Denver International Airport Again Named a Top-10 Airport for Healthy Food Choices

DENVER — Dec. 5, 2014 — For the second year in a row, Denver International Airport (DIA) has been named as a top-10 U.S. airport for healthy food options.

DIA ranks No. 7 on the 2014 list of the healthiest airport food options among the country’s busiest airports, according to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization. According to the study, 83 percent of the airport’s restaurants offer at least one qualifying cholesterol-free, plant-based entrée, such as leafy green salads, veggie wraps or black bean burgers.

According to the report, DIA “features an array of healthful Colorado favorites.”

“Denver Chophouse offers salads, which can all be made cholesterol-free with options like grilled portobello and arugula or fresh greens with avocado, garbanzo beans, toasted pumpkin seeds, tomatoes, and blueberries,” according to the report. “Denver Chophouse also offers fresh, colorful side dishes including cabernet mushrooms, roasted rainbow carrots and apples, asparagus, spinach, and sweet potato fries. At Root Down, travelers can opt for steel-cut oats with coconut milk, veggie burger sliders, roasted beet salad, or a tofu bento box to go. Etai’s Bakery Café offers the prepackaged Power Salad with coconut-charred kale, arugula, hazelnut cranberry quinoa, green apples, shaved carrots, and celery root with preserved lemon vinaigrette. Travelers can pick up the fig and tomato bruschetta at Cru Food and Wine Bar or head to Colorado Sports bar to sample vegan burgers made with sunflower seeds, brown rice, black beans, and vegetables.”

Due to expiring leases, the airport expects to transform about 75 percent of its shops, restaurants and other amenities over a three-year period. In 2013, DIA opened a total of 21 new or updated concession locations as part of this transformation – the most new locations opened in one year since the airport’s inaugural year in 1995. So far in 2014, the airport has opened 22 new or updated locations. DIA’s concessions program consists of more than 170,000 square feet of retail space inside the airport that includes more than 140 locations offering an exciting culinary, fashion and retail experience.

“Denver International Airport continues to increase the variety of dining options for our customers, with an eye toward providing local flavors that include healthful selections,” said Denver International Airport CEO Kim Day. “We are proud to be listed among the top-10 healthiest airport food options again this year, and we will actively continue to engage with our customers and work with our concession partners to improve upon our offerings even further.”

The committee’s annual Airport Travel Guide to eating healthy on the fly highlights several DIA dining options, including:

Concourse A

• Denver Chophouse offers arugula and fresh green salads, which can be made cholesterol free with grilled portobello mushrooms, avocado slices, garbanzo beans, toasted pumpkin seeds, tomatoes, and blueberries. Colorful side dishes include cabernet mushrooms, roasted rainbow carrots and apples, sautéed asparagus, sautéed spinach, and sweet potato fries.
• Mesa Verde offers tacos made with black beans, rice, and vegetables and a black bean veggie burrito topped with mushrooms, peppers, corn, and salsa.

Concourse B

• Colorado Sports Bar serves vegetables and hummus and a vegan burger made with sunflower seeds, brown rice, black beans, and vegetables.
• Etai’s Bakery Café offers a prepackaged Power Salad with coconut-charred kale, arugula, hazelnut cranberry quinoa, green apples, shaved carrots, and celery root with preserved lemon vinaigrette.
• Pour La France serves oatmeal with granola, a hummus and vegetable platter, penne pasta marinara, salads, and a vegetable panini.
• Cru Food and Wine Bar serves fig and tomato bruschetta.

Concourse C

• Root Down provides steel-cut oats with coconut milk, whole-grain toast with homemade rhubarb jam, and tofu scramble with arugula for breakfast. Travelers can choose veggie burger sliders, sweet potato falafel, edamame hummus, roasted beet salad, or a bento box to go for lunch or dinner.
• Woody Creek Bakery & Café offers steel-cut oatmeal served with walnuts and blueberries, vegetable sandwiches, and a mixed greens salad.
• zpizza serves a California salad with mixed greens, avocado, red onions, crisp cucumber, and fresh tomatoes.

Airport rankings, according to the Physician’s Committee report:

About the Study

The Physicians Committee collects airport restaurant menus from the top 30 busiest airports in the United States, based on data from the Federal Aviation Administration. Inconclusive data eliminates an airport from the final rankings. An airport receives a point if its menu includes at least one cholesterol-free, plant-based, high-fiber entrée. The final percentage score divides the airport’s number of restaurants serving health-conscious fare by its total number of restaurants. Survey methods include in-person visits, internet research, and phone calls with restaurant managers to confirm menu items.

Denver International Airport is one of the busiest airports in the world. DEN is the primary economic engine for the state of Colorado, generating more than $36 billion for the region annually. For more information visit www.FlyDenver.com, check us out on YouTube and Instagram, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. Sign up for DEN’s monthly newsletter Nonstop News.

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