Bonjour everybody! I came back from Disney a few days ago, and to be honest, I haven’t had time to write a blog post in two weeks. I was too busy enjoying myself in Disney and studying to pass my Sport Nutrition Specialist certification. All my hard work for the past two weeks really paid off.
Anyway, I wanted to write a blog post about traveling to Disney while having dietary restrictions because I get this question a lot from my clients. It is already hard to travel when you are following a specific lifestyle, but when you also have food you need to avoid for health reasons, it can be complicated. Don’t worry though, I got you!
Preparation
#1 rule to succeed is to be prepared. If you know what is going to be available to you, the choice you will have on the food, and where you will be able to get what you need, that will help. I know when I travel with my employers to Disney, I don’t choose where we shop or where we eat. I also know I won’t have access to a kitchen, so I need food ready to eat.
I have been going to Disney three times now, and I knew what to expect. We only go to Walmart to shop, there is going to be a fridge in the hotel, and I won’t be able to get food at the parks. I have been learning from the previous years, so this time I decided to pack plenty of food for every situation.
What did I pack?
Moser Roth 70% chocolate – priority, am I right? I usually get 85%, but they were out at Aldi. I like bringing dark chocolate because it is good for me and it is also a great little dessert. I like this brand because they have single serving of chocolate, so I just grab one to put in my lunch box.
Vital Proteins Beauty Greens – it is so convenient to get more veggies and collagen this way. I mixed it in water in the morning, and tadaa!
Epic bars – I LOVE the salmon bars which is a great way to eat fish while traveling. I am avoiding pork and beef, so I took some venison bars. I am not a huge fan of those as they are too hard, but still a good way to get protein.
Applegate sausages – This is the first time I bring those because I always had a microwave im my room and of course, this year I didn’t. Now I know that they are also good eaten cold 😂.
Turkey sticks – I bought some from Chomps and Mike’s Sticks and they were very good.
Hot and Nutty Cereal – Convenient for breakfast, when you have a microwave. It is pretty much like oats, without oats. I didn’t even eat one while in Disney lol, but at least I had them.
Mixed nuts – Convenient way to get some whole-food fats. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to find raw nuts at Walmart, so I brought some from home.
SANE Peanut Butter Bites – Another way to get more protein. I also love them so much that I would have them as a dessert. Unfortunately, we aren’t selling them anymore ;(.
Salad Dressing – It is nice to have a good dressing that you can trust when you are traveling. I also usually buy things to make salads when I eat at the hotel, so it is convenient to have some dressing.
Homemade Jerky – Another way to get more protein and it is cheaper than buying jerky at the store. You also control what’s in there so it is better.
Nutpods – because it make McDonalds’ coffee taste great 😂. I also love the hazelnut creamer, so I brought some which was also good to have before we went to the store.
Sweetener – I have some caramel flavored sirup that doesn’t contain any aspartame, sugar, or sucralose, so I brought some in a empty bottle of stevia. I also brought some erythritol that I didn’t even use.
Bulletproof Collagen – I use that every morning in my coffee because it tastes great and it is awesome for my nails, skin, and hair.
Whey Protein – Great for post-workout especially when you have access to a gym and you want to try everything.
what I bought there
I bought some veggies that I could eat raw and use in salads. I had bad experience with hotel fridge that froze the lettuce and cucumbers I bought, so I passed on that this year. I kept the cucumbers and tomatoes out of the fridge and I was good. I also brought a can opener, a container for my salads, and ustensiles.
Eating out.
They gave me two salads at Benihana because the soup contained gluten. 
Shrimps, rice, and veggies at Benihana. 
Salad at On the Border. 
Salad at Chuy’s. 
My lunch when I was in Disney parks.
Eating out doesn’t have to be complicated when you are trying to eat healthy or you have dietary restrictions. You have to make sure you let the waiter know what you need. If you need a gluten free menu you can ask if they have one and if not, they will call the chef to see what would be best for you. I avoid dairy, corn, gluten, pork, and beef, so I just made sure I asked for a gluten free menu, I asked them to remove corn, bacon, and dairy if there was any in the salad and I would choose a salad with chicken. I didn’t like asking for substitutions before, but now I remind myself that I am a paying customer and the last thing I want is to feel sick after a meal.
I hope this helped you figure out what to bring and how to eat when you travel. If you have any question, don’t hesitate to ask in the comment section. I would also love to hear what your tips are when you travel.
It’s always so hard to travel and eat well! Great tips and some I will have to try!
You are right! It makes it so much easier when you are prepared :). Let me know if some of those tips worked for you.