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Tips for travelers to save money, stay connected this summer
(Image by Pexels from Pixabay) (Image by ThePixelman from Pixabay)
After more than two years of pandemic-related restrictions, Americans are ready to break free and travel again. According to Expedia’s 2022 Travel Trends Report, more than two-thirds of Americans say they’re planning to “go big” on their next trip. But planning and budgeting for a trip can be stressful. With inflation rising, many people are watching their wallets more closely, so finding ways to save money and stay connected while traveling this summer is more important than ever.
Here are some of the latest travel tips to make your next getaway more affordable:
• Book flights like a pro: According to NerdWallet, Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the best days to travel when flying within the United States. NerdWallet also suggests booking domestic airline tickets one to three months in advance. The more flexible you can be with your desired timeframe, destination, and airport, the better. Be on the hunt for exclusive partnerships that offer travel discounts, such as T-Mobile TRAVEL with Priceline, a new site with travel deals of up to 40% off hotels and select rental cars, available exclusively for T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile customers.
• Bring it, don’t buy it: If you’re looking to save a few dollars while traveling, bring your own snacks and reusable water bottle. Many airports have refillable water stations available. Having a designated travel charging kit in your luggage with charging cables for your smartwatch, phone, computer and more will save you the added and often inflated cost of buying on the go.
• Maximize your phone plan internationally: When traveling overseas, purchasing a local SIM for that designated country will save you roaming charges and fees. An international SIM card is another option for those traveling to multiple countries for short periods of time. Make sure to check with your wireless provider for what’s included in your plan. For example, T-Mobile customers get 5GB of free highspeed data each month with no international data-roaming charges, with up to 5G speeds where available, in more than 210 countries and destinations on the provider’s most popular plan, Magenta MAX, and on the Business Unlimited Ultimate plan.
• Road trip smarter: Even though gas prices are soaring, those with large families, pets and a love for singalongs often still prefer to travel the open road when vacationing. Finding the best gas prices is easy with apps like GasBuddy and Gas Guru, which provide updated gas prices in your area. You can also save money at the pump leveraging other rewards programs, such as those offered by your phone provider. T-Mobile teamed up with Shell and the Fuel Rewards program to offer customers on qualifying plans an exclusive 25 cents off per gallon of gas this summer through the week of Labor Day via T-Mobile Tuesdays.
With the price of everything on the rise, you’ll want to tap into benefits and cost-cutting opportunities where you can stretch your dollar further, and take the amazing vacation you’ve been planning for so long.
(Image by Stuart Bailey from Pixabay)
Serve up a bunch of healthy summer meals
If you’re like many Americans who put a priority on well-being, choosing simple yet healthy snacks and ingredients is an easy first step. For example, grapes are a popular and convenient fruit that can also be an ally in wellness, offering an abundance of health benefits that can help you get (and stay) on the right track.
The next time you enjoy an outdoor adventure, pack along a healthy snack such as California grapes. They can go with you on hikes and bike rides or to the gym as a healthy and hydrating source of energy. Heart-healthy grapes also deliver beneficial antioxidants and other polyphenols and are a good source of vitamin K, which supports bone and heart health. With no need to peel, cut, core or slice, grapes are perfectly portable when you’re on the go.
As an easy, versatile ingredient that can be used in a wide variety of recipes, grapes offer delicious taste, texture and color— plus a healthy boost—that make them an appealing addition to snacks and meals. An added bonus: Grapes help support heart, brain, colon and skin health.
Crunchy Salad Pizza on Cauliflower Crust is a simple way to get your fruits and veggies in a fun, tasty recipe. When it’s time for a filling yet nutritional dinner, Warm-Spiced Chickpeas and Couscous with Grapes and Arugula makes for an ideal vegetarian meal. Plus, this easy-to-make dish includes 8 grams of fiber to help support colon health.
Grapes and seafood are a classic combination, and this Roasted Salmon and Grapes with Pistachios Over Fresh Greens is no exception. A perfect dish for family dinners or inviting guests for a meal, it offers antioxidants and other polyphenols from grapes along with healthy omega-3 fats from fish.
Whatever your path to health, eating well and encouraging healthy habits can be deliciously easy with the benefits of grapes. Find more health benefits and good-for-you recipe ideas at GrapesFromCalifornia.com
Grapes and your skin
While naturally hydrating and delivering beneficial antioxidants and other polyphenols, grapes also offer more: they may help support healthy skin even when exposed to UV light. In a study conducted by the University of Alabama, subjects consuming 2 1/4 cups of grapes every day for two weeks showed increased resistance to sunburn and reduced markers of UV damage in skin cells.
Crunchy Salad Pizza on Cauliflower Crust
Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: 10 minutes Servings: 4
1 frozen cauliflower pizza crust (11 ounces) 1 tablespoon, plus 4 teaspoons, extra-virgin olive oil, divided 2 medium carrots, peeled and trimmed 1 medium fennel bulb, quartered and trimmed 1 medium yellow bell pepper, halved and trimmed ½ medium red onion 16 black California grapes, halved 1 cup canned or cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed, divided 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley 2 tablespoons pesto salt, to taste freshly ground black pepper, to taste 1 ounce fresh goat cheese, crumbled
Heat oven to 400° F. Place frozen crust on large, parchment-lined baking sheet and brush top lightly with 2 teaspoons olive oil. Bake until crust is lightly golden, about 10 minutes. Transfer to cutting board and cut into quarters.
Using mandolin, peeler or large, sharp knife and cutting board, thinly slice carrots, fennel, bell pepper and onion. Transfer to mixing bowl and add grapes and 1/2 cup chickpeas. Add parsley, pesto and 1 tablespoon olive oil; toss well. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Using fork, coarsely mash remaining chickpeas and remaining oil; spread among pieces of crust. Mound grapevegetable mixture on top. Dot with goat cheese and serve.
Nutritional information per serving: 490 calories; 9 g protein; 66 g carbohydrates; 22 g fat (40% calories from fat); 4 g saturated fat (7% calories from saturated fat); 30 mg cholesterol; 380 mg sodium; 4 g fiber.
Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 7-8 minutes Servings: 4
4 wild sockeye or coho salmon filets (about 5 ounces each) 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided salt, to taste freshly ground black pepper, to taste 1/3 cup dry white wine 1 cup green California grapes ¼ cup shelled, unsalted pistachios, coarsely chopped 2 tablespoons finely chopped Italian parsley 5 ounces baby spinach ¼ red onion, thinly sliced 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
Heat oven to 400° F. Lightly oil shallow, 9-by13-inch baking dish.
Pat fish dry and place skin side down in pan. Brush filets lightly with 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper, to taste. Pour wine in pan, scatter grapes around and sprinkle pistachios and parsley on fish.
Roast salmon 7 minutes for medium-rare; 8 minutes for medium.
In large bowl, toss spinach, onion, remaining oil and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper, to taste; toss again and divide among four plates.
Place fish on top of greens. Spoon roasted grapes around fish.
Nutritional information per serving: 360 calories; 31 g protein; 12 g carbohydrates; 19 g fat (48% calories from fat); 3 g saturated fat (8% calories from saturated fat); 65 mg cholesterol; 105 mg sodium; 2 g fiber
Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 20 minutes Servings: 4
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 small onion, chopped 1½ teaspoons ground cumin ½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus additional, to taste, divided 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice 1 cup Israeli pearl couscous ¾ teaspoon ground turmeric 1½ cups water 1 can (15 ounces) no-saltadded chickpeas, drained 1 cup red California grapes, halved 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro or parsley freshly ground black pepper, to taste 4 cups lightly packed baby arugula lemon wedges
In large saucepan over medium heat, heat oil. Add onion, cumin, ½ teaspoon salt and allspice; cook, stirring, until onion is softened, about 3 minutes. Add couscous and stir 1 minute to toast lightly. Add turmeric and water; bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until couscous is tender, about 15 minutes. Stir chickpeas, grapes and cilantro into couscous then season with salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer couscous-grape mixture to large bowl, add arugula and toss well. Serve warm or at room temperature with lemon wedges.
Nutritional information per serving: 370 calories; 12 g protein; 61 g carbohydrates; 9 g fat (17% calories from fat); 1 g saturated fat (2% calories from saturated fat); 0 mg cholesterol; 160 mg sodium; 8 g fiber.
Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage, New York City’s beloved outdoor performing arts festival, is continuing with their free summer performances this week.
On July 30, Saba, Eryn Allen Kane, theMIND, and Zillion
will come to Central Park for a free show in association with Move Forward Music at 6 p.m. (doors open at 5 p.m.). Chicago rapper Saba—co-founder of the musical collective Pivot Gang and one third of the supergroup Ghetto Sage with Smino and Noname—first drew widespread attention for his early collaborations with Chance the Rapper, and has since established himself as a diaristic storyteller, channeling his grief into the instant classic LP “Care for Me.” Saba says that his latest album “Few Good Things” is “the realization of self after a search for exterior fulfillment,” incorporating Black-owned companies, independent creators, and filmmakers into the album’s content. He’s joined by Eryn Allen Kane, a Detroit-born and raised recording artist, songwriter, and producer whose work explores stories of love, loss, social injustice, and the fragility of life; and theMIND, a Philadelphia-born hip hop and R&B artist whose latest album “Don’t Let it Go to Your Head” references René Magritte’s 1928 surrealist painting “The Lovers” while speaking directly to our culture’s erasure of Black bodies. For more information, visit https://cityparksfoundation.org/events/saba/
Clockwise from top left: Sons of Kemet; Makaya Mccraven; L'rain; DJ Lindsey (Courtesy photo)
will come to Central Park for a free show at 6 p.m. (doors open at 5 p.m.). This dual-headliner bill showcases two pillars of modern jazz, bolstering communities fostering the next generation of jazz greats. Shabaka Hutchings is one of the brightest stars in a London jazz scene that’s stretching the boundaries of the genre. Sons of Kemet is his project with Tom Skinner, Theon Cross, and Eddie Hick; the lineup features two drummers, a tuba, and SummerStage Anywhere alum Hutchings on saxophone and clarinet. Their latest LP “Black to the Future” unites the African diaspora on both sides of the Atlantic, working with vocalists and rappers from the U.K. and U.S., making jazz that encourages political dialogue as much as individual expression. Drummer, bandleader and recent SummerStage Anywhere alum Makaya McCraven’s take on jazz is viewed through the lens of hip hop production, deconstructing and reassembling jazz and soul standards with the ear of a crate-digger. His 2020 LP “We’re New Again” reimagined Gil Scott-Heron’s final album through his own POV. On his latest, this year’s “Deciphering the Message,” he pilfers the Blue Note catalog for samples like a kid in a candy store, creating a virtual band of jazz legends from Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and rising contemporary stars like Junius Paul and Marquis Hill. They’re joined by L’Rain, a Brooklyn-based songwriter and sound artist with a jazz lineage at the forefront of New York’s experimental community, and DJ Lindsey on the decks. There will also be a side stage performance by Danielle Ponder, a NY-based R&B/Soul artist. For more information, visit https://cityparksfoundation.org/events/sons-of-kemet-makaya/
On Sat, Aug. 20, Maroons & Suffragettes: A Greg Tate Tribute Concert Celebrating The 20th Anniversary Of Burnt Sugar/Danz
will come to Marcus Garvey Park at 6 p.m. for a free program featuring Burnt Sugar/ Danz, Burnt Sugar The Arkestra Chamber, Harriet Tubman, Resistance Revival Chorus, Bardo Steppers, and DJ Reborn. Burnt Sugar/Danz was founded in 2002 by writer/musician/conductor Greg Tate and dancer/choreographer/filmmaker Gabri Christa as a radical melding of Christa’s profound relationship to movement and Tate’s equally rigorous approach to music. The collaboration they formed was rooted in the work of Burnt Sugar The Arkestra Chamber, the sprawling band of virtuosos that Tate founded and co-led— a multi-generational ensemble inspired by Butch Morris’ CONDUCTION system for improvising orchestras. Burnt Sugar/ Danz, which made its debut at SummerStage in Central Park that same year, draws upon the cream of the crop in New York City’s music, choreographic, and danceperformance talent to create innovative, never-before-seen works, live, and in real time. Adopting Morris’ baton gestures and hand-sign vocabulary to dance, Burnt Sugar/Danz presents an alchemical blend of spontaneously composed music and choreography. This 20th-anniversary celebration, held in tribute to Tate, includes guest appearances by Harriet Tubman, the avant power trio known for its deep fusion of soul, rock, and jazz; the Resistance Revival Chorus, a collective of more than 60 women and non-binary singers; the Bardo Steppers, a deep-funk secondline procession of drums and horns led by bassist Melvin Gibbs; and DJ Reborn, a trailblazing international DJ, sound collage artist, and arts educator, also the resident DJ for Ms. Lauryn Hill’s world tour and the founder of DJs for Justice.
Marcus Garvey Park. For more information, visit https://cityparksfoundation.org/ events/greg-tate-tribute/.
On September 10, World Music Institute
will host a free showcase in Central Park called Improvisations: Adam Rudolph’s Go: Organic Orchestra featuring Hassan Hakmoun, Dave Liebman, Marcus Gilmore, Graham Haynes and Brooklyn Raga Massive. The lineup will also include Gift of Gnawa Honoring Don Cherry, Brandee Younger and Joel Ross. For more information, visit https:// cityparksfoundation.org/events/ improvisations/?date=20220910
