carrot cake with a sparkler on it against a blue background with EatingWell 30 years logo

30th Anniversary Issue

Join us as we commemorate what we’ve cooked, eaten and shared with you in our 30 years at the intersection of food and health.

When EatingWell first appeared on newsstands in 1990, the Berlin Wall had recently fallen. Something called the "World Wide Web" was just being proposed. And food and nutrition revolved in two vastly different universes: food was where gourmets waxed poetic about triple crème Brie en croute and molten chocolate cake; nutrition was where finger-waggy dietitians pushed salads with fat-free dressing.

EatingWell had a different view.

Led by founder James Lawrence, EatingWell assumed that the pursuit of healthy eating could and should be a pleasure—full of creativity fueled by global flavors and a love of whole foods in season. It was staffed by journalists with roots in investigative reporting and environmental and nutrition science. And with a food section overseen by a chef and a dietitian, the magazine carved out its own space at the intersection of food and health.

Allison Cleary, founding associate editor

"EatingWell explored the connections between food as healthful sustenance and as culture. It dug beneath the surface to reveal practices of the mainstream food industry, it investigated how and where our food was grown and raised, and it used ingredients in novel ways to make dishes healthier yet uncompromisingly delicious."

—Allison Cleary, founding associate editor

Thirty years later, we're still at it. And, like most millennials, we've gained knowledge and a little more gravitas as we've aged. Today, the work of our small staff in Shelburne, Vermont, reaches 7.8 million readers, and our thriving website and social media feeds reach millions more.

Our pages have explored issues as diverse as pollinator declines and personalized nutrition, heirloom legumes and the microbiome, "Frankenfish" and regenerative agriculture, vegan "cheese" and justice for farmworkers, along with the dangers—and possible upsides—of genetic modification. We've only just begun to cover the potential of our food choices to affect the health of our bodies and minds, as well as that of the planet. And as ever, we look forward to discovering new and exciting ways to procure and prepare foods, from chefs all over the world.

To mark the occasion of our milestone birthday, we leafed through decades of issues to rediscover what topics were on our minds back then, and what we've learned since. We curated some of our favorite recipes, with contributions from chefs whose talents have stood the test of time, including Alice Waters, Mark Bittman and Eric Ripert. And true to our mission, there are also recipes that celebrate glorious produce (apples!) as well as makeovers of our readers' beloved comfort foods—a longtime EatingWell specialty. Carrot cake, anyone?

Was this page helpful?
Related Articles