What's For Dinner?

As I was scouring the grocery store last night, I was thinking about this next entry.  I was trying to find something for dinner that my whole family would eat, yet something different, something we’re not tired of eating—quite the challenge!  We're kind of stuck in a rut of eating the same 5 or 6 meals every week.  You see, one of my kids’ biggest “spectrum issues” is that they are REALLY PICKY eaters!  If it looks or smells “funny,” they’re not going to eat it.  Too many times, I’ve spent an hour or two fixing dinner, to have everyone sit down and have the girls look at their plate and say, “What’s this?  It looks yucky!”  I say, “Try it, you might like it.  You never know!”  A half-bite later—“I tried it…I don’t like it.”  Grrrr!  It doesn’t help when I look over at Alan, my husband, and he’s just picking at his food, too (the picky eating comes from HIS genes!).  So…let’s segue into the “Disney part” of my blog entry today.



Chef Mickey's!



One of the things I really enjoy doing when planning my Disney trips is deciding where we’re going to eat.  Disney has so many fantastic restaurants to eat at, making it hard to choose!  The biggest deciding factor for us, though, in choosing which restaurants to eat at is figuring out which ones have menu items that Sarah and Allison will eat.  One of the characteristics of kids on the Spectrum is that they are often (but not always) picky eaters.  Many of these kids are SO picky, that they eat the same foods EVERY SINGLE DAY!  This can make eating out a daunting task for parents.  Not to fear, though, parents!  Generally, I have found Disney to do a great job of providing a pretty good variety of “kid-friendly” menu items at the restaurants where you order off of a menu.   Your best bet, however, is the buffets!  We have found that most of the buffets usually offer some sort of chicken nuggets, pasta, macaroni and cheese, and maybe, pizza on the kids’ portion of the buffet, but kids are more than welcome to get food off of the “adult” part of the buffet, too.  This will give kids a lot more to choose from, which generally makes for happier kids (and happier parents)!  If you go to a Disney table-service restaurant, and your child can’t find ANYTHING to eat on the menu, ask to speak to the chef.  It’s Disney!  Often, once you explain your child’s situation, the chef will try to come up with something your child will be happy eating!  Many times, they can leave off sauces, extra seasonings, etc.  Your best bet, though, is to check the menus ahead of time.  You can check many of the menus at disneyfoodblog.com.  If you know that there will be specific food issues, such as a gluten-free, casein-free diet, you can call 407-WDW-DINE (939-3463) prior to your trip, so that the restaurants you are eating at will be able to accommodate your child.  My kids’ favorite table service restaurants at Disney?  Chef Mickey’s, Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater, and Crystal Palace.  Feel free to try new, unfamiliar places, too, if you think your child can handle it (only you know your child).  Maybe even give them a chance to help select where you can eat.  We tried Les Chefs de France this year, and my girls surprisingly enjoyed it!   They even tasted some new foods, too (only a bite, but it’s a step in the right direction)!  There may be hope yet!

Oh, yes, dinner last night?  Spaghetti  (again!)—but we branched out…we used egg noodles instead of angel hair! 



Lunch with Grandmommy at Sci-Fi Dine In Theater





Visiting with Pooh at Crystal Palace