Good Neighbor Podcast: Pittsburgh

E99: From Culinary Roots To Community Wellness With Dietitian Laura Zervos

• Leila Carter & Laura Zervos • Episode 99

Share episode

What makes Laura Zervos with Laura Zervos Food and Nutritional Services a Good Neighbor?

Looking for nutrition advice that survives real life, not just a perfect week? We sit down with registered dietitian and licensed nutritionist Laura Zervos, whose culinary-school roots and private practice in Bethel Park bring flavor and science together. Laura works with clients in person and remotely to manage chronic conditions and weight through strategies that are simple, flexible, and built for busy schedules.

Laura shares the surprising bridge from restaurant kitchens to patient care, and how that experience shapes her approach to meal planning, grocery shopping, and cooking techniques that make healthy food taste good. We unpack stubborn myths- like the idea that one session fixes everything, or that age, cost, and time make change impossible- and replace them with a step-by-step method that turns “I know what to do” into “I’m doing it every day.” You’ll hear how she tailors plans for clients from ages two to eighty-five, why many find her after a new diagnosis like prediabetes or fatty liver, and how consistent check-ins remove barriers before they become roadblocks.

We also dive into Mediterranean-style eating and why it adapts so well to local life. Laura lays out practical ways to bring more color, fiber, and satisfaction onto the plate without losing the joy of food: sheet-pan veggies, bean-forward soups, whole grains, olive oil, herbs, and smarter snacks that carry you through commutes, meetings, and social events. Her process is grounded in real routines- family meals, travel, book club brunches- and the honest adjustments that make healthy choices stick when life gets messy.

If you want evidence-based nutrition that fits your world, this conversation delivers. Listen, take one small step today, and build from there. Subscribe for more neighborhood stories with practical takeaways, share this with a friend who’s ready for change, and leave a review to tell us the habit you’ll try this week.

To learn more about Laura Zervos Food and Nutritional Services go to: 

http://www.laurazervos.com/

Laura Zervos Food and Nutritional Services

(412) 287-5679


SPEAKER_00:

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Lila Carter.

SPEAKER_02:

Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you in need of a dietitian? One might be closer than you think. Today I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, Laura Zervis, with Laura Zervis Food and Nutritional Services. Laura, how's it going? Very well, Lila. How about with you? Very well. Thanks so much. We're excited to learn all about you and your business. So please tell us more about your company.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, well, thank you. I'm excited to be here and talk about it. So again, like you said, Laura Zervis Food Nutritional Services. I'm a registered dietitian and licensed nutritionist. And I have a private practice in Bethel Park. And I also see clients remotely too. So if you're not close to me, that's always an option. But I help clients manage chronic disease through lifestyle choices. And then I would say the other half of my business is focused, and it's just the way it turns out is weight management. So I have both of those and you know, and numerous chronic diseases that we deal with, you know, for that have dietary solutions to them.

SPEAKER_02:

How did you get into this business initially, Laura?

SPEAKER_01:

Well, initially I started out in culinary school and I really enjoyed that. But as I went further into the process, I thought this is not going to be conducive to family life that I knew that I wanted. I knew I wanted, you know, a nice family life and some work-life balance. And this has really afforded me that. And I could combine, I had a nutrition class in culinary school, and I thought, well, that would be a great fit, and that would be a good career path for me. And it's really helped me be a better dietitian, to be honest with you. So that it's all worked out really well.

SPEAKER_02:

Absolutely. That's such a cool path. Yeah. So are there any myths or maybe misconceptions in your industry that you'd like to talk about?

SPEAKER_01:

Sure. I would say some myths might be that, oh, there's probably several. One that, you know, you would just meet with me one time and then you're on your way. You know, I typically work with people over a period of time because it does take more than a piece of paper or one interaction with me to make lasting change. And that depends on your situation also. Um, but the other myth is that I'm too old, it's too expensive, um, I don't have the time. I mean, we could all find ways to um incorporate small changes to make a larger change over time.

SPEAKER_02:

Right, absolutely. And whenever you're making a change in your life, you have to get past those reasons or those maybe excuses to make that change.

SPEAKER_01:

That's what's any big change in our lives, right? Yeah. There's so many people always tell me, I know what to do. I know what to do. I don't need to talk to you. I know how to eat healthy, I know how to do this. And it's maybe they they've been putting it off. So I tell people, okay, you know what to do, but I'm gonna show you how to do it and how to actually put it into place so you can get started.

SPEAKER_02:

And there's such a difference between, okay, I think I know how to eat healthy versus I know a diet that's going to nutritionally supplement everything that I need. Right off. Right. So who are your target customers then and how are you attracting them to your business?

SPEAKER_01:

Right. So as far as the people that I see, I see, you know, throughout the whole life cycle. My youngest client is two, my oldest is probably 85. But I would say that the most people, like my target audience right now, I would say people age, and that's a hard one, uh, but my the biggest percentage of my population is probably 35 through 65. And um, you know, maybe they're recently diagnosed with prediabetes or a fatty liver. Maybe they just came from their doctor and they're they're uh made aware of some of these conditions. So um I get a lot of referrals from physicians' practices. Um people find me on social media, and a lot is just by referral, you know, word of mouth. You know, maybe somebody that has had an experience with me and they've, you know, had a good experience and they want to, you know, pass that along.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. Have you ever about thought about doing your own podcast to reach your audience?

SPEAKER_01:

I have. I haven't put that in motion, but that is uh it's very intimidating, but I would love to do that. It's it sounds uh a little um scared to do that, but I would love to do it as well because I feel like you could reach a lot of people, and that's I love listening to them myself.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, well, maybe we could help you reduce some of the intimidation factor there. Okay. Outside of work, what do you do for fun?

SPEAKER_01:

Um, well, I really love spending time with my family. I I do practice what I preach. So we do eat, you know, we pretty much have a family meal if we're all home. Um, you know, I mean like people actually at living in the house. Um, so we do that. And um I also do a lot of gardening, travel, and I I really like the travel because it really provides me with a lot of inspiration, you know, seeing what other cultures are doing, um, as far as, you know, what their um, I hate to say diet, what their eating patterns are like and what their lifestyles are like. So yeah, that I like to do those kind of things.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, I know that the Mediterranean diet is supposed to be like one of the healthiest in the world. Are there any other cultures that you point to and say they're doing a really good job?

SPEAKER_01:

Um, well, I would say the Mediterranean is the one that I point to most often. And it's because we don't have to live in the Mediterranean to do it. You know, we could do it right here where we are, and um, it's easy to adopt some of those principles. Um, that's that's the main one. I'm a big proponent of that.

SPEAKER_02:

Excellent. Well, Laura, please tell our listeners one thing that they should remember about Laura Zervis food and nutritional services.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, sure. Um, it's really, and I tell this every time I meet with somebody that um, look, it's one of the easiest appointments you'll have. I'm really gonna get to know you. So I look at somebody's, you know, um, when they come to see me, we review their past medical history, any medications that they're on. And then, you know, after we get all of that stuff out of the way, then we talk about your life. What's a typical Tuesday like if you work Monday through Friday? Do you have a commute? What are we doing? How are we different if they are? And I really get to know everything about your life and those kind of things and really give you some good, you know, some good strategies to help improve your wellness. And then, you know, as we meet the next time and you know, you've put some of those things into place. I don't expect anybody to walk away and put all those things into place at one time. It's a it's a slow process. But then I always ask, you know, what barriers do you have? You know, what's keeping you from having continued progress? And we that's what we deal with because it's easy, right? While we're talking and it's simple, it's real easy, but then life happens. What do you do when you have a bridal shower on the weekend and a brunch and book club and all these you know things are, you know, or you're caring for an elderly parent or you're running children around every day after school. How do we deal with those things? Right.

SPEAKER_02:

It's such a realistic approach that you have.

SPEAKER_01:

Thank you. Thank you.

SPEAKER_02:

So, how can our listeners learn more about your business?

SPEAKER_01:

Sure. Um, my website, lauraservis.com. Um, I also use social media, you know, try to put out new recipes, new tips, you know, seasonal, whatever we're dealing with out there, um, Instagram and Facebook. You could learn more that way. Or you could just call me too. All my contact information is out there. I'd be happy to discuss if anybody wanted to come on board to be a client.

SPEAKER_02:

Excellent. Well, Laura, I really appreciate your time today and having you as a guest on our show. We wish you and your business the best moving forward. Uh, thank you.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnppittsburgh.com. That's gnppittsburgh.com or call 412 561 9956.