Yep, I promised to try out a couple of places outside of Disneyland and so I have. Unfortunately, the Rainforest Cafe is now gone so they are off the list which is sad because they were always super busy and very accomodating.
I only really tried a couple of places to eat in Downtown Disney and avoided the cluster of restaurants that surround the park. A word of warning about those cheaper places – you get what you pay for. Not only that, but remember that if you are trying to eat healthier, you should probably avoid places that offer an “all you can eat buffet”. This is a good rule even if you’re not traveling. I mean, think about it — you go there with good intentions to eat only from the salad bar but you have to walk past all of the aromas coming from the buffet. You’re going to need a will made of titanium to not cave, so why put yourself in that situation to begin with? Just don’t. You may think you’re getting a great punch for your buck in the present but think about your healthcare costs in the future. Healthcare is going to cost you way, way, way more later than paying another $5-$10 per meal now. And, if you don’t think that “just this once” mentality will affect your health later on, well think about this: If you put diesel fuel in your gasoline-fueled car, you would have to flush out the entire system, right? We can’t really do that with our bodies, it takes a while to reverse adverse effects of the fuels we put into ourselves. Consider if you just keep adding the wrong fuels every so often. Well, now that I’ve given you something to think about, here’s what I’ve got for you about eating in Downtown Disney:
Splitsville Luxury Lanes
Not only is this a pretty cool place that you can have a sit down meal after you’re done bowling but they are super helpful and able to substitue things on their menu to help you stay healthier. You can even have tofu as a replacement for the meats in their foods. I ordered the stir-fry and they were able to give me steamed veggies instead of frying them, kept it low in sodium and the sauce was on the side (and vegan).
La Brea Bakery
This place was a bit more limited but I was still impressed by the helpfulness of the staff to remove or subsitute things according to what I needed. I had a Cobb salad with veggies, no meat and the dressing on the side.
So, as in my previous Disneyland blog post, it’s super important to connect with the staff at a restaurant and make sure that they understand that you’re doing this for your health and not on a whim. I find that, more often than not, a staff member will completely understand and it may start a wonderful conversation as well. Be firm but be nice.
After Thought: I also had a wonderful lunch at California Adventure Park at the Carthay Circle restaurant and just wanted to share the tower of veggies that the chef created for me. Not only was it beautiful to look at but it was amazingly tasty! 
Hart Health 