Kimberly Lord Stewart

After living in a tiny Italian fishing village, I had grown accustomed to my local produce vendor, Yolanda, a gruff, dusty woman who boldly set up her fresh produce stand a few feet from the local supermarket. The town sheep herder thought nothing of stopping our so-called morning rush-hour traffic to guide his flock across the cobblestone road, never forgetting to tip his cap in gratitude for our patience.
So when we moved to Longmont a decade ago, I was a bit of a food snob. But within a mo...

Americans love honey: It’s in barbecue sauces, cereals, breads, snacks and those ubiquitous plastic honey bears. Our country’s sweet tooth for the sticky stuff means we consume more honey than domestic bees can produce. The high demand and low supply mean honey packers look elsewhere, namely China.

While preparing to write her book, Eating Between the Lines: The Supermarket Shopper's Guide to the Truth Behind Food Labels, author Kimberly Lord Stewart, her husband and her teenage son agreed to live on food rations for one week. The food they received was from a non-profit food bank in her hometown of Denver, Colorado, which distributes food to 90 agencies. The ground rules for the experiment included eating food bank provisions only, except for her son, who would eat the hot lunch that i...

Breckenridge Nordic Center enjoys a long history of sharing passion for snow
The Oh, Be Joyful Lodge at Breckenridge Nordic Center combines Old World alpine charm with the relaxed and inviting atmosphere typical of Colorado. If you prefer a more tranquil alternative to the noisy ski-boot traffic and the whiff of bravado that comes with downhill skiing, don’t miss spending a day and evening here.
The lodge, with its 1400 miles of cross-country skiing and snowshoeing trails, as well as the host...

Chef Frank Bonanno and his wife Jacqueline stand shoulder-to-shoulder with their staff to help them be the best at what they do. That energy, passion and commitment to something greater shines through in every one of their unique Bonanno Concepts’ restaurants. We asked Chef Bonanno about his reputation as a mentor in the Denver food community, among other things.
AvidLifestyle: You have a long history of influence in the Denver dining scene, including training employees who have gone on to op...

Some people call this a strata. Some people call it a casserole. Some people call it Maurice. But what we call this gangster of cauliflower and kale love is a savory bread pudding – and you should probably add this super-flexible recipe to your all-day rotation. This works beautifully for basically any meal of the day; equally great to feed a brunch crowd or settle in wi...

While ultra-processed foods (UPFs) may seem like yet another nutrition buzzword to persuade you to cook everything from scratch, health concerns about specific types made from highly refined ingredients have merit. There is no official definition from the Food and Drug Administration, though health experts and researchers agree that UPFs are made with highly industrialized processes that change and degrade a food’s natural nutritional composition, according to an article published in the Brit...

Fans of fungi will be pleased to know that mushrooms have become an “it” food. Whether sold fresh, dried or as a functional ingredient, mycologically curious consumers have doubled their spending for specialty mushrooms in the past decade, according to sales data from the Mushroom Council.1 This means that more types of mushrooms are being seen in stores and farmers markets.
This mushroom primer will help you recognize these fascinating foods more easily and know what to do with them in your ...

In the 2025 hearings for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s appointment as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, the topic of food additives came up. When Kennedy called for a higher burden of proof from the FDA for food additives, curiosity rose, and questions followed. Why are there so many additives allowed in U.S. food? Why are some of the same U.S. food brands sold in Europe free of commonly used additives? Should we be concerned?
The answers lie in the respective regulatory systems. Europe’...

Kimberly Lord Stewart
Have you reached for a dozen eggs in the store recently and considered putting the carton back? It’s startling to see prices climbing more than $10 for a dozen of the most generic brands. Prices aren’t expected to decline significantly in the coming year because of frigid weather and the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) that forced farmers to cull their flocks to prevent the spread. In the fall of 2024, more than 20 million laying hens died because they were unde...

It is not news to anyone that weight-loss trends frequently create challenges and opportunities for food manufacturers. The research and innovation prompted by such trends can be rewarding for companies by helping them tap into consumer excitement and energy. The influence of GLP-1 receptor agonist drugs—originally developed to treat type 2 diabetes—on consumers, manufacturers, and the entire food industry is unprecedented in both its nature and scope. The phenomenon hinges, not on a theoreti...

Shoppers are feeling the pinch more than ever in the grocery store, with food costs up by 28% since 2019 (1). Consumers are responding by changing purchasing behaviors, including buying less, shopping for deals, and reducing food waste. The intersection of these behaviors benefits budgets and the planet. This article explores how rising prices and commitment to sustainability change consumer preferences and buying habits.
Stretching Fixed Grocery Budgets
Americans' top economic concerns are f...

Today's grocery shoppers are often short on time and money but are dedicated to providing themselves and their families with healthy and satisfying meals. Providing convenience is essential to meeting these shoppers' needs. A strategic approach involves stocking the store perimeter with pre-portioned ready-to-cook meals, prepped ingredients, and chilled and frozen precooked items for easy meal solutions. These trends are expected to continue, presenting opportunities for food manufacturers to...

Various circumstances can dictate our food choices at the grocery store. While The Paleo Diet® encourages eating whole fruits and vegetables over other forms that have been minimally processed (such as canned or frozen versions of the same), fresh produce is not always viable for everyone. Someone may live in a food desert and only have access to a certain food in its frozen state, or canned food may be prioritized if preparing for a natural disaster like a hurricane.

When faced with the choi...

Upscale dining has its place, but nowadays, even those restaurants are adapting with menus and dishes that appeal to a broader range of budgets. We checked in with three Northern Colorado restaurants—Center Stage at TPC Colorado, RARE Italian and Jax Fish House & Oyster Bar—to see how they’re meeting the needs of a growing list of price-conscious diners.
Center Stage – Berthoud
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the closure of 773 Prime, TPC’s fine dining restaurant, sent a strong message to the s...