Disney Does Healthy

Next week, my husband and I will be celebrating our anniversary up at Disney and I am getting so excited! Today was the finishing touches day where we set up all of our reservations and I got a pretty good idea of what will be happening. We are passholders, so we will also get a sneak peak of the new Fantasyland expansion on the trip. All this has left me very excited and given me the idea to talk about some of my favorite (healthy) dining locations throughout the Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and Epcot... Hollywood Studios will wait for another day :)

Quick Service

There are a few different dining options at Disney, counter service is usually the cheapest and can be quite tasty!

1. Cosmic Rays Starlight Cafe serves sandwiches and burgers. The good news is that they have a lots of vegetarian options like a veggie sandwich that is delicious and a veggie burger. I am not quite as keen on veggie burgers since they can be quite unhealthy and tend to fall apart, but Disney's are pretty good. The Cafe is located in Tomorrowland across from Cinderella's Castle and is open for lunch and dinner. Perk, kids get grapes and carrots with their meal!

2. Yak and Yeti in Animal Kingdom has some of our favorite food in the parks! It is pan-Asian and delicious. Although I have never been to the quick service area, I wanted to add it in because of all the wonderful things I have heard. The menu includes dumplings, pork and chicken dishes and sweet and sour veggies upon request. I have also heard they will do steamed vegetables on request as well. This is a great option if you are wanting some good Asian food but don't want to make the trek to Epcot. Yak and Yeti is also right next to the Expedition Everest ride... Bonus!

3. Aloha Isle in Magic Kingdom's Adventureland is a great place to stop in for some healthier sweets. I feel like we stop here every time we go to Disney since they are one of the healthiest options for some cold, tasty sweets! Aloha Isle mainly specializes in Dole-whip. You can get a few different flavors including vanilla pineapple swirl and orange. They also have Dole whip floats available with orange juice if you really want to splurge!

Seated Dining

1. Tokyo Dining in the Japan pavilion at Epcot is a great place to watch the fireworks while eating sushi, noodles, and the many grilled options. It is a step up in price from the quick service options, but it is good. The best thing abut the restaurant is the fireworks view. With massive windows facing the water, you are front and center to Epcot's night showcase. If you are wanting to kick the meal up a bit, opt for the Teppan dining next door at Teppan Edo. After dinner, check out the massive shopping area downstairs, it is a must see anytime we are in Epcot!

2. La Hacienda de San Angel has one of the best dinners I have ever eaten at Epcot. The Pescado a la Talla is what I get every visit and what all others in the party wish they had gotten. Tilapia with roasted corn and sweet cactus leaves is just filling enough to be worth the price and does not leave you with the feeling you will need a wheelchair to leave. Be prepared, you will be doing a lot of sharing if the others with you got something else.

Tip: This location has an amazing view of the fireworks as well, make sure to ask for a table near the windows and have a reservation around 8:30 if you would like to see them. 

3. Yak and Yeti has made it on both the top quick service and seated dining lists because it is just that good. The Seared Miso Salmon is amazing and the Dim Sum Basket for Two is a must get! This is also one of the few locations that has a good salad with Ahi tuna, mixed greens and ginger dressing... Yum!

Character Dining

Disney is synonymous with character dining since most people are there to see the characters anyway, right? Sadly, I have only ever gone to one Character Dining location and have not been terribly eager to visit another. On our next trip to Disney, we will be eating at Cinderella's Royal Table. This is the restaurant inside the castle and offers character dining with Cinderella. Once we go, I can let you know about the foods, but until then, there is The Crystal Palace.

The Crystal Palace is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and has all of the Winnie the Pooh characters available to autographs and pictures. The characters are great and the food is ok, especially for the price jump from your quick service and seated dining locations. For this, you are definitely purchasing the character time more than the food. On a brighter note, it is one of the best breakfasts I have had at the parks. Yes, there are plenty of unhealthy chocolate pancake and french toast options, but they also have an omelet bar where you can get an egg whites omelet along with some bran muffins. 

This is, of course, not the place for a healthy breakfast smoothie or chia overnight oats, but it is a pretty good option for breakfast with some characters on the side!

Meat Free Monday

Crock Pot Minestrone Soup

Minestrone soup is a great vegetarian option and crock pot minestrone makes soup preparation easy! This recipe is great for a busy Monday when all you want to do after a long day is come home and eat. Enjoy!

Recipe

Serving Size: 6

• 1/2 white onion chopped
  
• 1 cup baby carrots chopped
• 1 celery stalk chopped
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 3 tomatoes seeded and diced
• 1 (15oz) can navy beans
• 3 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 medium zucchini chopped
• 2 cups fresh baby spinach chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• 1 1/2 cups small shell pasta cooked
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Parmesan cheese grated over top (optional)

Minestrone Soup

Combine onion, carrots,celery, garlic, tomato, beans, vegetable broth, Parmesan cheese, zucchini, baby spinach and parsley in crock pot. Add bay leaves and rosemary to top. Cook on low heat for 6six to seven hours. Add the cooked pasta and cook for ten minutes. Remove the rosemary sprig and bay leaves and add salt and pepper to taste. Spoon into bowls and grate Parmesan cheese on the top if desired.

This recipe has been revised from skinnytaste.com

Thrifty Girl: Farmer's Market

After sifting the internet for ways to get the same quality produce without burning holes in our (somewhat flammable) wallets, I found a couple of great farmers market ideas. We try to get to the farmers market at least once a month so a tip for saving there minus the coupon clipping was more than welcome!

The farmers market thrifty tip that I have used and love is to go to the farmers market later in the day. A lot of the vendors are wanting to get rid of the merchandise and may be willing to bring down the price to make sure it gets sold. Something I learned with this method is that a lot of the seasonal fruits and things are more likely to be sold out the later you go, but, if you just want some bell peppers and broccoli for the week, this could be a great way to reign in the budget. I have also heard that you can talk to the vendors and find out if they give reduced rates for going to their own farms. Although I have not tried this method yet, I know people who have and love it. You get the pick of what you want and at a discount- foodie discount win! This may not be a good option if the farm is an hour away, but for a fifteen minute drive, why not?

Meat Free Monday

I am a huge supporter of the meat free Monday movement that is going on right now! Being able to go one day a week without meat is a wonderful change-up for family meals and keeps a little extra in your wallet, but the best perk is the low impact on the environment. Believe it or not, but going meat free one day a week does more environmentally than nixing the car and riding your bike. This is because the gases that the cattle industry put out is the largest contributor to greenhouse emissions- passing up the entire transportation sect. Shocking, right? There are a few reasons this is true, let’s start with the one I expected the most. It is a pretty common known fact that cows emit a lot of gases, like a ton. Cattle emit nitrous oxide and methane; both of which are more caustic that CO2. Even crazier, these gases remain in our atmosphere for, up to, decades longer than carbon dioxide.
A somewhat more surprising fact about the cattle industry is how much corn it consumes. It is pretty obvious that we feed cows a lot... Who wants to eat a skin and bones cow, right? But the amount of food that goes towards the cattle industry is staggering. A third of the cereal crops produced in the US are currently going toward feeding cattle. That is a lot of farmland for non-human consumption. Then, we must remember how big cows are- they take up a bit of space. Brazil is the largest meat producing country in the world and is also going through massive deforestation. Can you guess why... the livestock industry is responsible for most of the deforestation happening there. By having one day a week set for veggies, we could free up a ton of farmland and field space for other needed things!                                                       

For more information about meat free Monday's, check out the article posted on goop.com by Paul McCartney here or learn more at meatfreemondays.com

Now, for the doing

When I talk to most people about a meal without meat, they are usually most concerned about two things 1) will they get enough protein 2) can they make something that will be good and not just carbs. The answer to both these questions is yes. There are plenty of resources for vegetarian recipes online, some of which are even better than their meaty counterpart in taste and protein levels. Flowering veggies like broccoli, cauliflower and brussel sprouts are great sources of protein. Mushrooms and black beans are two more that work wonders as meat replacements! Here is one of my favorite recipes that go meatless while being delicious, high in nutrients and protein, and a friend to your wallet!

Strawberry, Banana, and Kale Smoothie

The kale is a great source of vitamin A, vitamin C, Vitamin K, Manganese, and has 2.2 grams protein per cup with only about 30 calories and is strongly anti-inflammatory! Bananas are great for potassium but have lots of carbs for the size. Since fruit is so high in carbs from sugar and has fewer nutritional benefits, keeping the main ingredient as the kale is great!

• 2 cups Kale
• 3 medium strawberries
• 1/2 a banana
• 4 cubes of ice
• Some water for mixing

Add the two cups kale, sliced strawberry and banana, and some water into blender. Blend until smooth. Add in ice cubes and blend again. Poor into cup and enjoy!

If you are interested in know who else goes meatless once a week, here are a few celebrities that have gotten on the meat free Monday train: Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsey, Sir Paul McCartney, and Gwyneth Paltrow.