Sorry-we eat what we want!

So do I, that is why I came here to ask about finding foods I WANT to eat, not to be laughed at. Why must one comment if they are not interested in the conversation?

disneychic, I have only eaten at Boma once and LOVED it, if my husband was not so "safe" with his familiar foods, we would def be back this time. I keep telling him a buffet is the perfect way to try new foods--you don't like it, get something different--so we will see.

 

[BusyMom2Three]

So do I, that is why I came here to ask about finding foods I WANT to eat, not to be laughed at. Why must one comment if they are not interested in the conversation?

We eat what we want, too (healthy food).

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

I am struggling a little bit with our upcoming vacation, glad it is not until May so I have time to figure this out. I am especially stumped by breakfast choices.

We are very healthy eaters: no juice, low carb, very little milk, almost no processed foods, no added sugars, lean meats and protein. The breakfast choices in the restaurants are all carb and sugar heavy and/ or will take a lot of time, the options to keep in the room are limited by not having a microwave or stove top. Typical breakfast at our house is zapped egg whites, Greek yogurt with fresh fruit, grilled chicken strips, hummus with veggies, veggie burger. We will have lots of healthier snacks with us throughout the day and those will be easier and I know we will have a fridge in our room and a cooler in the car for fruit and yogurts, but what else can we do? We will be in 4 hotels over the 13 days we are traveling.

Or do you just give in and eat whatever, getting back on track when you get back home? And do you feel like crap if you eat differently while on vacation?

So do I, that is why I came here to ask about finding foods I WANT to eat, not to be laughed at. Why must one comment if they are not interested in the conversation?

disneychic, I have only eaten at Boma once and LOVED it, if my husband was not so "safe" with his familiar foods, we would def be back this time. I keep telling him a buffet is the perfect way to try new foods--you don't like it, get something different--so we will see.

To be fair, she did say that she just eats whatever, as you asked in your OP. And maybe she wasn't laughing at you (I have no idea) but instead at her family's attitude towards how they eat on vacation. For example, my husband cracks me up with is obsession with those disgusting turkey legs at Disney. He would never eat that around the house but put in at Magic Kingdom and he gobbles one down. Thinking about it makes me smile.

 

[mickeysbestfriend]

regime I tend to like buffets that allow me to focus on those items. TS places what are order off the menu do offer substitutions for carb based items but the variety isn't all that good.

We eat breakfast in our villa half the time and go for a meat omlet the rest.

 

[HappyHaunts999]

Since you are staying at AoA here is a link to their menu. They have lots of healthy options

http://allears.net/menu/menu_landscapes_breakfast.htm
http://allears.net/menu/menu_landscapes.htm

you can look at the menus for lots of place. Eating healthy can be done it just takes a little effort to find the right spots.
Enjoy

 

[kris4360]

To be fair, she did say that she just eats whatever, as you asked in your OP. And maybe she wasn't laughing at you (I have no idea) but instead at her family's attitude towards how they eat on vacation. For example, my husband cracks me up with is obsession with those disgusting turkey legs at Disney. He would never eat that around the house but put in at Magic Kingdom and he gobbles one down. Thinking about it makes me smile.

I don't think she was laughing at you either. I said the same thing, we eat whatever we want because the question was do you eat healthy or not? Thats how I read it any way.

 

[purpledisneyprncess]

Since you are driving down, it will be easier to stick to healthy breakfast and "throughout the day snack" options. We are going to be driving down too and will have cereal for breakfast- cheerios, multi grain cheerios and then a "treat" cereal for the kids, probably Corn Pops....even that is still healthier than chocolate croissants and pastries.

We also will be packing apples, bananas (keep them separate from other food so u don't have all the other food banana flavored). We were also thinking to bring yogurts, animal crackers, frozen grapes, graham crackers, pretzels, mixed nuts, granola. My husband said "everything but the kitchen sink". lol We also are bringing whole wheat bread to make PB&J sandwiches. You can pre-make hard boiled eggs and keep them in the cooler than transfer them to your fridge; those are good for morning breakfast; along w/ peanut butter toast. Then there is instant oatmeal. There are so many possibilities. These are all on our list.

Health(ier) snacks in the parks:
Dole Whip is a lot less calories than the mickey ice cream bars
Veggie burgers, veggie wraps instead of cheese burgers
Ask for dressing on side
Mickey shaped pretzel

Our mindset is to eat like we normally do which is healthy, however it is vacation and we will eat "bad foods" too, in moderation. Good thing is you do so much walking, it's ok to eat some junk. I feel better though when I eat healthier, so the majority of the time we'll be eating all the foods I posted above.

For TS meals, the yak and yeti had a wonderful salmon, i'm sure that was 1 of the healthier options.

We were thinking of doing the character buffet breakfasts but I hate eating too much at once so that will not be good for us- we like to eat small meals frequently throughout the day. Buffets are so not for us!

Good luck, i'm sure you will be able to incorporate your healthy eating in your Disney trip.

 

[purpledisneyprncess]

I JUST realized that you said your family doesn't eat processed foods; so there goes my instant oatmeal, cereal, and snacks that I gave you for ideas..LOL!! Oh my, I blame it on the fact that I'm tired, I've been a little pre-occupied with our upcoming Disney trip- I can't stay off these boards for more than 20 minutes a clip.

 

[NHWX]

I'd definitely plan on going to Whole Foods or Trader Joe's if there's one on your way. And I'd probably plan a mid-vacation stock-up.

You easily microwave egg whites in a coffee mug, adding some dried herbs or other seasoning beforehand. You could also make an egg & veggie casserole beforehand (I typically use kale and feta), bake it and freeze it in squares. Then (microwave needed again!) reheat the" "breakfast bricks" as my kids call them.

Costco sells various veggie nuggets, stuffed grape leaves, etc. that either vegetarian or vegan. You'll probably end up with grains in them but no dairy. There's one somewhere in the Orlando area...

I'm loving all the healthy suggestions myself!

 

[jennifer in canada]

Thanks for starting this thread....started eating clean last January and don't know what I am going to do when it comes to breakfasts. At home we either have steel cut oatmeal, but usually omelettes and I cannot just go and eat sugary cereal and high carbs in the morning. There are lots of snack type healthy options in the parks that we can avail of but my breakfast issue has me stumped.

 

[starwood]

I haven't read through all the responses so I'm not sure if this has been mentioned but there are fruit carts in all of the parks. So if you can wait for breakfast until you get to the park you can get bananas, apples, oranges...

 

[AlohaAnnie]

We indulge but still eat our fruits, vegetables, and I try to eat healthy at a few meals.

I have noticed if we eat and indulge too much on vacation someone gets sick.

So I keep fruit and vegetables to eat in our villa, along with a healthy breakfast. We also keep water bottles in our villa and I have the kids drink a half water bottle every morning. I also fill up on good fruits and vegetables before I eat a meal at buffets.