New Day, Same Disney

Well folks, the summer camp I used to work for and the reason why I started this blog went out of business.  But I want to keep this blog going discussing healthy eating at Disney.  I've been hard at work starting my new summer camp: http://www.summerlandcamps.com/

We will be a lifestyle change camp just like Wellspring, but focused on screen time overuse along with diet and exercise.  Don't hesitate to reach out with any questions.

I'm renewing my Disney pass this weekend and looking forward to posting more diet tips while at Disney.  Since my last post I've been on 3 Disney Cruises!

My biggest lesson was to fill up on fruit in the morning.  This seemed to really get the day started right.  You just have to ignore the bacon and sausage smells coming from the buffet and eat something health like fruit or oatmeal for breakfast.  Once you've done that, you're 1/3 of they way there!

I was upset that I didn't get to run the Disney Castaway Cay 5-K this year.  I had taken a bad fall jogging and my arm was fractured so I didn't get to jog the 5-K.  Next year however, I'm doing this for sure!

Saving Money and Time by Eating Healthy

I recently had the opportunity to take my family to Epcot for the day.  I decided to eat quick service to save some time, and also because we are on a budget.  It struck me that some the “healthy” foods there were really no better than foods we commonly accept as unhealthy.  When looking at “healthy” options such as the turkey sandwich served with melted cheese and bacon, you probably not doing much better than just going with a hamburger.  

I did notice that the menu at the Electric Umbrella seems to have changed a bit.  Disney bills this restaurant as follows: “Eat beneath colorful canopies at this food court featuring mushroom swiss cheeseburgers, meatball subs, vegetable flatbread, chicken caesar salad, chicken breast nuggets, desserts and soft drinks.”  I’ve mentioned the Caesar salad before- I would expect that the calorie count and especially the fat count is very high.  The vegetable flatbread would be better minus the cheese, but all things considered it’s probably the best choice on the menu.  

My opinion is that quick services restaurants are great if one of the two following conditions apply: 1) you are in a hurry, or 2) you don’t want so spend a lot of money.  I have some options for both of these conditions that will result in a much healthier meal.  

Whether you are in a hurry or if you want to save, consider just getting a Diet Coke or bottled water to hold you over along with some fruit.  There are three fruit stands in the Magic Kingdom: on Main Street, in Liberty Square and in Mickey's Toontown Fair. Hollywood Studios has Anaheim Produce on Sunset Blvd. Epcot fruit is available on the lower level of The Land in Future World and at the Outpost between China and Germany in World Showcase. Animal Kingdom offers fruit at Harambe Market in Africa, just outside Kilimanjaro Safaris.   

Another money saving tip is to just eat a big healthy breakfast before entering the park.  For my family, we usually eat a snack as we are making the drive from Tampa and finish up before entering the parking lot, and we always bring plenty of half frozen water bottles and fresh fruit with us.

As I have mentioned before, I am Executive Director for Wellspring Camps, the leading weight loss camp organization in the world.  For most people, much of the excess fat consumed every day comes from preparing foods in unhealthy ways.  So at Wellspring summer camps, campers learn how to cook, order, and identify food that is nutritious, delicious, and low in fat. Campers learn that they can eat food that is familiar and full of flavor-such as pizza, chicken nuggets, and brownies-and still become effective long-term weight controllers.  Daily menus include three delicious meals and two healthy snacks and have been developed by registered dietitians using beloved low-fat recipes. No typical "diet food" here for the simple reason that we can't expect campers to change their lifestyle permanently unless the food we're serving is at least as appealing as the food they're used to eating.

A typical day of controlled foods will include 1,200 calories, 10 g of fat, 50 g of protein, and 30 g of fiber. Unlimited access to uncontrolled foods will add to these totals - often significantly. At Wellspring, there is no caloric goal. If campers are hungry, they will have as much uncontrolled food as they like, until they are satisfied. All we ask is that they self-monitor everything, so that it can be processed and discussed with their Behavioral Coach.

Wellspring allows campers to significantly cut calories and reduce fat without feeling deprived. Last summer we had exactly zero complaints about hunger, which is consistent with our research demonstrating that campers are not reporting any significant hunger. This is due to the fact that the low-fat diet at Wellspring programs is so satisfying, and also because we allow campers an unlimited amount of "uncontrolled" foods, such as soups, fresh fruit and salad, as well as items such as fat-free yogurts, fat-free tuna salad, fat-free egg salad, and fat-free cottage cheese.

If you are interested in getting your child on a health path in life by enrolling them in a Wellspring summer camp, please give us a call at 855-247-3378.

The Crystal Palace

Looking back over my blog I realized I have not written up one of my favorite places to eat and the Magic Kingdom: The Crystal Palace.  This restaurant features a character meal with Winnie the Pooh (this is the only character meal where Winnie the Pooh and friends is found), Tigger, Eeyore and Piglet. They meet and greet you as you enjoy your meal. This buffet restaurant is bright, light filled and spacious in a Victorian setting.  

I have taken my family to the Crystal Palace many times.  Sometimes we are seated and the characters all make their rounds and the timing is perfect.  Once we ate there and at the end of our meal we had only seen one character.  We decided to not get upset but instead hung around a bit, I ordered a coffee with Splenda and fat free milk and we just waited for them to come by.  I was wearing my “Grumpy Cat” t-shirt at that time and Tigger got a huge kick out of Grumpy Cat.  He thought it was the funniest cat he had ever seen.  Regardless, the characters interact with you on a relaxed, casual basis.  If you have ever waited 30+ minutes to meet a character and get your photo taken and an autograph, then the Crystal Palace is quite a good deal.  

You generally need reservations to eat at the Crystal Palace.  If not, be prepared to wait.  You will be issued a beeper when you check in and you have to wait in the front porch area.  Sometimes you can catch a glimpse of a parade or show in front of the castle while you wait.  Try to find a seat and just relax.  There is a restroom around the side of the restaurant to the left. 

By the way, in my opinion the absolute WORST place to eat in all of Disney is around the corner as well: Casey’s Corner.  In my opinion it’s just high fat content hot dogs, corn dogs, nachos, etc.  Sometimes I walk through this restaurant when trying to leave the park if there is a parade or fireworks going on.  The smell is overwhelming, and there is usually a spilled tray of food littering the floor.  The sight of people stuffing their faces with French fries and gigantic hot dogs is too much for my stomach to handle.  I generally try to hold my breath when walking through this area.  I use this area as a learning opportunity for my children- “See those people pigging out on French fries and hot dogs? Look at how much they weigh. Do you think that is a good choice to put in your body?”  Since the seating is outside, the next time you walk through see if you notice a correlation.  

My personal preference is to spend a little more and eat something that is both tasty and good for you.  At Wellspring we call this, “Loveable foods that love you back.”  Let’s see what lovable foods that love you back can be found at the Crystal Palace.  Here is the menu below:

Gourmet cuisine offered in Victorian elegance that offers a variety of selections to tempt every taste including: multigrain nut bread and white rolls, PB & J, Mixed field greens with choice of dressing (ranch, zinfandel, & madarin orange sesame vinaigrette), Tropical slaw, Mediterranean pasta salad, Moroccan couscous salad, Romaine blue cheese salad, Peel & eat shrimp, Prime Rib, Shrimp, black bean & mango salad, Edamame, Papaya frisee salad, Roasted garlic mashed potatoes, Broccoli, Medley of veggies, Braised kale with bacon & onion, Slow roasted pork, Cheese pizza, Vegetable pasta, Wild mushroom & chicken pasta, Cinnamon & lemon basmati rice, Thai curry mussels, Fruit & vegetable tofu curry, Atlantic salmon, Rotisserie chicken, Herb roasted turkey, and New England clam chowder. Dessert selection includes: Red Velvet cheesecake, Double chocolate brownie, Peanut butter cake, Tres leches, Apple cobbler, Banana bread pudding, Carrot cake, Assorted cookies, and Coconut flan. Guests ages 10 and up. Winnie the Pooh and friends invite you to indulge yourself in our bountiful buffet. The room comes alive with the sights and smells of the day's offerings being prepared in our live on stage kitchen. $36 to $59.99 per person  

Right off the bat we see multiple salads available.  You have to try the Moroccan couscous salad- it’s really good!  My general strategy at Disney Buffets is to do this:

1.       Start with a plate of the highest density / lowest calorie ratio foods.  A good example of this is a fruit plate.  Soups can also be good, but really it’s a crap shoot with soup when the calorie and fat content is not posted.  I believe you are generally okay with vegetable soup, but with the New England clam chowder I would advise against it.  It is likely high calorie for a soup, but until Disney starts posting calorie counts you really don’t know.  This is why fruit is good to start with.  I am pretty sure nothing is added to whole or cut up fruit offered.  

2.       For a second round at the buffet, kick it up a notch to some of the yummier foods you want to try.  After my fruit plate I may try a small portion of each salad offered (except for the high fat content Caesar salad).  The problem is that you really don’t know what the calorie and fat content is for the salads offered, but you can certainly give an educated guess.  Another strategy I employ is to make a bed of lettuce that I put the other salads on for a topping.  Generally the salads at Disney are so tasty you don’t need to add any dressing at all. 

3.       Finally, I will eat a very small portion of meat.  If you are a vegetarian, you are on the right track.  I have yet to give up meat so I will generally get something like a small portion of the rotisserie chicken.  I will get a small piece of the white meat without the skin.  You can do the same with the pork and cut away any obvious fat.  Also the peal and eat shrimp is an excellent meat option that is low on fat.  The salmon is a high fat content fish, so as far as fish options go it’s not ideal, but it’s certainly better than the prime rib. 

4.       While it is tempting, you need to just skip the dessert.  

5.       A final tip for eating here is to be careful about the vegetables such as the broccoli and potatoes.  They are obviously cooked in an excess of butter or oil.  It’s not the same as eating steamed broccoli at home for example.  Usually I just skip the vegetables at the Crystal Palace and focus on fruit and certain salads.

As a final word and legal disclaimer: I would also just like to state that anything written up in the blog is simply my opinion about food preferences at Disney.  It’s really all just a best guess at the time it was written.  Nothing written up here should be taken as a fact.  Menus change, and maybe in the future Disney will start publishing calorie and fat content.  Until that time comes all I can do is give an educated guess about the best places and foods to eat.  While I am not paid by Disney, my intent here is to encourage eating at the Disney restaurants, although at times that might involve steering readers to one restaurant over another such as I have in this post.  I am not advocating brining in your own food over eating in the parks, although Disney allows that at the time this write up.

Hollywood & Vine Restaurant in Hollywood Studios

First off, I should apologize to my readers for my hiatus from this blog.  I continue to frequent the Disney parks and would also like to start adding other Orlando attractions to this blog as well.  I recently went to Sea World and will do a write up on my dining experiences there as well.  I also had the opportunity to go to Blizzard Beach for the first time last week, and although I couldn’t find much healthy to eat other than a quick service chicken sandwich with apple slices, I know I burned sufficient calories that day for sure!  

Ms. Madeline was detained by some unidentified character at Hollywood & Vine on suspicion of  chocolate ice cream over-consumption.

Today I would like to give my report on Hollywood & Vine Restaurant in Hollywood Studios. This Art Deco-designed “Cafeteria to the Stars” is a casual family buffet where diners can meet Disney Junior Friends.  The Disney Junior Friends are available for breakfast and lunch only, and while dinner is served there the characters are absent for this meal.

Let me start with the food first.  What I like about this restaurant is the wide variety of salads.  They are so good you don’t need any dressing at all on them.  The salads include an orange & watercress salad, Caesar salad, tomato & buffalo mozzarella salad with basil oil, mixed seasonal greens, crispy Asian chicken salad and tuna salad.  My tip for the healthiest salad is to skip the Caesar salad as it is drenched in a high fat content dressing.  Instead, make a bed of lettuce with mixed seasonal greens salad.  Then, add one of the healthier salads on top of if such as the crispy Asian chicken salad, but skip the dressing totally! 

Additionally, the following items are available:

A selection of appetizers - carved ham, turkey and salami, assorted cheeses, fresh seasonal fruit and soups

Entree selections - Pastrami Rubbed Porkloin, Beer Braised Boneless Beef Short Ribs, Maple & Grain Mustard Salmon, Citrus Marinated Baked Chicken, Chipotle Orange BBQ Chicken, House Made Sandwiches, Lobster & Shrimp Mac n’ Cheese, BBQ Meatballs, Slow Cooked Ale Braised Beef, Multigrain Penne Pasta with Meat Sauce and Create-Your-Own Pasta Bar (with with rotini, campanelle, vegetables, pesto, marinara, and probably like chicken, sausage, and shrimp)

A selection of side dishes - sweet plantains, garlic mashed potatoes, bean cassoulet, sauteed green beans, creamed corn spoon bread, and rice & whole grain medley. 

The children's buffet section includes:
Chicken nuggets, broccoli, macaroni & cheese, baked chicken and buttered corn. 

Desserts also vary, and may include:
Rice Krispie treats, apple cobbler, berry cobbler, cheesecake, carrot cake, red velvet cake, mascarpone, Chocolate Mousse cake, chocolate dipped fruit, key lime tarts, coconut macaroons, banana cream puffs, 7-layer bar, strawberry shortcake, assorted Cookies, brownies and an ice cream sundae bar

But we’re all skipping desert, right?

If you want to add some lean meat to your salad I suggest just getting the chicken or tuna salad.  Carved ham or turkey can be okay, but be sure to remove the fat from you meat and limit your portion size to about the size of a deck of cards or iphone.  At the Wellspring Camps we teach kids to relate serving sizes to common objects such as these.  You can also make a sandwich here, but for the price of your meal that would be one expensive sandwich.  Now don’t say I told you this but with the chaos of the dancing and characters in the restaurant if you wanted to make a turkey or chicken sandwich (hold the cheese and mayo) you could probably make it to go and put it in your backpack. (Legal disclaimer: ask staff at the restaurant if this is allowed first). At about $35 for a plate of salad and maybe a bowl of soup I think it’s okay to make a sandwich to go if allowed.  

Let’s discuss atmosphere next.  While the buffet in general was pretty good, and in fact better than I expected, the atmosphere was a little less than I expected.  I am probably a little biased here because I was totally and completely unfamiliar with any of the characters walking around.  So in some respects I just didn’t get it.  The characters include Neverland Pirate Jake, Handy Manny, Agent Oso and June from “Little Einsteins". Approximately every 30 minutes, characters, along with other Disney Junior performers, present a high-energy show that encourages kids to join in and dance.

If you have really young kids, like age 6 and under, it might be just the thing for you.  If you have kids 8 and up, they might say the restaurant is “babyish” which is exactly what my kids said.  My kids are certainly not too young for the Honey I Shrunk the Kids play area, but they refused to get up and dance / interact with any of the characters during the meal.  It was along the same lines as the Playhouse Disney attraction at the same park as it the restaurant is geared for the same age.

I will add more Hollywood Studios restaurant reviews in the coming months.  At a high level, this restaurant is excellent for weight controllers in that you can really pick and choose and you get to see what you eat before you put it on your plate.  You can make the perfect low calorie salad, or pick your soup or best slice of lean meat.  Or, if you’re like me, you will try a bit of everything except for the desserts.  I usually try to fill up on a fruit plate first then try the tastier items.  

One the bad side the atmosphere is really for the youngest Disney fans.  If you are traveling with someone 6 or under in your group, then I’d say this is a must visit restaurant.  If you have a party consisting of older participants and a limited number of days, you might want to opt for the Sci-Fi Drive In, the Brown Derby, or the 50’s Prime Time Café.   

By the way, if you visit Hollywood Studios in the summertime you just might run into me or campers from Wellspring Florida!  You can spot us as the people writing down everything we eat!

Healthy Eating on the Disney Dream

We had a wonderful time on our Disney Dream vacation. However eating healthy was a constant challenge. Here are the ins and outs of the trip and my tips to keep healthy on the Disney Dream.

Every night you are assigned to a different restaurant with limited options. Your wait staff is rotated with you as you go through the different restaurants each night. The good news here is that if you have any particular tastes, your waiter knows. However I didn’t seem to have made much of an impression on our waiter. Each night he seemed blown away that I didn’t want dessert and sort of made a big deal about it.

Palo

One of two adults-only restaurants on the Disney Cruise Line’s brand new ship, the Dream, Palo can also be found on the Disney Wonder and Disney Magic cruise ships, but in a slightly different form. It will also be found on the Disney Fantasy, sailing in 2012; this version will be similar to the restaurant on the Dream.

We ate at Palo on the last night. The additional cost was $20. I really didn’t find anything suitable for someone trying to control their weight at this restaurant. The anti-pasta was drenched in oil (12 grams of fat in a tablespoon!) and a personal pizza was an appetizer option. I ended up ordering some dish which was mostly palenta I believe with beans on top. I skipped dessert as usual.

Cabanas

This is your best bet for staying on a healthy eating plan. Cabanas is open for 3 meals a day, and you don’t have to eat at your assigned restaurant. Cabanas is a open buffet style restaurant. You can eat all the fruit and vegetables you want here.

Here is an issue I encountered repeatedly on the cruise. Vegetables are routinely sautéed in oil. It was rare to encounter a vegetable not drenched in butter or oil. I ended up eating a lot of fruit on the trip.

I also had a lot of soup on the trip. Soup, as long as it’s not cream based or has a lot of cheese is usually safe. Another interesting thing is that Sprite Zero was available on the boat everywhere. Generally at Disney restaurants Diet Coke is all that is available as far as a zero calorie soft drink. I actually drank so much Sprite Zero that I have started purchasing it at home.

Hollywood Brown Derby

I’m reporting today on the Hollywood Brown Derby. This full service restaurant is located within the Disney Hollywood Studio theme park. As Disney restaurants go, it is definitely upper scale, but when all the diners are wearing shorts, tee shirts and baseball caps, it loses some of its ambiance. There are sketches on the wall of famous celebs in the golden age of Hollywood just like the original Brown Derby in Los Angeles.

As far as atmosphere and overall fun, you are probably better off going with the Sci-Fi Drive Inn or the 50’s Prime Time Café. I really should post on these restaurants and I’m sure I will in due time. I just happen to have had lunch at the Brown Derby yesterday so I’ll post on this one first. I took the family for the Star Wars Weekend and the re-opening of the newly imagined Star Tours ride- incredibly awesome experience by the way.

Okay, so on to the challenge of finding low calorie food.

You can access the full menu here: http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/media/wdw_nextgen/CoreCatalog/WaltDisneyWorld/en_us/Media/InternetMediaType/Dining/HollywoodBrownDerby/hollywood-brown-derby-menu-allday.pdf

I ended up ordering for appetizers: Spicy Sashimi-grade Tuna Tartare - with Cucumber, Daikon and Pepper Salad, Avocado Wasabi Sauce, and crisp Lotus Root Chips $14.00

Wow this was great and obviously very low calorie and practically fat free I’m sure. The only problem was that there just wasn’t that much there! Probably 4-5 bites of tuna with cucumbers and spices. It was presented just beautifully though in a bowl over blue ice. It was a real treat.

For my main course I had: Noodle Bowl - with Wok-fried Coconut Tofu, Soy Beans, Sugar Snap Peas, Bok Choy, and Shiitake Mushrooms in a Red Curry Broth $23.00

Okay, yes the tofu is fried. Probably a hundred extra calories there but nothing that walking across the park on a 95 degree Florida day can’t fix, right? Otherwise it was great- sort of a noodle soup kind of dish. Well maybe I should back up here. My dish came out HOT and I was starving. So I put some ice, not the blue ice from my appetizer, but from my Diet Coke (what else, right?) in the noodles. So I’m not really sure how much of a soup dish this was but when I was done with it, it was absolutely soup. But, it was really good and very filling.

They do bring you all you can eat bread at this restaurant. Much better than the all you can eat chips of the La Hacienda de San Angel I last reviewed! My wife had: Duck Two Ways - Poached Duck Magret wrapped in Swiss Chard, Mushroom Vegetable Couscous, and a crispy Leg Confit Spring Roll with spicy Onion Jam $30.00. This dish looked loaded in calories with ½ of the main portion being fried spring rolls.

I think I could have made what I ordered much better by just setting the fried tofu aside, or just asking for it not to be fried. I don’t know if they would do that, but I’ll ask the next time I am there. I felt so bad about eating the tofu I made this my lunch and dinner combined, although I probably ate at least 5 small apples during the course of the day.

A side note on this restaurant. Usually the service I have received at Disney has been top notch. My waiter, which I am sure is just luck of the draw, left a bit to be desired. We had to ask repeatedly for things such as silverware, refills, etc and the restaurant was only ½ full at the time. At one point I asked for something and the waiter proceeded to set a table right in front of me before fulfilling my request. This is highly unusual for Disney staff.

All in all I’ll say that this experience left a little to be desired, but was still worth it. We probably won’t repeat for a year but I’m glad I did it all the same. All in all I give this restaurant an 8 for taste, a 6 for ambiance, a 2 for service, and a 4 for ease of keeping to a diet. To wrap up on a positive note, I did notice that Hollywood Scoops on Sunset Blvd now has both fat free ice cream and sorbet!

Summer is here folks and it’s time to get serious about your diet. Little things, like a small bit of fried tofu all adds up.

Oh, I'm excited to report that the Wellspring Florida summer camp will be going to Disney World this summer. If you've seen the Too Fat for 15 series this is the summer camp version of the academy on TV. I'll be passing my Disney tips on to the camp director shortly, and maybe I'll even get a chance to post how the group fared. If you would like to enroll your child on this incredible, once in a lifetime opportunnity to learn how to negotiate the hazards of high calorie foods at Disney from the real pros, give me a call at 828-450-4367.

P.S. Sorry for the bad photos- I forgot my camera battery and took this with my Blackberry.

La Hacienda de San Angel

I recently took my family to La Hacienda de San Angel in Epcot. This restaurant is new, as the grand opening was just a few months ago. It's remarkable how quickly Disney is able to build new attractions.

The La Hacienda de San Angel is of course a Mexican restaurant which is found across from the Mexican pavilion at Epcot. It features a total of 12,000 square feet of space that includes a 250-seat table service area along the World Showcase Lagoon. The attached La Cantina de San Angel features a 150-seat quick-service restaurant serving traditional Mexican flavors.

The restaurant was literally build on a pier overlooking the lagoon. If you are familiar with Epcot, you will remember that there was not enough space to build a restaurant across from the Mexican pavilion, so they built it on stilts well over the water. The location is a perfect viewing spot for Epcot’s nightly Illuminations: Reflections of Earth fireworks show.

Which brings me to a good point about dining at most Disney locations. You really go for the ambiance and for the taste, and not so much to satisfy your hunger. Before I ate I filled up on my trusty apples which I carry every time I go to the parks. This makes dealing with a giant plate of yummy high calorie food much easier to deal with.

La Hacienda de San Angel is a bit more up scale than the San Angel Inn which is inside the pyramid. The is a variety of mini tacos (one flavor: chiles toreados y chorizitos), as well as skillets with cuts of meat, veggies, seafood, to make your own taco.

You can access a full menu here: http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/diningdetail.cfm?Restaurant.ID=161

After careful consideration I had the following dish (which I shared with my wife):

Parrillada (serves 2 people) - Del Mar. Mixed grill offering mahi mahi, shrimp, scallops and vegetables, served with beans and fresh salsa - $49.95

You can see a photo I snapped of the dish when it was served. I figured mahi mahi is always good, as this is a low fat fish. Ditto shrimp. I am allergic to scallops so I gave those to my wife, and of course I filled up on the vegetables. The best part of this dish was that you made your own tacos out of the offerings. So you could make a fish and vegetable taco with no sour cream or guacamole and really cut down on the fat.

A word of warning about this restaurant. They serve all you can eat chips while you wait for your food and they keep you waiting for a while. Your best bet is to ask the waiter to not bring out the chips so that you won't be tempted to snack on them.

All in all I give this restaurant a 10 for taste, an 8 for ambiance, a 10 for service, but just a 3 for ease of keeping to a diet. The constant flow of chips really brings the overall score down. For serious dieters you may want to skip La Hacienda de San Angel all together. There are just too many temptations once you step foot inside.