Vegans/Vegetarians!

[VSL]

I've just been watching the 'Meet Your Meat' video on KFCruelty and was in tears. I've had a bit of a knee-jerk reaction of 'OMG, I just cannot eat meat/dairy/eggs again!'.

While I know it's not as simple as that (and I've no doubt that I'll still have cravings), I at the very least I'm going to cut back drastically on the amount of animal produce I currently consume (I don't consume all that much, but I can still improve!).

Anyway, I've been thinking now about WDW, and have been scouring some menu's on AllEarsNet. Me and BF are going to be spending all of our time (apart from two days at US/IOA) eating on Disney and I was wondering if you could give us any ideas for where vegans and vegetarians have found some good, tasty, animal friendly food?

TIA!

 

[HaleyB]

Everywhere. But we eat mostly vegitarian (we eat fish) but not vegan. It is hard to get good nutrition with a vegan diet. Not impossible, just too much work for me. I also find the diet too limiting and, well, not so tasty.

Every TS place has a vegitarian option or two but we have found that if those do not appeal to you something else can be made. Just ask!

We had a great meal at Coral Reef last year. And at Boma and Jiko at the AKL.

 

[SparklieSunShine]

Yay! I was worried about this myself because my SO is a vegetarian, but I found an online guide that is so good it put all my worries to rest.

Check out www.allearsnet.com. They have an entire section devoted to it with breakdowns of every single place to eat in disney.

P.S. Stay far away from China. lol

 

[amarberry]

VSL- I have been a vegetarian for 10 years (I actually became a veggie while studying in London...you have wonderful options and a very active vegetatian culture in the UK). I don't miss meat at all. There are so many vegetarian substitutes available now.

WDW has some great options. For counter service, my favorites are Columbia Harbour House (hummus sandwich & veggie chili), Cosmic Ray's (veggie burger and fixings bar), and Tangerine Cafe. I've heard that Tusker House has a wonderful veggie sandwich...we'll be trying that on our trip next week. Every table service restaurant that I've been to has some sort of veggie option, but the restaurants that seem to get the best veggie reviews are California Grill, Boma, and Jiko.

Good luck...if you have any questions about vegetarianism, let me know!

 

[VSL]

Thanks for all the replies!

I had been a bit concerned about maybe having to live on salads and pasta only - it's great to see that there most definitely are plenty of vegetarian options!

I'll definitely be doing a thorough reading of the menu's on AllEarsNet - I had to go through them a few months ago to narrow down the places where my BF would eat, but now I'm going to have to do another thorough read to see what kind of options there appeal to me

Again, thanks for putting my mind at ease!

 

[Laura]

If you haven't seen it, there is a book devoted to this subject that is mentioned on allearsnet.com: Vegetarian Walt Disney World and Greater Orlando. I haven't gotten it yet, but I understand it is very helpful.

I also definitely recommend Columbia Harbour House's tasty veggie sandwich and chili! Healthy AND delicious. Buffets are good, and you'll come to find that breakfast is an easy meal for vegetarians, but not necessarily vegans with all that egg and dairy stuff. I have not been to Boma, but it gets good reviews from most non-meat-eaters.

A lot is going to depend on how picky an eater you are. You will notice that you can order very few dishes off most menus, and often get only one entree option. So you may wind up having to be adventurous if you haven't been before. But if you fall off the wagon, don't feel guilty. And I wouldn't suggest cutting all meat out "cold turkey", so to speak. I started by eliminating types of meat, like red meat, then after a few weeks eliminated poultry and pork, then, grudgingly, seafood.

 

[PrincessKitty]

I'm vegetarian (no meat of any kind, including chicken or seafood) but not vegan. Virtually every menu in WDW has something vegetarian on it--vegan would be harder, but doable.

Veggie burgers at WDW get old, but the veggie burger at Rainforest Cafe seems to be homemade (not a Boca-type burger) and is wonderful! I also like the vegetarian platter at the sit-down restaurant in Mexico (not the cantina), the macaroni-and-cheese at Chefs de France, and the veggie sandwich at Main Street Bakery in the Magic Kingdom. The veggie curry at the Rose and Crown is pretty good (not great).

Check out the menus at allearsnet.com for more info. You could get a vegan meal at virtually any sit-down restaurant in WDW with 24 hour notice, if you can plan like that (DH and I don't like to plan our meals that closely).

 

[spaceacewannabe]

Congratulations!!!!! I've been a vegetarian since I was 13-14 and became fully (and openly) vegetarian right before we went to Disney in 1995. My mom has been a vegetarian since she was about that age, too...about 40 years ago. My sister has been for 8 years.

I have to say, in 1995 it was tricky...we were so happy when we went back in 2003 (and 04, and 05). I actually think in some ways WDW restaurants are EASIER to be vegetarian in that others, because the chefs actually care. I do think vegan would be trickier, but, again, I'd have an easier time with that at WDW than elsewhere (although I'm lacto-ovo...just milk and eggs) because someone else is cooking for you (the trick would be not missing the treats with dairy in particular), although it would be a bit of a hassle asking all the time, and you might get frustrated trying to go that far all at once. My sister tried being vegan (at home) and found it to be extremely difficult, because there are biproducts in everything

Anyway, if you're just starting, veggie burgers are probably a good choice at counterservice...I personally don't like them because they try to make them taste like meat and I don't care for that (I like the packaged ones that are just veggie patties)...but since you're just starting, that may be a good substitute. I really haven't had anything vegetarian at WDW that wasn't pretty good. The toppings bars are GREAT. If you don't want the veggie burger, you can usually buy a bun (for a lot less) and top it.
Crystal Palace had some nice vegetarian stuff, and all of their desserts were vegetarian. Speaking of, depending on how careful you want to be, you might want to ask about ingredients at table service. Some of the desserts (in particular) have gelatin...don't want to burst any bubbles, but the zebra domes at Boma use gelatin sheets as a base (and don't list it on the recipes online, so you have to ask) As someone else alluded to, the "vegetable lo mein" in China uses beef broth. Yuck! I'm still mad about that one!

Good luck and congratulations!!!!!

 

[SparklieSunShine]

As someone else alluded to, the "vegetable lo mein" in China uses beef broth. Yuck! I'm still mad about that one!

Yeah. It has been found out that pretty much everything made in China used beef or chicken broth or has animal in it somehow. This is not to say that they would not make something special because they might, but you would have to give them 24 hour notice and talk to the chef. Mucho work.

 

[4orm]

We are half-a$$ed vegetarians.
We eat poultry sometimes, but only when we buy it organic from Whole Foods. I will eat it at a restaurant if it states'free range' but only once in a blue moon.
Disney has many selections! Nothing to worry about. THeir chefs are also very sensitive to veg-heads. If you call ahead of time they can work with you to have an appropriate meal made

 

[PortieOwner]

My grandfather was a farmer so I "met my meat" many times as a kid. Those cows, pigs, and chickens were fun to be around when they were alive and pretty good on my plate too.

 

[HaleyB]

Oh I forgot- Spoodles has yummy veg friendly food.
Chiana pavillion has nothing, just stay away. From what I hear it is not good anyhow.

Also it is hit or miss with the veggie burgers- a lot of them are Boca Burgers which we find gross. But we did run into a Whole Grain Veggie Patty here and there. I almost want to say it was at Beaches and Cream. Also every TS place has soy icecream or rice ice cream. Both are delicious and much better for you than the real thing (I do eat milk and eggs, but the Rice Dream ice cream is my favorite and it is so much better for my body too). You do need to ask. My son is allergic to cows milk and a great CM clued us into this our first day.

Every new vegitarian needs to be turned on to Morningstar products. Their Chik Patties are super and fast to fix too. Their 'fake' bacon is my favorite too. The whole grain veggie patties are made by Gardenburger and are good. The best thing about both is the do not charge you through the nose... lots of stuff aimed at veg heads is way over priced. We love to shop our farmers market for organic produce- way cheaper than Whole Foods. Maybe you know all this because your BF is a vegitarian, right? That is how I became an (almost) vegitarian... I married one and it became easier to just cook vegitarian. I am still working on giving upsea food (hey, it has only been 15 years...).

 

[SparklieSunShine]

That came off a little like a flame PortieOwner.

 

[hucifer]

If you haven't seen it, there is a book devoted to this subject that is mentioned on allearsnet.com: Vegetarian Walt Disney World and Greater Orlando. I haven't gotten it yet, but I understand it is very helpful.

I found the book to be outdated. Once a new edition comes out, much of the information becomes quickly outdated. That's because WDW is always evolving and changing, and that means the menus change too.

I will find a vegetarian entree that is unbelievably good. I'll return to the same restuarant a year later and find it gone or changed. This is so common. One of my absolute favorite dishes was the stuffed pepper at the PTC. A year later I order it again and it's changed. It was good, but not on the same yummy scale as the previous one.

That said, I enjoyed the book and was anxious to try the dishes they so eloquently discribed in the book, but alas. The item was deleted by the time I got to the restaurant.

WDW is so different today! So many wonderful and tasty choices now. They realized that we DO exist! And we visit them often!

 

[dkostel]

Does anyone know, in general, if the kitchens in the restaurants would know the type of rennet used in the cheeses they serve? I find that outside of vegetarian restaurants, no one even knows what this is. Is it mentioned in the WDW for vegetarians book?

Thanks-
Donna

 

[Forever42]

Does anyone know, in general, if the kitchens in the restaurants would know the type of rennet used in the cheeses they serve? I find that outside of vegetarian restaurants, no one even knows what this is. Is it mentioned in the WDW for vegetarians book?

Thanks-
Donna

I want to say in general that artificial rennet is used, because I think it's cheaper, and most of the Disney restaurants get their ingredients from food service. French cheeses and the cheeses at the signature restaurants may use natural rennet.

Not vegetarian, just a food scientist

Definitely don't hold me to this, though, it's just a guess

Oh, I had forgotten and did a little research, they use bioengineered chymosin instead of rennet these days because it is cheaper and easier to use, including this quote from a 10 year old article:

"Almost half the cheese made in North America no longer requires rennet."

I hope that helps some!

 

[HaleyB]

The problem with rennent is that there is no labeling requirement in the US. I don't know how the chef's would be able to tell. Also they may think it is rennent free when it is not, because it does not need to be listed as such.

My son is very allergic to all and everything that comes from a cow, so we have to be very carefull. Even soy cheese can sometimes contain animal rennent (as stupid as that is).

 

[PrincessKitty]

Anybody have a list of the vegetarian snacks at the food booths during the Food and Wine Festival this year?? Going in 2 weeks, and again in 6 weeks!

 

[westjones]

Lacto-ovo vegetarian is easy at Disney (that is what we do), but vega would be harder, but you could do it.

BTW, if you ever go on the Disney cruise they offer two vegetarian selections at dinner every night, and it is great.

To be honest, one reason we fell in love with WDW and the Disney Cruise is because of the wonderful food for vegetarian. I think you will be pleased.

DJ

 

[westjones]

You may want to check out this website for some helpful information:

http://www.geocities.com/vegetariandisney/

DJ