Point me to the vegetables?

[Tiptipa]

Heading to the parks for the first time, and could use some advice on food. So, to give some background, we are not American (though have been living in the US for a few years). We are used to a diet very high in fresh vegetables, and very low in things like red or processed meat, animal fats, and cheese. I guess by US standards that makes us health freaks, but that's just what we like to eat!

I am looking for some recommendations on the best salads in the parks, preferably quick-service. I took a look at the main food thread, and a lot of the vegetable-based food seems kind of sad...salads appear to be about either 90% lettuce, which is not really a meal, or 90% meat/bread/cheese, which is not really a salad....Some of them seem to pack enormous quantities of salt and calories, which I am confused about, but I guess it's the cheese?

I am especially having a hard time finding places that serve decent salads during breakfast. Is that just something that doesn't exist?

Thanks!

 

[georgina]

Heading to the parks for the first time, and could use some advice on food. So, to give some background, we are not American (though have been living in the US for a few years). We are used to a diet very high in fresh vegetables, and very low in things like red or processed meat, animal fats, and cheese. I guess by US standards that makes us health freaks, but that's just what we like to eat!

I am looking for some recommendations on the best salads in the parks, preferably quick-service. I took a look at the main food thread, and a lot of the vegetable-based food seems kind of sad...salads appear to be about either 90% lettuce, which is not really a meal, or 90% meat/bread/cheese, which is not really a salad....Some of them seem to pack enormous quantities of salt and calories, which I am confused about, but I guess it's the cheese?

I am especially having a hard time finding places that serve decent salads during breakfast. Is that just something that doesn't exist?

Thanks!

Not an easy question. Are you staying at one of Universal's resorts? I suggest googling the menus at the resort's restaurants for salads. You're right, many are mostly lettuce.. I often stay at Cabana Bay and I think there is a salad bar where one can make their own salad. If you have a car or are willing to travel offsite for food, a chain called Sweet Tomatoes is nearby and has what you are looking for.

What I know at the parks - (Breakfast is going to be tough - maybe look at the Today Cafe at US menu) is mostly not raw vegetables -

Confisco Grille at IOA has a veggie wrap - Roasted portobello mushrooms and red peppers, caramelized onions, cucumber, spinach, hummus, balsamic glaze, rosemary focaccia

Doc Sugrue's Desert Kebab House at IOA has a vegetable kebab and a Greek salad

Toothsome Emporium just outside IOA has a super foods salad - Spinach, arugula, avocado, quinoa, asparagus, sundried roasted tomatoes, red onion, pine nuts, feta cheese, citrus vinaigrette

I don't know a lot about the City Walk restaurants. Their menus are all online, you may need to do more research! Antojito's Mexican restaurant may have some vegetable based options.

 

[f1gm3nt]

There is a really nice Whole Foods not far from Universal, but you would need a car or an Uber to get there. I don't know if you could get something delivered.

Traffic can be a mess right at that intersection too, so it's not going to be an easy in/out. The good news is that they have prepared food that you could microwave or put in the fridge at your hotel - if your hotel has them. Our stay at the Royal Pacific didn't, but we usually stay off-site for Disney or Universal for this reason.

 

[mjhtvchick]

Heading to the parks for the first time, and could use some advice on food. So, to give some background, we are not American (though have been living in the US for a few years). We are used to a diet very high in fresh vegetables, and very low in things like red or processed meat, animal fats, and cheese. I guess by US standards that makes us health freaks, but that's just what we like to eat!

I am looking for some recommendations on the best salads in the parks, preferably quick-service. I took a look at the main food thread, and a lot of the vegetable-based food seems kind of sad...salads appear to be about either 90% lettuce, which is not really a meal, or 90% meat/bread/cheese, which is not really a salad....Some of them seem to pack enormous quantities of salt and calories, which I am confused about, but I guess it's the cheese?

I am especially having a hard time finding places that serve decent salads during breakfast. Is that just something that doesn't exist?

Thanks!

The in-park quick service options are pretty abysmal, to be honest. There is also very little in the way of "healthy" breakfast options. I have never seen breakfast salads at Universal - mostly pastries or breakfast sandwiches, from a quick service perspective.

A couple of thoughts...
In Universal Studios - Lisa's Teahouse of Horrors in Fast Food Blvd, Today Cafe
In Islands of Adventure - Croissant Moon Bakery, Confisco Grille (sit-down)
Out of Park - Urban Pantry in Aventura Hotel serves wok bowls and sushi

Unfortunately, its not going to be easy! How hard really depends on how many days you are going and whether you are staying on- or off-site.

 

[DisLiss]

I would probably look into getting to a store or getting fresh produce delivered. I totally feel your pain as we're a vegetarian/vegan family. I tend to carry sturdier fruits and vegetables into the parks with me as snacks, but by the time we get home I'm ready to sit down to a feast of big salads and cooked vegetables, LOL!

 

[Chrissy-Mickey]

I usually don't like eating at the parks because of the lack of vegetables. One meal that includes meat but also quite some vegetables is the Bangers and Mash at the Leaky Cauldron in Universal Studios. Mash potatoes and two sausages, but also a big helping of vegetables.

 

[larissawbb]

If your Amazon Prime members, you can have Whole Foods delivered to your resort using the Prime Now app.

 

[ChanaC]

Three Broomsticks in Islands of Adventure has a really great vegetarian platter! Last time I went it was mashed potatoes, grilled asparagus, grilled tomato, peas, and sautéed cabbage, and I think it was served with a side salad. However, this was at Universal Studios Hollywood, and while I know they have similar menus, this may not be available. It wouldn't hurt to ask an employee when you get there, they usually have someone stationed outside.

 

[damo]

Monster's Cafe has some new salads.

https://www.universalorlando.com/we...ersal-studios-classic-monsters-cafe/menu.html
There are fresh fruit carts around the parks. Not sure if they have vegetables too.

Bigfire's has a cauliflower steak that looks interesting!

Croissant Moon and The Today Cafe should have salads for you at breakfast.

https://www.universalorlando.com/web/en/us/things-to-do/dining/today-cafe/menu.html

 

[nouvellefleur]

There are fresh fruit carts around the parks. Not sure if they have vegetables too.
https://www.universalorlando.com/web/en/us/things-to-do/dining/today-cafe/menu.html

I remember seeing veggie + hummus trays in King's Cross and at the cart in London kinda across from the Diagon Alley entrance (by the jacket potato stand, I think).

 

[nat8199]

I usually don't like eating at the parks because of the lack of vegetables. One meal that includes meat but also quite some vegetables is the Bangers and Mash at the Leaky Cauldron in Universal Studios. Mash potatoes and two sausages, but also a big helping of vegetables.

I am not the OP, but thank you for posting this! I just looked at pictures and this does come with a large amount of veggies. My meat-loving kids will happily help me with the bangers.

 

[jaceraden]

Eating well while in parks is always a challenge. That's the way of Theme Parks. It sounds like you need to plan ahead and either bring your own meals (this is what we did and left our cooler in the vehicle - we had several nice picnics in the parking garage), or try to mix and match with what's available.

The type of eating style you mentioned is not "health freaks", it's standard eating well, which is what most of us practise. It's just not reflected in well in Theme Park menus. I'm not American either and I'm a Vegetarian. It is what it is.

 

[only hope]

The type of eating style you mentioned is not "health freaks", it's standard eating well, which is what most of us practise. It's just not reflected in well in Theme Park menus. I'm not American either and I'm a Vegetarian. It is what it is.

Sadly that type of eating is not the norm here. Typical Americans eat a lot of fast food, red meat, pasta and other carbs, salty packaged food, and sweets. I’ve recently started eating mostly real, whole foods. I scoured menus for all the WDW parks and Universal and there are very few whole-food options. Even fewer options if you’d like to maintain a low sodium diet.

 

[jaceraden]

Sadly that type of eating is not the norm here. Typical Americans eat a lot of fast food, red meat, pasta and other carbs, salty packaged food, and sweets. I’ve recently started eating mostly real, whole foods. I scoured menus for all the WDW parks and Universal and there are very few whole-food options. Even fewer options if you’d like to maintain a low sodium diet.

I understand many Americans (and Canadians - where I live) eat this way. But, lots of us don't and don't appreciate being lumped in with the stereotype or called "health freaks" on the opposite end. Theme Park food is not known to be a reflection of at home eating, it's always been catering to the quick and fun treat model. We know that and either eat it as a one off or pack our own stuff!

 

[f1gm3nt]

Just to add to this thread, I did a little bit of “research” today at IOA, and I can sadly inform you that while the hummus and pita bread at the Kebab QS in Lost Continent is good, the celery and carrot sticks were not at all “fresh” - I ended up tossing them and not trying them.

 

[Tiptipa]

We just got back from our trip. Thank you all for your feedback, I did try some of the options suggested here and they were very helpful! I wanted to come back and give a few of my "finds" for future readers.

We were pleasantly surprised with the side salad at the Bread Box in City Walk. It's still mostly greens, but has a lot of arugula and more tomatoes and cucumbers than we got elsewhere. The dressing was a bit weird/processed, but we just added olive oil.

The side of grilled veggies at Cowfish was pretty good. It's not fresh vegetables, but it's probably the best veggie dish we tried. I recommend this for those looking for healthier options, especially given that this restaurant also serves a bunch of reasonable mains.

Inside the park proper, the best option we found was by far the Today Cafe (thanks to those of you who recommended it! I never would have found it otherwise). Their salads are decent, relatively interesting, and available throughout the day.

A dis-recommendation: the soup and salad combo at the Leaky Cauldron was a disappointment. Very salty, salad composed almost entirely of lettuce, and the dressing was some kind of pre-packaged, processed condiment (I don't know if this is common practice, I have never seen a sit-down restaurant serve processed food, but this was definitely not made in the restaurant).

 

[tony67]

I understand many Americans (and Canadians - where I live) eat this way. But, lots of us don't and don't appreciate being lumped in with the stereotype or called "health freaks" on the opposite end. Theme Park food is not known to be a reflection of at home eating, it's always been catering to the quick and fun treat model. We know that and either eat it as a one off or pack our own stuff!

I'm surprised it took so long for a bit of a negative turn on this thread.

Lot's of people eat poorly- not just American's and Canadian's. Lots of people eat healthy and I'm sure most are somewhere in the middle.

On vacation though - many people dont want watch what they eat - that tends to be thought of as eating poorly.
One of the worst things Disney did IMO was try to force people to eat healthy. Just search for sawdust buns in the Disney forums.
That being said Disney did have some very good somewhat healthy items in each park.

Universal does not seem to have as many of those choices from what I have seen, and if it was profitable to have healthy items I'm sure they would, but if the healthy stuff does not sell and goes off (someone mentioned the celery and carrot sticks) then what's the point.

 

[Haystack]

I like to maintain all food groups.
Carbohydrates, protein, dairy, fruits and vegetables, and fats and sugars.
In order to maintain that balance I get a pretzel dog with cheese sauce and veggie straws from Auntie Anns.....

Problem solved!

 

[only hope]

A dis-recommendation: the soup and salad combo at the Leaky Cauldron was a disappointment. Very salty, salad composed almost entirely of lettuce, and the dressing was some kind of pre-packaged, processed condiment (I don't know if this is common practice, I have never seen a sit-down restaurant serve processed food, but this was definitely not made in the restaurant).

Prepackaged dressings is the norm for fast food/quick service, which is what Leaky Cauldron is. Sit downs usually specifiy when something is made at the restaurant instead of purchased- it’ll be labeled house dressing or the term “made in house“ or “made from scratch” will appear next to the flavor name.

 

[EveDallas]

A dis-recommendation: the soup and salad combo at the Leaky Cauldron was a disappointment. Very salty, salad composed almost entirely of lettuce, and the dressing was some kind of pre-packaged, processed condiment (I don't know if this is common practice, I have never seen a sit-down restaurant serve processed food, but this was definitely not made in the restaurant).

The Leaky Cauldron is most definitely not a sit down restaurant. It's quick service.