The past week and a half, I travelled to Europe with my husband. We also met up for a few days with my friend, Karen, who flew in from California. It was so much fun! I remember one time in the hospital, P looked at me and said, “We’ll go somewhere fun before the year is over.” I thought, “Oh yeah right, now that’s what I call impossible.” And look at how things turned out. Amazing. Last year I couldn’t even walk, this year I’m traveling to London and Paris, keeping up with my hubby and one of my best friends, taking a ton of stairs, even fitting in time to use the gym in the mornings, and not really slowing them down. I am truly thankful.
It can be really easy to veer off the nutrition course while traveling (trust me, I’m not perfect! You should definitely sample some of what the country is known for). But a really good tip is to visit the local grocery stores on your trip. There, you can stock up on fruits and vegetables, and yogurts or oatmeal. If your hotel has a fridge, that’s great. You can beat those midnight cravings, or have a healthy breakfast before you start the day. Overseas farmers markets and grocery stores are fun, too! People warned me that Europe was so expensive but I didn’t think so. One person told me they bought a tomato sandwich for 9 pounds ($14) over there. What?! I didn’t see anything ludicrous like that. The prices were reasonable. And I’ve heard complaints about how small the portion sizes are. I was really happy with the serving amounts. People probably complain because we come from a land of super-sized portions and cheap food.
Rhubarb is big in London – and this yogurt was so good!
This brie was only 99 pence – that’s like $1.50! We ate this with a baguette for a snack.
Just to show you that food is affordable in England. This is 1 pound (about $1.50). If you got this in the States it would be about $3 or more. They also had single servings of crisp sugar snap peas, carrots, and green beans for 1 pound each, a super healthy snack! You can also get pre-packaged, cut fruit such as coconut too! Love it!
You can get soup here for a pound. Have it with some bread for a meal in if you’re tired of eating out. For one meal, we bought food and wine from the grocery store and salads from Pret A Manger. Voila!
Oh. My. Goodness. This was the first time I’ve tried banoffee pie, and it’s all the rage in London. Now I know why! Sliced bananas, a shortbread crust, whipped cream, toffee. Sigh. I shared this with Karen, and I’ll make it again in the States for a special occasion!
What traveling tips do you have?
