DO YOU PLAN your vacations around food?

If so, you’re a culinary tourist — and these links are for you!

1. Famed restaurant guide turns travel agency (THE INDEPENDENT)
2. A Taste of Vietnam for Gourmet Lovers (PR.COM)
3. P.E.I. will be top culinary destination: chef (CBC.NEWS)
4. Gourmet Napa Food, Wine & History Tours at Napa’s Oxbow Public Market (SF GATE)
5. Behind the Scenes at New York’s Pop-Tarts World (SLASH FOOD)
6. The Isle of Wight Garlic Festival (WE BLOG THE WORLD)
7. A wild, wet weekend in Portland, Oregon (SF GATE)
8. Béchamel, Not Bug Juice, Next to the Campfire (WALL STREET JOURNAL)
9. A Homestay in Guatemala: Making My Own Tortillas (but Eating Theirs) (NY TIMES)
10. In Saratoga Springs, Catering to the Horse Set (NY TIMES)
11. Shengsi Island: Seafood lovers’ paradise (CNN GO)
12. Best meals that can’t be missed from around the Globe by the experts! (GOT SAGA)

A Baker’s Dozen:

1. Williams-Sonoma Partners with Omnivore Books: Coup for independent bookseller (PUBLISHERS WEEKLY)
2. Eel economics: Why unagi is so popular (and expensive) (JAPAN TIMES)
3. Test Flight: Lufthansa Searches for Savor in the Sky — Food Lab Shows Salt and Sweet Get Dull and Boring; Forget Caviar (WALL STREET JOURNAL)
4. Killing Them Softly: Is There a Kinder Way to Kill a Chook? (SMH.COM)
5. 18 Cookbooks From Celebrities Famous For Something Other Than Cooking (HUFFINGTON POST)
6. Death of a Farm (NY TIMES)
7. A food bill we need by Michelle Obama (WASHINGTON POST)
8. U.S. regulators lack data on health risks of most chemicals (WASHINGTON POST)
9. Amateur Hour: Renegade food ‘zines flourish (TASTING TABLE)
10. Food Chain Wagamama Put On Block By Lion Capital – Sources (WALL STREET JOURNAL)
11. Did Bill Clinton use the cabbage soup diet? (NATIONAL POST)
12. Taco Bell(R) Serves up All-New Cantina Tacos and Introduces Carnitas Shredded Pork and Corn Tortillas to Menu for Authentic Tastes at a Great Value (MARKET WATCH)
13. Love is on the menu in new series Dinner Date (STV)

Each week I focus on articles and tips for Healthy Living (nutrition, fitness, weight loss, etc.)

Articles/Programs:

1. Episodes of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution now available online (HULU)
2. Unhealthiest Foods At The Mall (MEN’S HEALTH)
3. The Dish on Dairy (CULINARY.NET)
4. Shop with care for whole grain food products (REPORTER NEWS)

Tips:

1. This week I’m lovin’ El Pollo Loco’s Taco Al Carbon — part of the chain’s Lindora® Lean for Life Menu items as well as one of their new Dollar Menu offerings. The Taco Al Carbon consists of two warm corn tortillas, well-seasoned chopped boneless chicken thigh meat, diced onion, loads of cilantro and a bit of soybean oil. With only 153 calories, very little cholesterol, fat and sodium; this is satisfying fast food you can feel good about eating.
2. Soft Wraps made with Whole Grains and Extra Virgin Olive Olive — part of the Smart & Delicious line from La Tortilla Factory — have a full 52-percent of your required daily fiber (13 grams). I’ve been setting a couple wraps out for a day, then cracking the dried out wraps into chips. Eaten with hummus or any other dip, the wraps are transformed into delicious, high-fiber snack crackers.
3. We Olive’s Green Olive & Lemon Mustard with Roasted Garlic makes a fantastic low-fat sandwich spread. It is also incredible when drizzled over thin slices of pork roast or pan-roasted chicken breast. One tablespoon contains a mere 5.5 fat-free calories!
4. I discovered Smart Balance® Popcorn through David Zinczenko’s Eat This, Not That series of food guide books. Microwaved-anything is probably not the safest way to eat on a regular basis, but for the occasional trade-off against much higher fat and sodium laced products, these high-fiber, no-trans fat snacks are a god-send!

LEARN MORE about the food you eat with these tasty links:

1. A Short History of the Chinese Restaurant: From stir-fried buffalo to Matzoh Foo Young (SLATE)
2. BBQ: A Southern Cultural Icon (UVA)
3. The Potato, Treasure of the Andes: From Agriculture to Culture (INTERNATIONAL POTATO CENTER)
4. Oral Histories: Andrew Pollard of Memphis’ A&R Bar-B-Que (SOUTHERN FOODWAYS ALLIANCE)
5. The Naked Truth about Aphrodisiacs (LEITE’S CULINARIA)
6. In Search of Mexico’s National Cuisine: ¡Que vivan los tamales (y tortillas)! (REVISTA)