Vacation Food Conundrum

We’re at Disney World. It’s great, but honestly, the food sucks. SUCKS.

I suppose if we made reservations at some of the nicer places we could come up with some food that is not out of the freezer and processed (or drenched) beyond recognition—but that’s not on the itinerary this trip because it’s not really about us.

Matthew doesn’t think the food is bad (but he’s six and he doesn’t have a clue).  He wants the pizza from the counter service restaurant at the Animal Kingdom Lodge (where we’re staying) instead of the pizza at Sanaa (the fabulous restaurant with African inspired food that has an Indian flair).  Mom and I were so relieved when we found Sanaa on the second day we were here—the food was real.  We had the salad sampler (there was no lettuce) with things like roasted beets, chickpeas, mint, and a vegetarian sampler with roasted cauliflower, lentils, and green beans.

Other than Sanaa, we’ve not yet found anyplace acceptable to eat. I searched the Internet for vegetarian and vegan food at Disney (not because we’re against meat, but because I thought that search would yield results closer to what we were looking for). I didn’t find anything helpful, and the one tip we took led us to a place at EPCOT that was really awful. Seriously, if they could just put the dressing on the side of the salad instead of dousing it, that would make it a little better!  That reminds me of my West Coast friend who moved to Pittsburgh and couldn’t believe it when restaurants put the butter on the toast for her.  Is it an East Coast thing to have the condiments applied for you?  If so, maybe I should relocate.  I think it probably depends on the location and the type of restaurant. Here at Disney, everything is about efficiency—how much easier is it to sell the salad already mixed, made, and dressed so all the kitchen staff has to do is plop it on a plate?!

I don’t really mean to sound negative, because it’s not that big of a deal…but I’m very obsessed with passionate about food, so when it’s disappointing and I end up eating things I don’t want….I’m just disappointed!

We’re going to Wolfgang Puck’s at Downtown Disney tonight, and we know it’s good because we’ve been there before—however, it may not be a pleasant experience because Matthew won’t be hungry after the nasty pizza and cookie he just ate (in other words, he’s a great kid, but sitting patiently in a restaurant while people eat is not likely). After swimming for 3 hours, he was starving…and had to have pizza.

Is vacation always all about the food? Or is it about the food because you have to find places to eat and have no kitchen to prepare anything yourself?  What are some tips and tricks you use to eat healthy while traveling? My Mom said she considered bringing a jar of Sunbutter in her suitcase….