Let's hear it for Mickey Mouse.

Order a kid's meal at a Disney park and you get apples instead of fries (unless you ask for fries) and low-fat milk rather than sugary soda. Of the more than 12 million kids meals served last year at Disney Parks and Resorts in the U.S., parents stuck with the healthier options six out of 10 times. Now Disney will enhance these efforts by further reducing sodium in kids' meals and introducing new well-balanced kids' breakfast meals.

This is all part of a broader initiative just announced that makes Disney the first major media company to introduce new standards for food advertising on programming targeting kids and families.  

We all know the dismal childhood obesity statistics: 1 in 3 children are overweight or obese. But whether a child is overweight or not, it's certainly not healthy to eat a steady diet of fried and fat-laden foods on vacation.  

As we all head to theme parks this summer, let's consider how we might eat healthier while we're there. Sure you can still get churros, burgers, chicken fingers and fries and all the ice cream you want at theme parks, but you can also get fresh salmon and rotisserie chicken at LEGOLAND Florida, where there is an entire new exhibit, complete with LEGO characters about farming and where our food comes. At Sea World Orlando's Sharks Underwater Grill, there's a steak kabob on the kid's menu.  

Nearby at Downtown Disney, Kids chowing down at Wolfgang Puck Cafe can choose California rolls made from ham and cheese while the Italian restaurant Portobello offers whole-wheat cheese pizza and the kids' menu at Fulton's Crab House includes crab legs and fresh fish.   

Here are six more ways to eat healthier at theme parks this summer:

1. Pack lunches to bring with you to the park. You won't have to wait on line for food, can eat exactly what you want and you'll save big bucks. .
2. Bring reusable water bottles and forgo sugar-laden drinks. Pat yourselves on the back for traveling greener and avoiding plastic water bottles.  The kids can turn their bottles into instant souvenirs by slapping stickers on them.
3. Skip kids' meals entirely and share an adult portion with your child or divide an adult portion between two kids.
4. Make reservations for dinner at a "sit down" restaurant in the park where you have more healthy options to choose from. Order a half portion from an adult menu for the kids. Use vacation to encourage them to try new foods!
5. Opt to stay someplace where you have a kitchen or at least a fridge so you can prepare a healthy breakfast-cereal and milk, yoghurt, fruit, etc, rather than calorie-laden pastries or doughnuts.
6. Pack your own snacks so when the kids-and you-get the munchies you can satisfy your cravings without cotton candy, giant lollipops or caramel apples.

That's not to say you should make a theme park a no-treat zone. Of course you want to indulge. That's part of the experience. All the more reason to eat healthier the rest of the day.

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