How are you? Are you having a magical day? I have a severe case of the post-Disney blues. I wasn’t expecting to love our trip as much as I did. Yes, Disney World is an over-commercialised, overwhelming machine, but it is also a complete and utter joy. Talk about escapism. For six days we immersed ourselves in the kids’ fantasies. We had breakfast with Mickey, dinner with Cinderella, we whirled, splashed and flew along the rides, we queued and we fast-passed, we saw tigers and rhinos. We saw fireworks and musicals and played in pretend snow. And when I sat down for breakfast and saw the LH wearing a sparkly pair of Elsa earrings, I knew the brainwashing was complete. We fell for you Disney. Big time!

If you follow my page on Facebook, you’ll know that before the trip, I was a little bit obsessed with all the junk. And it was there in spades — Cheetos and soda and ice-cream galore. So, we were met at the hotel with a delivery from Whole Foods and I armed myself with baby carrots and apples each day we arrived in the parks. It looked, in fact, like I had a pet pony …. It’s not that the girls didn’t have anything sweet — they did — but not much more than they had at home. They were much more interested in all the magic.

When we took a tour of the animal hospital in Animal Kingdom, I did notice something ironic.

There was a whole museum section dedicated to what all the different animals were fed. There was such great care given to making sure that each animal ate it’s optimal diet — nothing but grubs and fruit and veg (and meat for the meat-eaters). Wouldn’t it be interesting if humans were included in that exhibit? We would think it was terrible for a zoo to feed its animals food dye, refined sugars and genetically-modified oils …. And yet we do it to ourselves all the time. Why are we so different? Why are we so much less careful with our own lives?

Of course the answer is that Big Food is a moneymaking machine that is poorly governed and regulated.

The revolving door between governing bodies and the boards of giant food corporations has led to a culture that turns a blind eye to an illogical and dangerous food system.

But we continue to eat this way because we assume — wrongly — that if it really was that bad for us, it wouldn’t be legal. But that’s not the case is it? Cigarettes are a perfect example.

Although I was quick to jump on the fact that an endlessly refillable cup of soda is cheaper than drinking water at Disney, the fact is that generally the healthy options are available and they are affordable in the big scheme of things.

It might mean one less night on our holiday, or a few less souvenirs, but the healthy options are there if we want them.

The trick is we have to want to want them! You’d be right to be mad that healthy eating is somewhat more expensive than eating junk, but that’s our reality friends and at this point it’s sink or swim.

So if you are headed to Disney, here are a few tips for how to handle the junk (as I know this is a lucky demographic, next week we’ll deal with the economics of healthy eating at home too):

• Try using an online shopping service so that your groceries can meet you at your destination, or stop at the store on the way. Load up with fruit and veg that tend to keep for longer; think carrots and apples instead of kiwi and berries. I also requested crackers/hummus, healthy yoghurts, eggs and whole-grain bread/cereal/pasta etc.

• When it comes to restaurants, breakfast is where lots of the worst offenders are — Froot Loops, other sugary cereals, junky bacon and super-sweet pastries, not to mention the layers of syrup and jugs of fruit juice. If there is one meal to self-cater most of the time, it’s this one. If you can cook, try eggs, better bacon (lean and preferably organic) or nut butter and fruit-only jam on toast. If you just have a fridge, try healthy cereals or plain yoghurt with granola and fruit. You can also get past “breakfast” foods — there’s nothing wrong with a whole-grain sandwich or pasta for breakfast! I ate a lot of avocado with lemon and black pepper on crackers. Random but so tasty!

• Be prepared to carry some snacks with you! I asked the LH to bring a rucksack for his camera, but really I meant the incredibly large supply of snacks I would be taking. Whole apples are by far the easiest fruit as bananas go brown when they are knocked around and oranges result in sticky fingers. Nothing worse than watching your child lick their hands clean after they have been grasping handrails or exhibits touched by millions of other people. Of course you can carry wipes and Tupperware and though I always had wipes, I found Tupperware a pain. Much less complaining when the bags get emptier as the day goes on. If you hire a stroller though, you can chuck a whole picnic in the bottom! I thought a stroller would be a pain too, but I underestimated Disney and their “stroller parking” areas and, get this, the staff they hire specifically to manage them. Who knew?!

• Take a few new snacks or “better” treats with you that the kids haven’t had before. Part of the appeal of the junk is that it’s something new and exciting. If you can also whip something new and exciting out of your bag, it will be much easier to talk your child out of a blue frozen slushy.

• Don’t be afraid to go off-menu, or use the adult menu in restaurants. If you don’t see vegetables on the menu, ask for them anyway — we were never disappointed. Most of the restaurants were way better than I expected re allergy issues too. If you want detail on that, check my Facebook page!

• There are desserts/ice-cream everywhere in Disney. Try setting a limit to one a day (or less) while you are on holiday. Almost all of the restaurants have fruit cups instead, or you can buy fresh, chopped fruit at some of the snack stands (especially in Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios). Watch out for the “no sugar added” desserts as these are often artificially sweetened.

•The advice given in this article is not intended to replace medical advice, but to complement it. Always consult your GP if you have any health concerns. Catherine Burns BA Hons, Dip ION is the managing director of Natural Ltd and a fully qualified nutritional therapist trained by the Institute for Optimum Nutrition in the UK. Please note that she is not a registered dietitian. For details, please go to www.natural.bm or call 236-7511. Join Catherine on Facebook: www.facebook.com/nutrifitandnaturalnutritionbermuda