Orient native Katie Peters, fitness trainer and founder of Underground Training in Southold, knows a thing or two about healthy living on the North Fork. Her faves include winter beach walks, massage and acupuncture treatments, organic smoothies and artisanal sourdough bread.
“The North Fork is where I grew up, where I met my husband and where I feel that I’m truly home,” says Peters, who grew up in Orient and went away to college thinking she’d never come back. Fast forward to present day, and she’s married to her high school sweetheart, Jason, and lives within walking distance to her busy fitness studio.
“While I planned to be a teacher, I was doing personal training on the side and developed a client following. One thing led to another and I ended up opening Underground Training in 2017.” (Peters used to teach classes in her basement, which is where the name comes from.) Classes include low impact body sculpting, circuit training, and total body resistance core workouts. “We teach various group classes for all ages and fitness abilities and I keep the classes small — 14 people max — so I can focus on my clients.”
That personal connection is what it’s all about for Peters. “I feel so lucky and humbled to do this job that I love. The North Fork is different from any other place—there’s water all around, beautiful seasons, glorious summers and a sense of real community. Everywhere I go, I know people and they know me, and there’s something so special and warm about that,” she says.
THESE ARE HER FAVORITE NORTH FORK THINGS AS TOLD TO GINA WAY:
FAVORITE BREAKFAST ON THE GO
I leave the house by 5 a.m. to go to work, train clients, and then I grab breakfast around 8:30. I stop by The Giving Room (56215 Main Road, Southold) almost every day because I’m a fiend for their almond milk smoothie with extra spinach. It’s a great yoga studio, and they sell fresh-pressed juices and organic prepared foods at their market. The owner Paula DiDonato and the entire staff are so welcoming. It’s like a warm ‘hello’ every time you walk in there.
FAVORITE QUICK COFFEE FIX
My go-to order at North Fork Roasting Co. (55795 Main Road, Southold) is the Bee Sting, a latte with steamed almond milk and honey. NOFOROCO is fantastic and has such a hometown feeling. Everybody there not only knows my name, but also the names of my dogs!
FAVORITE HEALTHY MEALS
I order the prepared meals from That’s What She Fed almost every week. The owner, chef Jess Kelleher, cooks super healthy, all organic food with local ingredients — everything from salads and soups to entrees and side dishes. I’m obsessed with her curry chicken salad, and she makes dairy- and gluten-free pumpkin chocolate-chip cookies that are out of this world.
FAVORITE HOME-BAKED BREAD
Baker Aiyana Edmund makes the most incredible cranberry-pecan sourdough bread you’ll ever eat. You can order online and pick up a loaf at her tiny 1610 Bakehouse (1610 Middle Road, Calverton). She makes delicious sourdough pizza dough and focaccia too.
FAVORITE NOFO STORE
I love the Sea Bags shop (29 Front St.) in Greenport. Anytime you see me, I’m carrying one of their bags made out of recycled sails. I use them as totes, beach bags, gym bags and shopping bags. They’re really durable and machine washable, which is good since I’m constantly spilling coffee on it.
FAVORITE AFTERNOON HANGOUT
Little Creek Oyster Farm & Market (37 Front St., Greenport) is casual, easy, fun and always has a really good vibe. In the warmer months, we bring the dog and can hang out here for hours. We always get the delicious local oysters from Oysterponds Shellfish Co. in Orient and we’ll order the incredible ceviche when they have it on the menu.
FAVORITE WEEKEND LUNCH
We don’t do ‘date nights’ because we’re such early risers, but we’re big on a special weekend lunch. Our go-to spot is First and South (100 South St., Greenport). I always have to get the kale salad and the hand-cut French fries. If they have lamb chops on the menu, we’ll order them, and the burger is huge and delicious.
FAVORITE SUNSET VIEW
There must be something special about the temperature, the clouds, or the water in the North Fork, because you get such amazing sunsets here year round. In the spring and summer, we’ll often meet up with friends at Truman’s Beach (22040-22098 Main Road, East Marion) and watch the sun go down over the Long Island Sound, and that view is just as gorgeous in the wintertime.
FAVORITE WELLNESS TREATMENT
I get a monthly massage and acupuncture treatment from Rachel Reich at Five Branches Acupuncture Studio (32845 Main Road, Cutchogue). It’s a good way to check in with my body each month. Rachel does acupuncture for the first 30 minutes and massage therapy for the last half hour, and really tailors the treatment for you and how you’re feeling.
FAVORITE HIKING TRAIL
Going to Goldsmith Inlet Park, (Mill Road, Peconic) is like entering Narnia. There’s an entrance on Soundview Avenue, then a little wooded path, and then you cross a small wooden bridge and look out on this huge pond that’s fed by the Sound. You can hike along a wooded trail to get to the Sound on the other side. Kids go tubing on this inlet in the summer. It’s a magical place.
FAVORITE WINTER BEACH WALK
We load the dogs in the car and head down to Kenney’s Beach in Southold and walk from there to McCabe’s Beach and back. It’s a long stretch of shoreline on the Sound — about four miles round trip — and lovely on a brisk, chilly day.
