This is the first post in our new series called Digging into Durham. In this series, we will highlight restaurants and stores restaurants that are popular among Duke students, and also some that we think Dukies should know about. This blog post features Local Yogurt, and the next will feature Devines, a popular sports bar on 9th street.
Who says you can’t have your cake and lose weight too?
Durham’s first independently-owned frozen yogurt shop, Local Yogurt, offers this fantastical dichotomy to all who enter the shop. Staying thin and eating dessert are no longer enemies.
Described on their website as “The Happiest Place in Durham,” LoYo offers delicious frozen yogurt at 25 calories per ounce for all flavors and all yogurts are either nonfat or lowfat, said Jenny Paul, manager of the Erwin and University Drive locations.
"Our yogurts are all natural," Paul said. "Yogurt is healthier than ice cream around the board, and you’re getting good bacteria for your digestive system.”
Calorie-wise, a person weighing 150 pounds who walks from the bus stop on West Campus to the Local Yogurt on Erwin and back will burn more calories than consumed in a small frozen yogurt—and will burn all but 60 calories if consuming a medium froyo. Besides leaving LoYo losing weight, you will also save money on a taxi that could cost anywhere from $3 to $7 each way.
Local Yogurt always has plain and chocolate yogurt on the tap ready to serve and has 2 additional flavors that are switched either weekly or bi-weekly depending on the month or season. This fall, for example, they will be serving their homemade pumpkin yogurt that historically has sold really well, Jenny Paul said. Flavors range from thin mint and peanut butter to dolce de leche and red velvet.
In addition, toppings include fruit, cereal, candy, chocolate, coconut, sprinkles, peanut butter and the traditional ice cream shop toppings. Like their specialty yogurts, LoYo offers specialty toppings like homemade organic brownies and chocolate chip cookies. They also work with local organic bakeries and farms.
“You can splurge on the toppings with froyo because it is so low calorie and low fat,” Paul said.
Besides pleasing your taste buds and losing weight, LoYo has employees that are health conscious and genuinely happy to be there. Paul offered me free samples, suggested her favorite healthy and unhealthy options and the decorations around the shop are bright and cheerful, as the website suggests.
Especially with the looming threat of the freshman 15, it is relieving and delightful to know that LoYo not only offers a mouthwatering and healthier alternative, but also may help you lose weight if you walk there.
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