Elizabeth Dougherty

Elizabeth Dougherty has been cooking and writing about food intensively for more than ten years. She is the fourth generation of chefs and gourmet grocers in her family with her mother, Francesca Esposito and grandmother, Carmella being major influences in her early cooking years. As a teenager, her family sent her to Europe where she became focused on French and Italian cuisine. She survived a year and half of culinary tutelage under a maniacal Swiss-German chef and is a graduate of NYIT, Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s degree in Hospitality, Business and Labor Relations. Food Travel USA has won two news awards for content. Broadcasting LIVE each week, nationwide, on FoodNationRadio.com and on stations around the country.

ULTRA PROCESSED REDEFINED BY GOVT

Ultra-processed food isn't simply cooked or preserved, it's been fundamentally transformed. Stripped of natural nutrients and rebuilt with industrial ingredients like hydrogenated oils, high-fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors, and chemical preservatives, these products are designed not to nourish you, but to extend shelf life and drive overconsumption. If the ingredient list reads like a chemistry textbook rather than a recipe, that's your first clue. Study after study links ultra-processed food to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and depression. The question is no longer whether it harms us - it's why we keep allowing it to be the cheapest thing on the shelf.

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TOP 10 STRANGEST AIRBNB VACATIONS

Every seasoned traveler has a hotel story, but Airbnb has introduced an entirely new category of unforgettable - and occasionally unsettling - travel experiences. When you're sleeping in someone else's home, treehouse, converted school bus, or repurposed grain silo, things can get interesting fast. From mysterious locked rooms and unexpected animal roommates to hosts who never quite left and guests who arrived to find their rental didn't exactly match the photos, the world of short-term rentals has generated some truly extraordinary tales. These are ten of the strangest stories from the wild, wonderful, and sometimes deeply weird world of Airbnb.

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TOP 10 SECRETS ABOUT STORE BRANDS

That quiet label on the grocery shelf might just be the best kept secret in your supermarket. Store brands - also known as private label products - have quietly undergone a revolution, and savvy shoppers are starting to take notice. What most consumers don't realize is that many of these products come off the exact same production line as the name brands sitting right next to them, just with a different label and a friendlier price tag. From pantry staples to personal care products, the gap between generic and brand name has never been smaller - and in some cases, the store brand actually wins. Here's what the food industry doesn't necessarily want you to know.

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TOP 10 NATIVE SACRED PLACES

Across North America, sacred places hold deep spiritual, cultural, and historical meaning for Native nations. These landscapes are not simply scenic landmarks - they are living places of prayer, ceremony, origin stories, and ancestral connection. From towering rock formations and ancient cliff dwellings to mountains, rivers, and desert canyons, these sites continue to shape identity and tradition for Indigenous communities today. Understanding and honoring these sacred places means recognizing that they are more than tourist destinations; they are enduring symbols of resilience, spirituality, and cultural survival.

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YOUR PHOTOS BETRAY YOUR LOCATION

Every photo you take carries more than just an image. Hidden inside most digital pictures is something called metadata - background information automatically recorded by your phone or camera. This can include the date and time the photo was taken, the camera settings, and often the exact GPS location. That means when you share a photo online, you may also be sharing where you were standing when you took it.

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DESTINATION UNKNOWN – THE GREAT BASIN NAT PARK

Great Basin National Park, located in eastern Nevada near the Utah border, is one of the least-visited but most spectacular parks in the U.S. It’s a place of dramatic contrasts - from the ancient bristlecone pines on the slopes of Wheeler Peak to the depths of Lehman Caves, an extraordinary marble cave system adorned with delicate formations. Rising to more than 13,000 feet, Wheeler Peak provides alpine scenery, while the surrounding Great Basin Desert offers stark beauty and clear, star-filled night skies. The park preserves a remarkable range of ecosystems, geological features, and cultural history, making it a hidden gem for hikers, stargazers, and anyone seeking solitude in a vast and varied landscape.

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