Well almost the whole trip, I turned out to be pleasantly surprised. The only place I had a really hard time ordering a decent meal was the first restaurant we went to on our first night there, right by our hotel. Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. They didn't have a single entree that was meatless. I thought about ordering one of their salads and just asking for it without the chicken, but 99.999% of the time, places charge you full price for the salad even though you got it without the most expensive part - the meat. And I hate feeling like a "pest" and asking them to take off some $$. It's just uncomfortable. I'm not cheap, I just don't like overpaying for things. Anyway, I ordered a side of mashed potatoes and a side of steamed broccoli for my "meal". The broccoli had a lot of butter but oh well. I do wish I had taken a picture though, because it was huge. I literally needed a knife and a fork to cut & eat it which made it feel a little more hearty, haha. :)
Our continental breakfast at our hotel was easy - it was all meatless and not a lot to choose from. Fruit Loops, or Raisin Bran cereal, muffins, donuts, toast with butter and/or jelly. Then there was milk (cow's milk - gross), OJ, apple juice and instant coffee to drink.
Then, on to Disneyland. One thing I did learn is that when you have specific dietary preferences or restrictions in a place like that, you don't always eat when you're hungry. Sometimes you eat when you're near a place that you know you can get a decent meal from, because chances are, you (and the people you're with) are not going to want to trudge back there later when your stomach starts to grumble. Anyway right when we got inside I noticed several fruit stands that had all kinds of good stuff! Huge wedges of fresh pineapple, mangoes, grapes, hummus & veggies (score!!) so that was pretty cool. I got a delicious and huge chunk of pineapple that my husband kept eating... I should have told him, hands off my "weird vegetarian food" buddy! ;) Then, not too much later we came across one of the places I had seen online that serves a Vegan Gumbo in a bread bowl (it's labeled as vegetarian on their menu but it's vegan) as well as a Steak Gumbo and a Clam Chowder. I wasn't particularly hungry yet, but I knew that would be my only chance to get the Veg Gumbo and luckily, everyone I was with was happy to stop and they all ordered a gumbo or chowder themselves. Mine was delicious and with my belly topped off, I knew I would be good on the food department for a while. Yum....
A bit later on, after several rides and standing in line etc, my son started saying he was hungry. We came across "Pizza Planet" (pizza and pasta) inside of Disneyland's "Tomorrowland" and I brought him in and scoped out the different counters to see if I had any options. Not only was there a "Venus Vegetarian Pizza" loaded with mushrooms, onions, zucchini and red onions, but they also had meatless pasta and a variety of salads, one of which was meatless and possibly vegan. I know I should have gotten the salad since it is obviously healthy choice, but the salad was $9 whereas the (huge) veggie pizza slice was only $6 something and I wasn't really in the mood for pasta. So I got the veggie pizza. And it was delicious. (no photo though... I'm learning that people think it's weird when I always take a picture of my food :)
The next day we went to California Adventure Park. We started out with our mundane continental breakfast from the hotel and then headed out. The first thing I came across that sounded good was roasted corn on the cob. It was okay but not very filling and I was wishing for some dental floss for the next hour and a half. Then we wandered through "World of Color" and I remembered reading online that they have a place with "picnic meals", one of which was vegetarian. They also had a PB&J meal for kids. Awesome. My husband grumbled about the cost ($15/meal) which, I understand that it seems high but it's Disneyland for one. Andplusalso we paid $9 for our gumbo the day before, but these picnic meals were more complete with a 'main dish' as well as two sides and a dessert.... and it was high quality food (not the normal, greasy amusement park food) and they came with a drink - which drinks alone in Disney cost around $4 each so I thought the cost was well worth it. I got the Mediterranean Vegetarian that came with marinated grilled veggies in a whole wheat wrap, with garlic hummus, a side of raw zucchini & squash spagettini w/first pressed lemon infused olive oil, vegetable cous-cous with toasted coriander vinaigrette and lemon layer cake. Yay! Tyler got the PB & J kid's meal that came with apple slices, a cupcake and a cool light up bracelet and Mike got fried chicken. My dad and his girlfriend shared a wild salmon plate. Here was mine: (photo courtesy of the Disney website)
My meal was delicious, healthy and I was good on the food-front for a while. :)
At some point later on in the day I had a frozen, chocolate banana with peanuts and then around dinner time everyone was getting hungry again. My dad and his girlfriend chose some burger place near the Aviator part of the park. I thought "great.. a burger joint." (that was my sarcasm font) At first, in looking at the menu, it seemed there were no entrees I could make meatless. It was either onion rings or a small side of french fries for me.. The larger side of fries came smothered in chili and cheese. So I was going to get the small fries and I felt a little bummed that we weren't eating anywhere that had anything else for me. But as we got closer to the counter, I noticed that in small print on the menu, it said "Veggie burgers available upon request." Score!!! I don't have to have french fries for dinner! So I ordered that and they had a "top-it-yourself" bar where I could add sauces, fresh cut veggies etc all to my liking. Awesome! Tyler got mac & cheese with a side of applesauce and everyone else got cow-burgers.
Our last day there began just like the rest with fruit loops and muffins, and then we were off to just explore California. While we were near Hollywood, my dad's girlfriend mentioned some well known hotdog place called Pink's, that she really wanted to go to. Again I thought, great... a hotdog joint. I think she read the disappointment on my face because then she mentioned that they even have a vegan hotdog. ...okay I'm perking up. We arrived at this small, run down looking place on the side of the street where the line forms on the side walk, and you walk up to the window and order. And in looking at the menu - again I didn't see any meatless option. :( So again, I was going to get fries, or the chips & guacamole I saw on the menu. But again, at the last minute my dad's gf handed me a more complete paper menu and low and behold, they listed "The Patt Morrison Baja Veggie Dog (VEGAN) topped w/fresh guacamole, chopped tomatoes and chopped onions". Sweet!! I was happy. I ordered that, and a side of chips & guac, which everyone else was eating. :) :) Now, just to give you an idea, this place is not any old hotdog place.. it's crazy. The line was long despite it being a place seemingly around nothing else, and their menu was insane. Here is a pic of my dad's gf's hotdog. It has bacon, (does a hotdog really need bacon??), sauerkraut, chili, relish, sour cream and who knows what else.
And here was my veggie dog:
It was pretty good.
At Santa Monica Pier and beach later on that day, there were people walking around selling huge things of fresh fruit. I got some watermelon that we all loved, but any time Mike or I would take one bite, Tyler would be asking for it back.... he pretty much devoured it all. :)
He looks happy... Look at all that watermelon juice. :)
For dinner we ate at the California Pizza Kitchen which has plenty of veg options. I got a Wild Mushroom Pizza with a garlic sauce.. I wish I had gotten the Roasted Vegetable Salad I was also eyeing on the menu, instead of the pizza... which was good but really rich and we were eating late that night so something lighter would have been better. Oh well, good thing there are California Pizza Kitchens in Minnesota. :)
The next day we were off to the airport bright and early to fly home. We didn't have time for the
A lot of what I ate probably was not the best in terms of "clean" and a lot of it was not as healthy as I normally prefer to eat. But I usually okay choices for what I had available.... and it was vacation after all. ;) I'm glad to be back home and be able to work out and plan my meals ahead of time now though. I just really miss the beach.
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