Tag: food drink

Bubbly Hall food/retail space opening in New Albany Ohio

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NEW ALBANY, Ohio (WCMH) — A new food and retail hall is opening in New Albany this month with several local food vendors, a liquor bar, a boutique and an event space.

Spanning 15,000 square feet, Bubbly Hall is opening by the new year within New Albany’s International Business Park at 6031 Central College Road. General manager Barbara Passeno said the vibrant space aims to attract locals for more than a quick trip.

“The idea behind Bubbly Hall is to bring a healthy, joyful, vibrant lifestyle to the community,” said Passeno. “We want a place where customers can come and enjoy themselves.”

A rendering of the upcoming Bubbly Hall in New Albany. (Courtesy Photo/Granaz Group)

A 6,800 square-foot dining space will be home to eight food vendors: Fay’s Crepes, Somali cuisine from Hoyo’s Kitchen, Just Chicken, The Pit Barbecue Grille, Lebanese cuisine from Mr. Hummus, Seoul Food On The Go, Kiku Sushi Bar and The Cheesecake Girl. Guests can also visit the liquor and wine bar for chocolate pairings from Mello Chocolate and unique drinks featuring hot sauce from Sauce Boss Gang.

In addition, the structure houses a 2,300-square-foot event space for catered meetings and celebrations, which opens to the property’s 7,000-square-foot outdoor green space.

Bubbly Hall has partnered with several home-based businesses to stock a boutique with a range of products, including body butters, wax-candle melts, jewelry, hand-crocheted shawls, men’s beard oil and gift baskets. Sunbear Studios, an art gallery in Westerville, will be installing local artist creations available for purchase. Passeno said the inventory in the space will rotate regularly.

  • A rendering of the dining space inside Bubbly Hall. (Courtesy Photo/Granaz Group)
  • A rendering of Hoyo’s Kitchen in Bubbly Hall. (Courtesy Photo/Granaz Group)
  • A rendering of the market booths in Bubbly Hall. (Courtesy Photo/Granaz Group)

Community members can rent out the hall’s market booths for varying times to sell their home-based products, such as jams, cookies, honey and more. A community corner will be a designated space from groups like the local girl scout troop to sell cookies at no charge.

Passeno said the community corners, boutiques and market booths are designed to aid local businesses and provide an opportunity for entrepreneurs who don’t have the means to distribute their product on a larger scale.

“Bubbly Hall will offer local entrepreneurs a place to be a brick-and-mortar store with small upfront and operational costs,” said Passeno.

An opening date is yet to be determined, said Passeno. Once open, the food and retail hall will be operating the following hours:

  • Monday: Vendors open from 3 to 10 pm, with the bar closing at 11 pm
  • Tuesday through Thursday: Vendors open from 11 am to 10 pm, with the bar closing at 11 pm
  • Friday and Saturday: Fay’s Crepes open at 9 am, other vendors open from 11 am to 10 pm with the bar closing at 11 pm
  • Sunday: Fay’s Crepes open at 9 am, other vendors open from 11 am to 7 pm

Follow updates from Bubbly Hall on its upcoming opening date here.

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Drinking Tea Really Does Boost Your Heart Health, New Study Confirms

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Whether you’re squeezing in an early-morning workout or swapping out fries for a salad, making heart-healthy choices can often feel like a sacrifice. The good news? According to a new study, there’s one cardio-friendly choice you can make that only enhances your daily routine.

Researchers found that drinking black or green tea every day helps reduce a key cardiovascular risk factor that’s associated with heart attacks and strokes. Read on to learn more about why these types of tea boast major cardiovascular benefits, and which other foods may also help improve your heart health.

READ THIS NEXT: Doing This When You Walk Slashes Your Risk of Heart Attack, Cancer, and Dementia, New Study Says.

Foods that contain flavonoids promote heart health.

Flavonoids are compounds found abundantly in plants that are rich in antioxidants. Research has shown that flavonoids are useful to the body in helping to fight inflammation and oxidative stress, and may help protect against certain chronic diseases such as Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and certain types of cancer.

A Nov. 2022 study by a team at Edith Cowan University (ECU) has confirmed another key benefit to add to that list: it concluded that flavonoids are beneficial when it comes to heart health. The team behind the study gathered 881 elderly women with a median age of 80 to assess the benefits of regular consumption of flavonoids, and found that those who regularly consumed certain foods with flavonoids were less likely to experience an accumulation of abdominal aortic calcification (AAC)— an important risk factor for heart attack and stroke.

READ THIS NEXT: Doing This at Night Slashes Your Risk of Heart Disease and Stroke by 75 Percent, New Study Says.

Green and black teas offer a high dose of flavonoids.

The study explained that drinking one particular flavonoid-rich beverage every day helps promote heart health. The team found that regularly consuming green or black tea successfully helped lower the subjects’ risk of AAC, and that black tea was the group’s main source of food-based flavonoids.

When the researchers compared those who drank two to six cups of tea daily to those who had none, the tea drinkers experienced a 16 to 42 percent reduction of extensive AAC. However, even though the heart health benefits grow with the amount they consume, it’s important to note that green and black tea is most often caffeinated, and can come with its own set of side effects when consumed in excess.

You can load up on flavonoids by eating these other foods, too.

If tea isn’t part of your preferred daily diet—or if you’re looking for a caffeine-free way to enjoy the benefits of flavonoids—experts say several other foods are rich in the heart healthy compound.

“Good sources of flavonoids include berries, red and purple grapes, cocoa and dark chocolate, green and black tea, cinnamon, kale, parsley, and soybeans,” Lindsay DelkRD, RDN, the Food and Mood Dietician, tells Best Life. “In order to reap the rewards of flavonoids, try to consume at least five servings of fruits and vegetables per day, along with drinking one or two cups of tea daily,” she advises.

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Certain flavonoid sources are less beneficial, experts say.

The study also looked at other food sources of flavonoids, and found that they are not all created equally when it comes to heart health benefits. Fruit juice, red wine, and chocolate—often touted as being flavonoid-dense—did not appear to lower one’s risk of abdominal aortic calcification, according to the ECU study.

Delk also cautions against making supplements your primary source of flavonoids, explaining that you should always aim to “meet your nutritional needs from food whenever possible. When you focus on getting your nutrients from food instead of supplements, you are able to obtain the necessary nutrients in the right amounts but enjoy a wide variety of health benefits that come from eating a balanced and varied diet,” she tells Best Life. “Some research has suggested that flavonoid supplements might also be beneficial, but there is not enough evidence yet to make any firm conclusions.”

Speak with your doctor or nutritionist to learn more about how to boost your heart health through your daily diet.

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Plant-based foods are still hot: Report

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TOP TAKEAWAYS

• 95% of consumers surveyed said spending on plant-based foods increased or stayed the same in past year

• 54% of those who are increasing their plant-based spend do so for health reasons

• Plant-based yogurt and cheese have played an increasingly important role in driving category spending

Interest in plant-based foods continues to gain momentum, primarily driven by concerns around health, according to research from Kroger’s 84.51° research arm and the Plant Based Foods Institute.

The research included a sales data review, dubbed the Plant-Based Foods Migration Analysis, and a consumer survey.

The sales data analysis found that consumers who shop for plant-based foods are reducing their purchases of animal-based foods, indicating that these consumers are substituting plant-based products for animal-based foods.

Among all households studied, spending on plant-based foods soared 24.1% in 2020 amid the stock-up shopping and overall increased retail spending during the pandemic, and then grew another 1.5% on top of that in 2021.

“In 2021, plant-based momentum grew with a steady flow of new households,” the report concluded.

In addition, 95% of plant-based consumers surveyed said they increased or maintained their spending on plant-based foods in the past year, compared to the previous year.

While plant-based milk alternatives have been a leading category driving plant-based sales gains, the report also highlighted the growing interest in plant-based yogurt and cheese. Plant-based yogurt saw the largest sales increase of the plant-based categories, with sales up 13.5%. More than a third of those sales—37%—came from households who were new to the plant-based category.

“These numbers suggest there were successful new items and/or innovations in this space that brought new households in and notably, increased sales,” the report said.

Meanwhile, shoppers who increased their spending on plant-based cheese spent the most on plant-based foods in total. This suggests that these households are the most loyal and engaged of all the target groups, according to 84.51° analysts.

The research divided shoppers into five categories based on their purchase patterns in plant-based foods during the past two years: those who were new to the category, those who were increasing spending, those whose spending remained flat, those who decreased spending, and those who left the category.

Households that increased spending on plant-based foods in 2021 decreased spending on animal-based foods by the highest amount, down an average of $31 for the year. However, even those households whose spending on plant-based foods remained flat, decreased their spending on animal-based foods. In addition, those households who decreased spending on plant-plant-foods decreased their spending on animal-based foods by a greater amount.

Among those shoppers who are increasing their spending on plant-based foods, 43% said they are choosing plant-based milk instead of animal-based milk, more than 20% are choosing refrigerated plant-based meat and frozen meals instead of animal-based versions, and 17% are choosing plant-based yogurt and cheese instead of animal-based products in those categories.

More than half of these shoppers—54%—said they are reducing consumption of animal-based foods because of health concerns, and 49% said they believe plant-based foods are healthier.

Other reasons for decreasing consumption of animal-based foods in favor of plant-based alternatives include:

• 39% said they liked the taste/flavor of plant-based alternatives

• 38% said they could eat more plant-based foods because of the increased variety of products now available

• 33% said they are concerned about risks associated with animal-based foods such as the presence of antibiotics, hormones, or food-borne illnesses

• 26% said they are concerned about animal welfare

• 23% said they were concerned about the high costs of animal-based foods

• 23% said they believe plant-based foods are better for the environment

• 17% said they prefer to eat single ingredients such as beans and rice for protein consumption

Among shoppers who have decreased their consumption of plant-based foods, 64% said lower pricing and/or more frequent sales and coupons would increase their likelihood of buying plant-based foods, and 58% said better taste and/or texture would make them more likely to shop this category.

For those who have increased their spending, 61% said price promotions would make shopping for these products easier, and 29% said recipes would be helpful.

The research evaluated purchases by nearly 8 million households over two years. The companies said the research will serve as a benchmark analysis that will be conducted each year to understand the shifts between consumption of plant-based and animal-based foods.

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