"traveling" news and stories

More people in the U.S. travel around Thanksgiving than during any other time of the year, all in the pursuit of a home cooked turkey dinner with family and friends. Unfortunately, that journey home typically takes the traveler past a number of dining options that aren't nearly as tasty as the Thanksgiving meal.

PlanetEye has put together a list of the best airport food options in the world, all in the hopes that they might spare a few lucky travelers the pain of having to eat a lousy sandwich or a pale, lifeless salad. Some of the domestic airports with tasty food include Boston's Logan Airport (you're never far from a Legal Seafood), McCarran in Las Vegas (try Moe's at Gate A) and O'Hare in Chicago, home to an outpost of Billy Goat Tavern (in Terminal 1) which was made famous in SNL's Cheeseburger, Cheeseburger sketch.

How do you handle food when you're traveling? Do you eat at the airport, bring a sandwich with you or do without?

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It's pretty much a given these days that you don't get much in the way of food on airplanes, especially when you fly in the continental United States. I was shocked to discover on my last flight out to Portland that I was actually served a meal (a microwaved mini pizza, an iceberg lettuce salad, a bag of potato chips and a package brownie). However, when you fly internationally, food is still part of the travel experience, and can range from terrible to excellent.

Over at Gastronomy, Cathy and her boyfriend, Vernon (aka the Astronomer), have spent the last few months in Vietnam. They did an amazing job of documenting all the amazing things they ate while they were there, and now have even gone so far as to photograph and report back on the meals they were served on EVA Airlines. Cathy requested a high fiber meal and was served an amazing assortment veggies, fruits and whole wheat breads. It seems that selecting high fiber is the way to go when flying EVA.

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That's the word from Fox News Channel Chief White House Correpsondent Bret Baier, who talks about his quest to get back into shape in the new issue of Men's Health.

Some might already be aware of the blog that Baier has been keeping for the past few months. In the Men's Health piece, Baier's battle is chronicled, but there are a ton of tips and tricks in there too for people who want to get into shape, especially busy travelers like Baier. Some of the "tips from the road:" Forget about the menu (decide what you want before you see all the options), invite a new client to dinner (studies show we eat less in front of strangers), and make sure you check out your hotel and the area to see where the best gyms are.

He says it's hard to eat well when the food on Air Force One is so good, but he's had success. He lost 20 pounds in 8 weeks.

Unless you travel frequently for business, travel season doesn't usually start until late spring, with spring break, or summer, when many people try to get away from it all for a week. The hardest part about being on vacation is eating right, especially because we tend to tell ourselves that it is ok to indulge - a vacation is from your diet, as well as from your job, right? Indulgence is fine, but even on vacation it's not a great idea for every meal. Forbes Traveler offers up some advice on how to travel and stay thin that will come in handy if you want to stay in shape for swimsuit season

Their basic advice to chose lighter salads and sandwiches, especially in airports or other places where they is a lot of fast food and to avoid fried foods, is good for almost any situation. On the plane, avoid the snack packs, which are usually packed with calories and not much in the way of worthwhile munchies. You can always bring your own snacks.

Once you've landed, order sauces on the side and choose from the "light" menu if you is offered, especially when you're eating at the hotel. Save the splurges for when you get to try some of the local cuisine.

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The newest issue of Cooking Light, which is their 20th anniversary issue, has the magazine's choices for the top 20 cities in the US, based on 15 criteria that they feel embody their "Eat Smart, Be Fit, and Live Well" philosophy. They looked at fitness, health and exercise data from the Centers for Disease Control, the number of parks and recreation areas (and how often they're used) from the Trust for Public Land, restaurant ratings from the Zagat Survey and James Beard Foundation, and the USDA's farmers markets listings. Everything was evened out on a per capita basis and the cities with the most of everything made the top cut.

One of the top ten cities will be featured each month in the magazine this year, so readers will have access to information about all the things that got the city their ranking.

1. Seattle, WA
2. Portland, Ore.
3. Washington, D.C.
4. Minneapolis, MN
5. San Francisco, CA
6. Boston, MA
7. Denver, CO
8. Milwaukee, WI
9. Philadelphia, PA
10. Tucson, AZ

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