Sensitivity to MSG, autolyzed, hydrolyzed,...

[simba2]

Recently diagnosed with severe sensitivity to all things MSG and it's derivitives (autolyzed ___ protein, hydrolyzed ___ protein, yeast extract, etc). Eating out is challenging as many restaurants don't know what's really in their food. I spoke with a GM at a national chain restaurant about their hamburgs. I asked if anything was in it besides ground beef. He didn't think so but said he'd check. I gave him a list of the offending ingredients. He came back and said I could not eat it. I've perused some posts on this board that state that Disney doesn't (or didn't as of the date of those posts) add MSG to anything. Does anyone who might have this same problem know of "safe" things I can eat in the Word (besides salad and fresh fruit) that they've been told don't contain autolyzed, hydrolozed, etc. Thanks in advance.

 

[rockiesfan]

My son and I have the same intolerances along with others. It is extremely limiting. Typically we just don't eat out, but I would like to find some things that we could eat at WDW, especially since we have family members that are not affected and would like to eat in the parks and resorts. I know that once we are actually at a restaurant, we can see ingredient lists in the big binders the managers have just for this purpose, but I can't find much information in advance. We have five months still until our trip so I am just starting to tackle menu planning. At this point, I am planning on skipping buffets, because the value will not be there for the two of us. I think we will be good with the rice and vegetables at Teppan Edo (we ate there in 2012 when I thought my intolerances were more limited but included soy and they were terrific about preparing my food separately on the grill without soy products). I have heard that you can order a baked potato at the Liberty Tree Tavern so that is an option. Honestly there isn't much else that I have found out so far. Even the Mickey Bars contain natural and artificial flavors and whey powder. (When we were there in 2012 I used the CS binders a lot, and I couldn't help but notice how many additives were listed in CS products, even though they weren't what I was looking to avoid at that time. So although I don't remember a lot of specifics, I am pessimistic about our chances of finding many safe options.)

 

[cmwade77]

The problem is if you ask if MSG is added, they will say no; however, they can legally say this and add it in various hidden forms, including "natural flavoring" and "natural coloring"

Bottom line is we all should probably be trying to avoid MSG in all of it's forms, but it's in just about everything.

That being said, TS restaurants are always a safe bet, you will need to be specific with them, but they should be able to accommodate you. CS will be trickier and don't be fooled by the prepackaged bags of fruits and veggies either, they tend to contain a lot of additives too.

 

[simba2]

So there is a binder at the counter service restaurants that I can ask to look at? Does each register have one?

 

[clanmcculloch]

Ever CS location will have a binder that you can look through. I typically ask for the binder from the first CM I see so that I can look through it while waiting in line. We usually walk into CS locations at off times so there's not much crowd anyway but it's still nice to have it as early as possible.

Don't rule out buffets. A chef will walk you through the buffet and if there's something that looks interesting to you then he can typically customize it in the kitchen to be safe for you as long as the base ingredients aren't pre-marinated in something unsafe for you. At every buffet we've eaten at, we've been offered a variety of proteins, starches and vegetables plus desserts (it may just be ice cream and/or fruit but it's still something though we've gotten some special desserts at a few).

My 15yo can't have MSG or yeast but she's ok with hydrolyzed proteins. What I've been told about MSG is that chefs do not add MSG to anything but there have been a few things over the years that she hasn't been able to eat because they're premade offsite and do contain MSG (one that stands out to me is meatballs in the Polynesian club lounge).

You definitely want to discuss all food with a chef at TS restaurants and ask for the binder in CS restaurants.

 

[DCDisney]

As long as you are somewhat flexible all the WDW owned table service places will have no problem accomodating you. They mostly use fresh ingredients to cook with except certain items that are pre=made (mostly things like mozzerella sticks, onion rings, fries, etc). It is relatively easy to get a plain piece of beef, fish, chicken, or pork grilled or sauteed with some type of simply prepared veggie and starch. Quick service they do have binders of ingredients but most of the foods are the typical things you would find in the frozen department that have a bunch of ingredients. The burgers in the past were just beef, salt, and pepper but the buns have a zillion ingredients. They use Ken's salad dressings if there are any of those that are safe for you. Sometimes they can get you a salad only with safe stuff but it depends on the location. Many of the QS places don't really make food from ingredients they just assemble and heat up. If you absolutely must do QS the resort QS places have kitchens and real ingredients and can make you something special. Sunshine Seasons at Epcot has a real kitchen and variety of ingredients so they are also pretty easy to work with.