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By: Laura Ali, MS, RDN, LDN<\/p>\n
\u201cThe r<\/em>eal voyage of discovery consists not of seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Marcel Proust<\/p>\n Food.\u00a0 It links us to our past, our family, our culture and our heritage.\u00a0 It can tell a story, teach us a history lesson, and may help shape how we think about a country and the people who live there.\u00a0\u00a0 It is does more than just nourish our bodies.\u00a0 It brings people together, creates memories and builds trust.<\/p>\n But how often do you really think about what you are eating or the story behind what is on your plate?\u00a0 For me, that is one of the best things about a vacation.\u00a0 In addition to breaking out of my routine it\u2019s a chance to explore and learn about new areas and the food and traditions of that area.<\/p>\n Taking a food tour is one of my favorite things to do on vacation.\u00a0 It all started on a trip to Seattle where my husband and I signed up for a tour of the iconic Pike Place Market.\u00a0 Following our tour leader (complete with his pink umbrella!) we wandered through the aisles and shops learning about the history of the market, the vendors, and foods sold there. And we ate!\u00a0 We tried cheese, spices, fish, bread, and the most delicious chocolate covered cherries.\u00a0 We watched cheese being made and enjoyed the fish mongers throwing the fish back and forth.<\/p>\n In Portland, Maine along with learning about lobsters and the fishing industry, we learned that they think the first Whoopie Pie was made there.\u00a0 I know, blasphemy, right?\u00a0 In Savannah we tried Alligator burgers (I\u2019ll skip those in the future!) and in Toronto we tried their famous Peameal Bacon Sandwich at the old St. Lawrence Market.\u00a0 Peameal bacon is a cured pork loin that was originally rolled in yellow peameal which helped preserve it and kept it moisture so it could survive a voyage to England. \u00a0Today, it\u2019s rolled in cornmeal and shipping is no longer a concern.<\/p>\n You don\u2019t need to take a tour though.\u00a0 Read up on the area and find out what the specialties are before you go.\u00a0 Ask your waiter or bartender for ideas and don\u2019t be afraid to try something a little out of your comfort zone.\u00a0 The absolute worst that can happen is you won\u2019t enjoy it as much as you hoped.<\/p>\n As Proust says, it\u2019s not just new landscapes, but how we look at it that is discovery.\u00a0 As far as food is concerned I would say it\u2019s not just taste, but learning the back story and the history of a food that helps us really experience it.\u00a0 So, break out of your routine and try a new food or dish while you are on vacation.\u00a0 You\u2019ll build memories and may find some new favorite dishes to recreate when you get home.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Laura Ali is the Registered Dietitian for StarKist Co.\u00a0 She lives in Pittsburgh with her husband, Mark, and their rambunctious terrier, Duncan.\u00a0 She can be found on weekends exploring local food shops, restaurants and wineries or cooking up some new creation at home.\u00a0 Follow her on Instagram<\/a> , Twitter<\/a> and Pinterest<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By: Laura Ali, MS, RDN, LDN \u201cThe real voyage of discovery consists not of seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.\u201d \u2013 Marcel Proust Food.\u00a0 It links us to our past, our family, our culture and our heritage.\u00a0 It can tell a story, teach us a history lesson, and may help shape how we […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5281"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5281\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10542,"href":"https:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5281\/revisions\/10542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"http:\/\/dev.eatrightpa.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/laura-241x300.jpg\")
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