
Guest Post by Helen Foster
So this is the last of the great guest posts for a while--I'm heading home from Budapest tomorrow. And I'm looking forward to boring the snot out of you all with tales and pictures, many of which deal with the very same theme: trying to find healthy food and exercise options while traveling.
London was not on my itinerary this trip, alas, but it is an amazing and wonderful city and a popular travel destination. It's a hell of a lot more likely you're going there someday than Budapest, right? So Helen's got you covered with some great tips! And there are many more over at her informative and hilarious website, Health-e-Helen, because she's British and lives and breathes this health and fitness stuff.
If her name sounds familiar, it's because I wrote about her awesome (and cheap) fitness ebook Gymspiration a while back, in a post about a one-question personality test which I stole from her. Plus she's on the blogroll, and I'm hoping some of you remember to click over sometimes when her posts come up.
Anyway, I've been having a grand old time, and I will eventually have lots to share about that when I get back to blogging. Whether that's a promise or a threat is an open question.
So please welcome Helen!--Crabby
When I found out Crabby was needing guest posts I was jumping up and down waving my hand in the air faster than you can say ‘yay, I get to write for my blog idol’. Of course then the doubt set in – what can I write about? What do I know more about than Crabby?
I’m British and on my blog health-e-helen I’d written about a delivery service in London offering low-carb, broccoli bread pizza and Crabby was coveting a slice. The word visit was mentioned. Aha, I thought – if Crabby wants to come to London and eat low-carb pizza so might Crabby’s readers! And they might want to do other healthy stuff too while they’re here. And that I know about. See no longer is London a wasteland for the fit and healthy. Yes, we all still drink like fishes and have slightly wonky teeth but we’re catching up when it comes to the healthy stuff. So , here we have it, The Health-e Guide To Healthy London.
My Fave Exercise Class:

The US has SoulCycle – we have Psycle. Located in a swish cycling gym just behind London’s Oxford Street it’s the best thing that’s happened to butts and brains in a long time. It has funky music and flashing lights and a USP that sees you timing your pedalling to the beat.
It’s seriously good fun. Everyone leaves smiling and you’ll even see British people clapping and whooping. You don’t have to be a member, just sign up online. Schedules for the week book from Sunday.
My Fave Juice Bar:

It’s taken a while but you can’t chuck a bunch of kale around Central London right now without finding someone who wants to cold press it. First out of the box though was Roots and Bulbs in swanky Marylebone. With juices created with the advice of top nutritionist Ian Marber they grade them by veggieness – 3 starts more fruity, 1 is more hardcore veg. If you’re used to your juice go for a C1 – carrot, ginger and spice.
My Recommended Must Do:

It’s called Morning Glory. It takes place very early in the morning before Londoners go to work. Suddenly it’s become totally normal to dance to Billy Joel remixes wearing a fairy wings or a tiger onesie at 6am completely sober. If you’re here when one is on go dance your socks off – but you have to book in advance, they sell out.
My Useful Tip for Gym-Goers: If you want to stay fit and but your hotel doesn’t have a gym – sign up for PayAsUGym. They’ll sell you a one off voucher you can use at a gym near where you’re staying. They costs as little as £9.00 a session in Central London.
My Favourite Run: This one was a toss up – I love running along the river and St Katherine’s Dock you’ll see almost every London landmark if you do, but you have to pick your time as it can get busy round there.
So instead, I’m going to choose the lap of the Outer Circle round Regents Park. Why? Because it runs past London Zoo and every so often you’ll get a glimpse of a giraffe. It also goes past one of London’s few outdoor running tracks if you fancy a few timed laps.

Most of it is a road route, but if you want some greenery, detour into the park for a while and play spot the squirrel. It’s safe in there and easy to find your way back to the Outer Circle.
My Fave Healthy Lunch:

No contest , although it’s not very British. It’s a chain of Vietnamese restaurants called Pho – and a bowl of their steaming hot Pho Tam prawn soup contains just 307 calories and will leave you full for the entire day. Find the branch nearest you at the Pho Cafe website – all their nutritional information is also on that site. If the word ‘noodle’ has you panicked, also check out Itsu – a great sushi chain which does a heap of low-carb offerings.
And finally...
Where to get Broccoli Pizza:

This one might be a bit trickier to get as you will need it delivered somewhere, but it’s by a company called Plan Bread who also make low-carb sandwiches from a broccoli based bread. If you go onto the Plan Bread website, you can order it online to be delivered anywhere in Central London. Make sure you get a slice for Crabby though won’t you.
