‘Healthy Eating on the Fly Award’ for Newark Airport’s Plant-Based Thyme Restaurant

NEWARK, N.J.—Thyme, a new plant-based restaurant located in United’s Terminal C at Newark Liberty International Airport, earns the “Healthy Eating on the Fly Award” from the Physicians Committee, a nonprofit of 12,000 doctors prescribing a healthful diet as a first-line approach to help patients treat and reduce the risk of chronic disease.

“Thyme restaurant receives the ‘Healthy Eating on the Fly Award’ for taking healthy, plant-based dining to new heights at Newark Airport,” says Karen Smith, R.D., senior dietitian for the Physicians Committee. “Thyme’s opening demonstrates the soaring demand for nutrient-dense, fiber-packed, plant-based options at airports across the country.”

Thyme’s menu features dishes brimming with colorful, carotenoid-rich vegetables, including Grilled Orange Carrot, Pan-Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Sunchoke Ratatouille, and Mushroom Tacos served on a bed of leafy greens.

The menu integrates legumes into entrées and side dishes. Beans naturally stabilize blood sugar, while a diet rich in beans, lentils, peas, leafy greens, vegetables, fruits, grains further reduces type 2 diabetes risk.

Newark Airport came in second place in the Physicians Committee’s 2015 Airport Food Review, which included a guide to plant-based options at Newark Airport. The report found that 71 percent of restaurants at the nation’s 30 busiest airports offer at least one high-fiber, plant-based meal option—a 25 percent increase from 2001.

The Physicians Committee’s most recent Airport Food Review ranks food at airports serving winter recreation areas.