Boston was recently named one of the healthiest cities in America according to BetterDoctor.com. Yes, many different publications and websites make their own rankings but Boston is always in the top. The criteria used for this list included:
- Population data about physical fitness (exercise rates, eating habits, chronic health problems and disease rates, access to parks and recreational activities, and more.)
- The percentage of doctors in the state that are highly rated according to BetterDoctor’s comprehensive, seven-variable algorithm.
- The percentage of residents with health insurance coverage to assess how feasible it is for residents to get medical care.
I also tried dairy free chia yogurt and raw avocado cucumber soup from Kreation Kafe, which has many locations.
At the pool in Palm Springs, I had a kombucha instead of an alcoholic beverage! No, Palm Springs is not LA but still – kombucha on tap is rare in Boston, the “healthiest city.” Thank you Life Alive and the few that do.
On ClassPass, there were so many fitness studios to choose from in LA I was totally overwhelmed. It seems like NYC has more fitness studios than taxis these days. Boston is catching up, we are a much smaller city though.
Boston has very few restaurants that are dedicated to people who want to eat clean. If you are a gluten free vegan, good luck! In LA, you have so many options in my opinion. Same with other cities like New York and San Francisco. I’ve found Miami is pretty friendly for health weirdos like me too. Listing healthy cities means nothing to me unless I can benefit from their offerings. Doctors, hospitals and insurance I cannot unless I get hurt while traveling!
If you are visiting Boston any time soon – lucky you, our snow is awesome – and are looking for a healthy meal, here are a few of my favorite places – note many sound like juice bars but ALL have food too. Depending on what neighborhood you are in, there is usually only one show in town. There is little competition. One neighborhood missing from this list is mine!
- sweetgreen (Back Bay & Seaport) Salads…
- Life Alive (Cambridge) Vegetarian…
- CocoBeet (Gov’t Center) Juices, smoothies and raw vegan foods. Try their chia pudding!
- Jugos (Back Bay) I don’t love this place but it’s super conveniently located…
- Root (Allston) Vegetarians rejoice! Not the lowest calorie place but delicious with gfree & dairy free options.
- Mother Juice (Kendall Square) I actually haven’t been yet because Kendall is not convenient for me but their food truck juices were good and the menu looks awesome!
- Thirst Juice Company (Downtown along Freedom Trail for tourists!) In addition to juice, serves oatmeal in the AM, acai bowls and soup!
- Pret A Manger (Back Bay & Downtown) Few places in Boston give calorie content and offer this many vegetarian options!
- Whole Foods Market… sort of a joke but not really. WFM won best salad a few years ago in Boston Magazine lol.
- Pressed (Beacon Hill)… The newest to open on the list. I haven’t been yet but can’t wait!
- B.Good (Downtown, Back Bay and more!)… I originally forgot to add b.Good. I don’t know why. Their kale and quinoa bowls are amazing!
*None of the above places have waiter service. You order at the counter. There are other places I like, but literally I have 1 or 2 favorite dishes on the menu that I would consider healthy. Flour is a great example. They have a delicious sandwich you can get as a salad with jicama, avocado and roasted chicken!
Sadly we don’t have many sit down healthy places to eat like LA or NYC. When they finally arrive, then I will proclaim Boston is the healthiest but until then, I just think we are a running city with good hospitals and mandatory health insurance laws.
Did I miss your favorite healthy spot in the city?
