News Bites: American Heart Association’s National Eating Healthy Day, Newport Restaurant Week 2014, Thirst Boston Showcases Providence Bartenders

by David Dadekian

American Heart Association's National Eating Healthy Day Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2014

Current news releases—Eat Drink RI is not the source for these items—please follow any links for more information.

American Heart Association serves up fruits and veggies on National Eating Healthy Day 11/5

National Eating Healthy Day is Wednesday, Nov. 5, and the American Heart Association wants people to listen the advice of generations of mothers: Eat your vegetables (and fruit).

Americans typically consume about half their recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables. The American Heart Association recommends eating eight or more fruit and vegetable servings every day. For an average adult consuming 2,000 calories daily, that means about 4 ½ cups of fruits and vegetables a day.

“The link between diet and heart disease has been recognized for more than 50 years. The research shows three easy diet changes that reduce cardiovascular risk: Replace saturated fat (found in whole-fat dairy foods and beef and pork fat), with polyunsaturated and mono-unsaturated fat (found in nuts, safflower, corn, olive and canola oils ), increase intake of omega-3-fats (found in fatty fish), and increase intake of dark fruits and vegetables, and whole grain,” said Dr. Karen Aspry, Cardiologist and Member of the American Heart Association’s Rhode Island Board of Directors. “Evidence suggests these diet changes can improve blood lipids, blood pressure, blood glucose, and cause favorable changes in blood vessel walls that can keep us from heart attacks and strokes.”

While heart disease and stroke are leading causes of death and disability for all Americans, more than 80 percent of risk factors for heart disease and stroke are preventable through behaviors like making better food choices, getting regular exercise, keeping a healthy weight and not smoking.

In Rhode Island and Southeastern, Massachusetts, the American Heart Association is celebrating National Eating Healthy Day by inviting companies across the region to host educational “Lunch and Learn” sessions and distribute this year’s “Holiday Healthy Eating Guide” with tips on eating healthier throughout the holiday season.

Participating local companies represent more than 5,680 employees at: BankFive, Banneker, Baycoast Bank, Beacon Mutual, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, Cintas, Dassault Systemes, EA Dion, G Lopes, GTECH, Neighborhood Health Plan of RI, St Anne’s Credit Union, Raytheon and Taco Inc.

The American Heart Association is offering a free fruits and vegetable resource guide to help people incorporate more fruits and vegetables in their diet. For more information on National Eating Healthy Day, to download the free resource guide, or to find recipes and other nutrition information, visit www.heart.org/NationalEatingHealthyDay.

 


Newport Restaurant Week Returns This November

More than 50 restaurants throughout Newport and Bristol Counties to participate.

Newport Restaurant Week November 7-16, 2014

Newport Restaurant Week November 7-16, 2014

Gourmands and casual diners unite this November 7-16, 2014 during the 16th celebration of Newport Restaurant Week to savor three-course prix-fixe lunches for $16 and three-course prix-fixe dinners for $35.

The popular, bi-annual tradition throughout Newport and Bristol Counties inevitably invigorates the palates of frequent restaurant goers and occasional diners alike with dishes catering to the season’s harvest. This fall, more than 50 restaurants round out the robust roster including first-time participants Sardella’s Italian Restaurant and Caleb & Broad, both located in Newport; Portsmouth Publick House in Portsmouth and the newly opened Christian’s Wood Fired Grill in Bristol.

“Newport Restaurant Week falls during our second week of service, which is a perfect opportunity for the community to experience our menu,” says Christian Ferreira of Christian’s Wood Fired Grill. “Our wood fired grill is the focal point of the menu and sets us apart from the wide variety of exquisite cuisine in area.”

To get to know some local restaurants, chefs and food purveyors better, Discover Newport has introduced four new “Restaurant Stories” videos on DiscoverNewportRestaurantWeek.org. The culinary clips highlight the techniques, sources and tools our local talent counts on to craft the dishes that grace their Restaurant Week menus.

This year, Newport Restaurant Week culminates with newly revamped Taste of Newport benefiting Child & Family, the largest and most comprehensive social service provider in Newport. Marking its 30th anniversary, the event on Nov. 16 will offer guests two mouthwatering and diverse experiences: The Taste Experience, an extended cocktail party with tasting stations presented by some of the most talented chefs, restaurants, caterers, bakeries and confectionaries from across Newport County; and The Dine Experience, an elegant seated dining adventure with eight of the area’s acclaimed chefs pairing to produce a four-course meal paired with meticulously chosen wines from around the world.

Visit DiscoverNewportRestaurantWeek.org for updated participating restaurants and menus, and DiscoverNewport.org for more information about lodging packages. Visit our social networks for up-to-the-minute conversation about the event. We encourage users to include #NPTRW for Newport Restaurant Week-related posts, images and Tweets to engage with other diners, restaurateurs and chefs.

 


Thirst Boston Showcases Providence Bartenders

Ed. note: Saturday’s State Lines Pop-Up will feature bartenders from Providence’s Cook & Brown Public House, Aurora, The Eddy and The Grange. Sunday’s New England Craft Showcase will feature Rhode Island’s own Sons of Liberty Spirits Co.

Brandy Rand, co-founder of Thirst Boston, “State Lines is a Portland/Providence popup that features who we thought were four of the top cocktail bars in each city. We’ve asked them to recreate what they do in a little day bar for us, essentially a popup of their own bar, and they’ll be making the kind of cocktails that show what they do in their respective cities, but with one specific portoflio ingredient.”

Andrew Deitz, co-founder of Thirst Boston, “The New England Craft Showcase was designed to bring together the best craft distillers in New England – we have participants from CT, RI, VT, ME, MA. New England is revered as one of the top regions for craft distilling and brewing. Everyone across the country knows that the brands that come out of this area are exemplary.”

After a wildly successful, sold-out inaugural cocktail festival last year, Thirst Boston returns once again on November 7th-10th. Hosted by industry professionals and founders Brandy Rand, Andrew Deitz, and Maureen Hautaniemi, Thirst Boston will serve up three major parties, 24 seminars, and tastings over the course of four days where guests can join some of the biggest names in mixology from across the country, experience a variety of educational and fun forums, and celebrate cocktails during one all-out weekend extravaganza.

Select stand-out events include but are not limited to:

The Thing: Kick off Thirst Boston at the now-legendary 3rd annual “The Thing” gala. Held opening night, Friday, November 7th, at The Fairmont Copley Plaza, this black tie optional party will celebrate all things grande old Boston and feature incredible craft cocktails from some of the city’s best bartenders.

Portland-Providence Pop-Up: On Saturday, November 8th, bartenders from eight leading cocktail bars will be shaking up their best concoctions, showcasing what they’ve got up their sleeves back in their home cities of Providence, RI and Portland, ME. Held at The Fairmont Copley Plaza, guests will have the opportunity to meet and interact with great talent from nearby cities.

Roadhouse: This year, Thirst Boston introduces a brand new shindig for Saturday, November 8th. A raucous throwdown of Southern-style cocktails and cut-offs, BBQ and rockabilly, and more, this is sure to become a fan favorite.

New England Craft Showcase: On Sunday, November 9th, join the region’s top distillers and brewers for a three-hour tasting event at The Fairmont Copley Plaza. With 12 confirmed brands and more to come, guests can experience what’s being made right around the corner from their own backyards.

Blender Bender: The grand finale to this year’s Thirst Boston, the 2nd annual 1980s tiki party will take place at Chau Chow City in Chinatown on Sunday, November 9th. Twelve of the city’s top bartenders will battle it out for best blended beverage as voted on by guests.

Bartender Brunch: Join friends and industry professionals for one last hurrah. On Monday, November 10th, The Hawthorne will host a sendoff brunch for Thirst Boston’s participants and attendees alike.

This year, The Fairmont Copley Plaza will host a majority of Thirst Boston events and offer accommodations at a special attendee rate.

Additional information on seminars, special guests & appearances, and more will be available in the next month.

For more information about Thirst Boston, please visit http://www.thirstboston.com/, follow @ThirstBoston on Twitter, and become a Facebook fan https://www.facebook.com/ThirstBoston.

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