Sunshine Seasons Breakfast – Paleo, Keto, and Gluten-Free
On a recent visit to Epcot, we decided to stop into The Land Pavilion to fuel ourselves for the coming day. Our expectations for a healthy and quick Sunshine Seasons breakfast did not quite pan out. The one location that you would expect to meet the needs of people on a paleo, keto, or gluten-free diet fell a bit short.
At first glance, one might think there would be options, especially since there is an allergy-friendly menu. At the Asian Noodles counter, they offer scrambled eggs, breakfast potatoes, bacon, sausage, and a breakfast power wrap. Imagine my surprise to hear that the eggs were not gluten-friendly due to cross-contamination risk from where they are prepared. Of course, that also means they are not paleo or keto-friendly.
I had been excited to try the Fruit and Coconut Milk “Anglaise” fruit cup from the bakery, as I had heard that was vegan-friendly. It is advertised as a Vegan Fruit Dessert. I figured this would be the perfect Sunshine Seasons breakfast item. However, with ingredients that include hydrogenated vegetable oil (palm, palm kernel, coconut, and/or cottonseed), high fructose corn syrup, soy lecithin, and numerous “chemicals,” it certainly would not meet the needs of anyone on a paleo or keto diet. Sadly, something that could have been so healthy was clearly not!
Not on the allergy menu, but available at the Sunshine Seasons breakfast counter, was an item that did meet a keto diet – a Broccoli & Egg White Souffle. The ingredient book lists broccoli, egg whites, egg yolks, baking powder, granulated garlic, asiago cheese, salt, and white pepper. There seems to be some disconnect as to whether it is an egg white souffle or if it does contain egg yolks. However, none of that matters since after two bites (I wanted to make sure it really was as bad as the first bite tasted) it landed in the garbage. I even threw away the bacon, which was stale and tasteless. Only the side of blueberries I finally received after about 10 minutes of waiting was any good.
Since we knew we would be trying some Food & Wine Festival items, my adult son ordered the Kid’s allergy-friendly Sunshine Seasons breakfast platter. Cross-contamination is not a health risk, so he accepted food from the counter. I tasted his scrambled eggs and bacon, and I must say, they had very little flavor.
It truly is surprising that a restaurant located in a building that celebrates healthy foods would have such poor choices. What makes this experience even worse is that a few months ago I wrote a “Tips and Tops” blog complementing this location on their numerous healthy snack options. However, on three different visits to this restaurant on this trip alone, none of those items were anywhere to be found.
The only worthwhile breakfast item was the Blueberry Pineapple Smoothie, which I wish I would have tried. It contains blueberries, pineapple, banana, honey, and lime juice, and is perfect for a paleo diet.
Other healthy items that were available for sale included fruit cups and a fruit and cheese plate.
If you are looking for a quick, healthy, and tasty breakfast, I recommend looking elsewhere at this time. Of course, I will check back in a few months to see if any positive changes have been made.