Okay, I ranted over in a different thread over the whole Fried Chicken strips being changed at WDW. I didn't care about the change, just the fact the virtually everyone was posting that their kids only eat the strips or nuggets or macaroni and cheese(as long as it's not the low fat kind) This makes me crazy. We have an obesity problem with children in this country. That's why WDW changed their kids menus. But, I think we'll all agree, the menus aren't very good. Sparse choices, that our kids don't want anyway. So...what SHOULD they put on the menus that are more healthy than Fried Chicken Strips/Nuggets or High Fat Mac and cheese? You know, stuff kids will actually EAT...
Here's a few of my ideas:
Mickey shaped sandwiches. PBJ, TUNA, TURKEY, HAM
Mickey shaped pasta w/wo meatballs. w/wo sauce
Pizza (still better than nuggets and fries)
Little stacks of meats and cheese and crackers like LUNCHABLES
Fruit salad
Salad with grilled chicken
wrap sandwiches (same as Mickey shaped ones)
grilled chicken with dipping sauces.
Vegetable sticks and dipping sauces
Now, some of these are available some places. But I'd really like to see a better variety of choices everywhere for the kids. Anyone else have some ideas?
Or am I just a loon...
Many of the items you have on your list are what I call pseudo-healthy. At their core they contain healthy items but their processing and or condiments ruin any health benefits. IMHO these pseudo-healthy options are worse than the unhealthy ones because people think they are making a healthy choice when in actuality they are not. There was a great article on this on MSN health and sadly I can not find it.
Sandwiches-When using wholegrain breads and unprocessed meats they are great but start putting on mayo, cheeses and less expensive processed meats and the heath benefits go out the window.
Pasta- Most pasta is made from heavily refined flours which according to some increases the rate of carbohydrate adsorbstion vs whole grains and will lead to blood sugar spike. The sauces can lead to a myriad of problems as well. Providing he sugar content is kept down tomato sauces are great but cream sauces are almost always liquid death.
Pizza- Veggie and or lean meat pizzas with good quality cheese and whole wheat crust can be healthy but they are not the best tasting pizzas in the world and not how they are commonly served.
Meats and cheese snacks- Very commonly made of highly processed meats and cheeses which in turn makes them very high in fat and calories.
Fruit Salad- Great providing that that is all they are. When they are packaged in high fructose corn syrup you might as well just eat a snickers bar.
Salad- The killer is almost always the dressing. The average person will put on around 600-900 extra calories and about 30 grams of fat worth of ranch dressing to a dinner size salad.
Wraps- In terms of health flour tortillas are the devil. They contain more calories, sugar and carbs than pretty much any together sandwich breads on the planet.
Veggies and grilled chicken with dipping sauces- Again it is the sauces that can kill you. 2 tablespoons of ranch dressing will have 140 calories and 14 grams of fat.
While most of this sounds like it falls into the "you can not eat anything but wheat grass and 100% organic, free range, fair trade blueberries" category do not despair. You can use this information to make what you are eating healthier by looking for and reducing the things that take the health out of your health food.
When it comes to Disney two or three healthy options are nice but it is starting to get a bit nuts. Disney does not need healthy mac-n-cheese or Pizza. People need to take a little personal responsibility and practice a bit of moderation. You can eat a double bacon cheeseburger with a side of gravy fries, just not every day.