Diet and Nutrition

The five best vegetarian/vegan dishes in Denver

Denver's a great town for vegetarians and vegans, as the Best of Denver 2013 attests. In that issue, you'll find accolades for Best Vegetarian Green Chile and Best Vegan Market, as well as many more green categories. But if you're looking for the best plant-based dishes in the city, look no further ... More >>

Can Qdoba rescue brown rice -- from itself?

The term "flavor profile" isn't usually heard in reference to brown rice -- unless "tastes an awful lot like water-logged wood chips" is considered a valid flavor descriptor. But Qdoba, the runner-up of Colorado's homegrown, fast-casual Mexican chains, is introducing seasoned brown rice as an option ... More >>

Tarasco's New Latin Cuisine is hot for veggies, too

It's not that easy to find vegetarian-friendly (let alone vegan-friendly) Mexican food; between lard in refried beans and chicken stock in the rice or green chile, there's no telling what animal products might be lurking in the foods you order. That's why we just love places like Tarasco's New Latin ... More >>

Reader: Veggie Girl needs to "beef" it up!

Every week, Amber Taufen serves up a heaping helping of healthy food in Veggie Girl. Yesterday, she focused on the vegetarian fare at Crema. And while Crema's vegan lattes made with almond milk are certainly sweet, one reader thinks Veggie Girl needs to give spots serving vegan and veggie fare more ... More >>

Maggiano's offers vegetarian and vegan options for fans of Italian food

When you've got a ton of people to feed and no one can agree on anything but a chain, Maggiano's can be a good choice -- even for those on a plant-based diet. If you know how to order, you can avoid the meat on the Maggiano's menu and have an enjoyable vegetarian meal. See also: - Flights Wine Caf ... More >>

Marijuana: THC-infused jerky being removed from dispensary shelves over USDA rule?

The Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division confirms that an investigation is underway involving meat products infused with THC, the active ingredient of marijuana. In the meantime, multiple sources tell us that meat products like a jerky made by local firm Benjamin's Edibles are being removed from m ... More >>

Udi's Gluten-Free Foods introduces five new products

Smart Balance has been busy since it purchased Udi's Gluten-Free Foods, a spinoff of Udi's Healthy Foods, a Colorado company that got its start baking bread, for $125 million this summer. Today it will launch five new Udi's items at the Natural Products Expo East in Baltimore, the country's premier ... More >>

Eden is a retreat for plant-eaters and carnivores alike

The venue formerly known as Swallows has kept its Pride-friendly vibe but polished up the kitchen and the decor as Eden. Chef Ching-yuan Hu has created a weekend brunch spread -- with vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options -- that fills the dining room, but the dinner menu is also a testament to ... More >>

Colorado ranks lowest in obesity rate study: We're still the skinniest state

Those summer bike rides to the local farmers' market have apparently paid off. Once again, Colorado ranks lowest on the state-by-state adult obesity rate analysis conducted by the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Maybe it's because there are so many appealing outd ... More >>

Jared Polis hopes to reverse "pizza is a vegetable" loophole

Representative Jared Polis wants to introduce legislation that promises to reverse Congress's controversial decision to keep pizza lsbeled a "vegetable" in school lunches. "What Congress has done, believe it or not, is defied logic," Polis said in front of a crowd of lunchtime students at Louisville ... More >>

Chomp! founder embarks on a new adventure: Nooch Vegan Market

Joshua LaBure, the man behind Chomp! Vegan Supper Club and the vegan Neat Market (and a member in good standing of the vegan activist collective Plants & Animals Denver), has arguably done more for vegans in this town than anybody else. And now, he's about to take his efforts to feed the plant-based ... More >>

Killer beef is back as one of the five most demonized foods

Beef is back in the news as the bogeyman who puts you one forkful away from death. To some of us who survived the 1980s, this may sound eerily familiar. It's gotten to the point where there should just be a codified -- and interchangeable -- list of foods that will kill us, so that every week we ca ... More >>

A pilot program places healthy vending machines in Denver schools

A few hours after lunch, students across America start to get cranky. Their blood sugar plunges, their eyes glaze over, and their stomachs start to rumble. They find a quick fix in the school's vending machines by gorging themselves on greasy potato chips and sugary sodas. Energy levels skyrocket be ... More >>

Hooters, IHOP and McDonald's among the Denver restaurants on Healthy Dining Finder

​When you think of healthy restaurants in Denver, one of the healthiest cities in the country, a couple of spots whose menus are rife with the terms "organic," "sustainable" and "local" come to mind: WaterCourse Foods and Root Down, for example. You won't find them on Healthy Dining Finder -- ... More >>

Reader: Bar Belle and dieters dissing gluten do a disservice to those with celiac disease

​"I was really hoping you'd go on the Jason Sheehan diet: whiskey, cigarettes, and Lucky Charms," writes Mantonat in response to the second installment of Bar Belle, Laura Shunk's new series about how a food critic can indeed get fit. In last Monday's installment, Shunk kicked gluten to the c ... More >>

Colorado Children's Campaign says state's children becoming both more hungry and obese

Dr. Steve Berman (left), Angela Glover Blackwell and Bill Shore discuss childhood hunger.​Colorado's children suffer from two seemingly contradictory food-related health problems: hunger and obesity. That's the word from the Colorado Children's Campaign, a nonprofit advocacy organization focus ... More >>

Thirteen hottest vegetarians, in honor of Hug a Vegetarian Day

Flickr photo​As if vegetarians don't get enough kudos for being greener and more animal-friendly than their meat-eating counterparts, now they get rewarded with hugs. And who doesn't love a hug? Today is Hug a Vegetarian Day, according to PETA2. And since we've been slaving away in our cubic ... More >>

Ali Baba Grill vegetarian spread brings the Middle East to Golden

​Vegetarian fare plays an important role in Lebanese cuisine, and Golden's Ali Baba Grill is testament to the fact that you can get delicious (meat-free!) international cuisine as far west as the foothills. There doesn't seem to be a down-time for this eatery; when we stopped by on Labor Day ... More >>

Reader: Boulder has outgrown its granola label -- now it's time for Westword to grow up

​One reader welcomed the news that Tiffin's has opened in Boulder -- but didn't appreciate this start to Lori Midson's piece on the all-vegetarian Indian joint: Seems that the Boulder granola set may be finally tiring of tofu. At least that's what Justin Patel, co-owner of Tiffin's, an all-ve ... More >>

The veggie sandwich at Snarf's satisfies our delivery needs

​The convenience of a workday lunchtime meal delivery is something taken for granted by many meat eaters; there are dozens of eateries all over the city willing to deliver anything on the menu right to your doorstep. But vegetarians and vegans who'd like a simple sandwich delivered for lunch o ... More >>

Meet at the Corner Office for the quinoa-and-garbanzo veggie burger

​Downtown Denver has its share of cute, modern eateries dishing up sandwiches and salads, but the Corner Office still stands out in the crowd. Its so-hip-it-hurts, yet still playful decor provides the perfect backdrop for beautiful people sipping martinis and nibbling on the food offerings. E ... More >>

Vitamins

Vitamins
Self-released

Krispy Kreme Challenge and five other ways to get fat while exercising

Nothing says "fitness" like a dozen doughnuts. ​The eighth annual Krispy Kreme Challenge took place in North Carolina last weekend. The four-mile race is notable because it generates more than $100,000 for the North Carolina Children's Hospital -- but also because it has 2,400 calories of doug ... More >>

Reader: What's your beef? Taco Bell bean burritos are great for vegans

Vegans make a run for Taco Bell bean burritos -- hold the cheese.​An Alabama law firm has a beef with the amount of meat in Taco Bell's tacos, which has set off a stampede of claims, counterclaims and an opportunistic campaign by Mercy for Animals,, which is suggesting that the chain solve its ... More >>

Taste-testing the brown rice and the Garden Blend at Chipotle: The verdict

​When we heard that Chipotle was testing some new items at its location at 371 East Alameda Avenue, we leapt for joy, shouting, "Pride of our city! Purveyor of aggressively decent burritos all across our land! Expanding its menu! Huzzah!" Then we found out what those items were: a new "Garden ... More >>

The Rebellion tosses out vegetarian and vegan pizza pies

​There are no tables inside the Rebellion, 2231 South Broadway, and although the patio offers extensive seating perfect for sunny Colorado days (summer and winter alike), you might not want to wait for clear skies to get your pizza fix. Understandable. Thankfully, the pizzeria offers deliver ... More >>

"Renegade Lunch Lady" Ann Cooper bellies up to the salad bar

​ Ann Cooper is a busy lunch lady -- even if she's not the hairnet-wearing stereotype, standing behind the hot-lunch line plopping down scoops of canned green beans and powdered mashed potatoes. In fact, she's been trying for years to make sure those green beans are fresh (even local!) and the ... More >>

Rudi's buns win more than a passing glance from Good Housekeeping

​Good Housekeeping has been keeping an eye on a lot of buns lately. The ladies' magazine recently voted Boulder-based Rudi's Organic Bakery's buns the hottest of them all. Rudi's buns won out over the likes of Sara Lee and Pepperidge Farm buns in a taste test comparing eight brands of whole ... More >>

Congressman Jared Polis wants kids to have healthy lunch options

No Lunchables would be found in this congressman's childhood lunchbox.​No tater tots or fruit cocktail were harmed in the upbringing of Congressman Jared Polis. No Cheetos or Little Debbie snack cakes either for that matter. In fact, Colorado's second district congressman says he brought hi ... More >>

Marathon runner wants to help you make strides in the kitchen

​You don't have to be a marathon runner to appreciate the relationship between food and your physical well-being. That's the message that Deena Kastor -- Olympic bronze medalist and former Alamosa resident -- plans to share in a cookbook that's not about counting calories and fat content, but ... More >>

Sneak a peek at Vitamin D's Hard Times

​Longtime Denver dance music stalwart Vitamin D has a new album coming February 24 and, from the sounds of the tracks he has posted on his MySpace, it should be a good one. He announced it back in July and today, he released this image of the album cover. Not sure if this is the final art or n ... More >>

Milking It: Kellogg's Low Fat Granola with Raisins

​​Low Fat Granola with Raisins Kellogg's Rating: Two-and-a-half spoons out of four Cereal description: What isn't in this stuff? There's whole oats and whole grain wheat, some of it fused together in random wads, like meteorites collecting fragments during the trip through space, other ... More >>

Battle of the super drinks! A comparison of miracle juice supplements

With former Denver Broncos like John Elway and Brian Griese chugging down Bazi like it were the almighty sweat of Zeus, the liquid nutritional supplement by local company XELR8 is building a strong following here in Colorado. But unless you've been personally hit up by one of the company's 6,400-o ... More >>

Happy Trails

Phil's Fresh wins a fresh loan from Whole Foods

Boulder-based Phil's Fresh Foods has just won a $96,000 loan from Whole Food's Local Producer Loan Program. Phil's is a wholesale, all-natural burrito manufacturer; its product is stocked by local Whole Foods, Vitamin Cottage and Sunflower stores, as well as som ... More >>

Buy at Whole Foods, help SAME Cafe

On Thursday, November 20, on Whole Foods Giving Day, 5 percent of all purchases made at the Capitol Hill store at 900 East 11th Avenue will benefit SAME Cafe, at 2023 East Colfax Avenue. According to the Whole Foods website, that store "has been an integral part of the Denver community since ... More >>

Make fashion out of food for the Whole Foods Challenge

Milking It: Chocolate Chex

Last Night...Oblio Duo, Vitamins, The Pseudo Dates @ Larimer Lounge

Life by Chocolate

Vitamins

Emerald City

Captain Dan, Energy Man

Charbay Green Tea Vodka Martini

Brix

Chad VanGaalen

Friday, September 9, Larimer Lounge, 303-291-1007.

Changing Course

How I learned to stop worrying and love seitan.

Nique and Vitamin D

Audio Royal (Ninechannel Multimedia)

Confessions of an Ephedrine Eater

This non-drowsy formula is an ancient Chinese secret.

Best Fish Market

Whole Foods

The Whole Truth

The other stores can eat their hearts out: Whole Foods Market has arrived.

Go With the Flow