"Healthy" Eats in the East

I’m not a health nut by any stretch of the imagination. I have actually gone down to SixPax & Dogz, ordered the Mac ‘n Cheese dog (yes, a hot dog topped with everyone’s favorite comfort food), and asked them to add bacon to it.[1]

That said, I also run (read: jog while begging for mercy the whole time) a few times a week, belong to a gym[2] and generally try to gravitate toward the healthier end of the caloric spectrum. I’ve been a member of Weight Watchers since 2008, and was even a group leader for a while. So I certainly know what it’s like to balance a love of all things fattening with a nagging need to be healthy.

It was this delicate balance that led my two friends and me to undo a rather hot and sweaty three-mile run through Frick Park by stopping at Razzy Fresh in Squirrel Hill for some delicious frozen yogurt. As per usual, there was quite a swarm around the store, and the line for sweet soft self-serve satisfaction was a good ten minutes long. Even the stench of three soaked-with-sweat post-run patrons didn’t seem to deter anyone from the lure of paying upwards of $6 for a happiness in a cup.

So I waited not so patiently in the line, and in a fit of post-run motivation, filled my cup with fat-free cherry amaretto (freaking delicious), and topped it off with tons of fresh fruit.

All right, I may have added just a teeny weeny scoop of cheesecake bites. Whatever. It’s cheese. That’s protein.

So as my compatriots and I sat and enjoyed our delicious frozen treats, I watched as more people filed through the line. I was pleased to discover that what I really like about frozen yogurt with stuff in it is the mix of textures, and not so much the mix of flavors, and that fruit chunks were pretty much as fun to eat as candy chunks. Pleased with my newfound health discovery, I thought I might grab something to bring home to my husband as well. I figured frozen yogurt wouldn’t fare so well in the hot car on the trek back to Braddock Hills, and I’ve never been a fan of forcing health food (if frozen yogurt can be called “health food”) upon others, so I moseyed up the street to Coldstone Creamery in search of a milkshake for my man.

I was shocked to see that the ice cream Mecca that had once ruled the summer in Squirrel Hill was practically deserted. The line was a mere three people, including me. I ordered my better half a peanut butter chocolate shake (and maybe stole a few sips) and headed home. Further down Forbes avenue, non-ice cream frozen treat joints like Rita’s and Tutti Frutti were hoppin’. I started to wonder… here on Forbes and Murray, where the new Bikram Yoga studio is getting rave reviews, and folks are loading up on fat-free yogurt, is our community a small success story amid the overwhelming obesity problem in our country?

I smiled. Here were normal people, not super-crunchy-granola-bike-everywhere people; just normal people enjoying their food, and yet making a relatively healthy choice. And why not? We’ve got , , , and to keep us moving. We’ve got in Wilkinsburg and not to mention restaurants like and that serve healthier options than just greasy cheesy goo. (No offense to you, Mineo’s. You know I love you, and you will always be my go-to staple at 2 AM after several beers.) We’ve got a . (Look them up on Facebook if you want to know more!)

I’m truly interested to hear the readers’ thoughts on health in our little corner of Pittsburgh. What’s your favorite local workout spot? Favorite place to run? To bike? And better yet, your favorite place to undo all that hard work? Do you think we’re just as unhealthy as the rest of the world, and I just caught Coldstone on a bad night? What are your thoughts on our access (or lack thereof) to healthy food?

Either way, I’m glad our region seems to be a great place to have your cake and burn it off too.

[1] They happily obliged. It was delicious. If anyone from D’s is reading this, I suggest you make it a regular menu item and call it the “Pfarr Out Dog.”

[2] Actual attendance at said gym may vary.