Healthy Food at Disney California Adventure

This is part two of my Healthy Disneyland food guide, Healthy Eats at Disney California Adventure. Because I believe finding healthy food at Disney theme parks shouldn’t be hard. I want to give you all the info you need to continue living your best life while on vacation.

If you want to eat healthy at Disneyland Resort and California Adventure without packing a full cooler and picnic lunch, this article is for you. After all, it is vacation! My goal for this healthy eats article is to give you at least one healthier option from California Adventure’s most popular quick service and table service restaurants.

Did you miss part one of this series? See my healthy guide to Disneyland Park here. 

My Favorite Healthy Eats at California Adventure

While “healthy” has different definitions for everyone, I want anyone who is looking to stay on track to be able to enjoy their Disneyland trip without living solely off of apples and bananas.

For meals, these are my go-to “lighter fare” options. And while menus do change occasionally, I can usually find a similar substitute. 

• Salmon served with Roasted Potatoes, Tomatoes, and Arugula Salad with a Dill-Butter Cream Sauce (Wine Country Trattoria in the Performance Corridor)
• Seasonal fish or salads at any Marketplace Kiosks for Food & Wine Festival or at Carthay Circle Restaurant

Grab and Go Healthy Snacks at California Adventure

Sometimes you just need something healthy to keep you moving and grooving between meals. When I need a quick pick me up I go to:

• Fairfax Market serves fresh fruit like grapes and pineapple, along with cheese. It’s located just as you walk into Hollywood Land on the left.

• Fillmores Taste-in in Cars Land is your go-to place for fresh fruits and vegetables sold a-la-cart. Plus, there’s some great photo ops in this area!

• Adorable Snow Man is the adorable soft lemon ice cream stand, which is better than most treats in the park for those watching their calories. 

Healthy California Adventure Restaurant Menus

Table service restaurants encourage reservations. You can make reservations 60 days in advance on the Disneyland App or use MouseDining for free alerts.  The photo below meal is from Wine Country Trattoria at California Adventure. It’s one of my favorite dishes at Disneyland and I always order it when I dine at Wine Country. 

• Carthay Circle is fine dining at California Adventure. I love a leisurely meal there, escaping the busy scene below. The menu changes here seasonally but you can expect a fresh salad, catch of the day and other lean meats. 
• Wine Country Trattoria is home to my favorite salmon dish ever. Super healthy if you can avoid too much of the sauce on the side. 

California Adventure Quick Service Healthy Eats

Quick service restaurants are available without reservations, and now that Disneyland has implemented mobile dining orders via the Disneyland app, you can order your food and pick it up at your convenience with little to no wait. 

• Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta sometimes offers a Boardwalk Field of Greens with fresh Greens topped with Tomatoes, Blue Cheese, Cucumbers, Dried Cranberries, Caramelized Pecans and Golden Raisins with a Basil Vinaigrette. See full menu here.
• Cocina Cucamonga has a couple of really tasty options for healthy eaters, citrus achiote-marinated half chicken with black beans and rice or a similar option in salad form. 
• Fiddler, Fifer & Practical Cafe on Buena Vista Street has good healthy breakfast choices like spinach, feta and egg white wrap. They also have a couple salads for lunch or dinner. 

• Paradise Garden Grill‘s menu changes seasonally, but one item I love is their Greek Salad, served with a pita when it’s available. Often though, this location serves food to go along with whatever festival is running at DCA at the time.
• Smokejumpers Grill has a grilled chicken sandwich for a healthier choice. 

Headed to Disneyland soon? Don’t forget to grab discount park tickets here. 

Disney Nutrition Facts

California Adventure Nutrition Facts & Calories. Disney does not make public the nutrition facts for their food. Major bummer. When I wrote to Disneyland dining services about access to nutritional information, there response was, “We are not able to provide Guests with nutritional information. However, we are happy to attempt to work within any dietary requests and may suggest some menu alternatives that may satisfy the request.”

The fact that Disneyland doesn’t share calorie counts and other nutritional information is a huge disappointment. It makes our healthy eating habits a bit of a challenge. One solution is using apps like My Fitness Pal which offers a limited database of their “best guess” for Disneyland food, calories and nutrition content. I’ve also created these additional dining guides to help keep you on track:

• Disneyland Weight Watcher points
• Disneyland Keto food guide
• Eating Gluten-free at Disneyland

Remember, no matter what eating plan you’re following, there are still healthy options. Don’t be afraid to ask for fresh fruit instead of fries or other fresh options like bagged carrots or apple slices (the latter two are great to carry with you for a quick pick-me-up).

Disney Mickey Check Meal

Disney has the right idea with their “Mickey Check Meal.” Select kids’ meals (but you can order them too!) are designated as a “Mickey Check Meal” which means they “meet Disney Nutrition Guidelines that limit calories, saturated fat, sodium, and sugar.”

Kids Disney Check Meals have 600 calories or less when eaten as a complete meal and includes 3 or more food groups. On a recent visit, I at this Turkey Sandwich Kids Disney Check Meal from Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe at Disneyland, but there are several places at Disney California Adventure that serve a version of Mickey Check Meals including:

• Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta, turkey meatball sandwich
• Lucky Fortune Cookery, chicken, veggies and steamed rice
• Pacific Wharf Cafe turkey sandwich

Disney Food Dietary & Allergy Concerns

If you’re coming to Disneyland Resort with special dietary and allergy concerns, you can use these resources as a starting point:

• Most restaurants offer no-sugar-added, low-fat, low-sodium and vegetarian options. Advance arrangements are not needed, just discuss your needs with your server upon arrival.
• Gluten-free dining at Disneyland is simpler than you think. Check out our easy guide to Gluten-free Disneyland food.
• Are you counting points on the Weight Watchers plan? See what I ate doing Weight Watchers at Disneyland.
• Low carbs and keeping it Keto at Disneyland is possible.

Tell us what food you love, what items we missed and help us make our Healthy Disneyland Dining Guide the most complete healthy Disneyland resource online. What healthy food will you try on your next visit to California Adventure.