WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. — The great American banana split can be decadently delicious without all the fat and calories.
That’s the word from the world’s largest banana provider as the country approaches National Banana Split Day on Saturday, August 25. In honor of the holiday, DOLE® Bananas (http://www.dole.com/bananas) seeks to peel back the 1,000-plus calories of the traditional banana-based dessert and encourage the creation and sampling of far healthier alternatives less than 350 calories.
Created by a 23-year-old Latrobe, Pa., pharmacist in 1904, the banana split is one of America’s favorite desserts. At an average of 1,000 calories, it’s also one of the country’s biggest nutrition offenders. Planting its flag on the Aug. 25 holiday to offer banana and dessert fans healthier alternatives, Dole is hosting a nationwide Social Media Party to highlight creative banana split recipes that will be used in a “Dole No-guilt National Banana Split Day Album” on the DOLE Bananas Facebook page.
On Friday, Aug. 24, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. EDT (12 p.m. to 1 p.m. PDT), foodies and banana fans nationwide are encouraged to Facebook post (www.facebook/DOLEBananas) and Tweet @DOLEBananas using the hashtag #BananaSplit with creative blog posts, recipes, photos and ideas for the perfect “No-guilt Split.”
Dole is also partnering with Sarah Gim of the noted “food porn” site Tastespotting (http://www.tastespotting.com) to rally the food-blogging community around the “No-guilt Split” idea. Tastespotting, regarded as one of the top foodie websites by a multitude of food bloggers, will be posting banana-split photos only on Aug. 24, from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. EDT (12 p.m. to 5 p.m. PDT). To be eligible for submission to Tastespotting, all recipes must include at least one DOLE® Banana and total no more than 350 calories.
For inspiration, Dole has created its own low-calorie banana dessert indulgence, the Dole Red, White and Blue Banana Split, which calls for fresh fruit and sorbet in place of high-fat ice cream and syrup. DOLE Bananas will Tweet out the recipe for the surprisingly decadent dessert, which comes in at just 270 calories, Friday to kick off the National Banana Split Day Social Media Party.
National Banana Split Day Social Media Party
• Friday, August 24, 2012
• 3 p.m.-4 p.m. EDT (12 p.m.-1 p.m. PDT)
• Hashtag: #BananaSplit
• @DOLEBananas
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/DOLEBananas.
About DOLE Bananas
DOLE is the top-selling banana in America and the world – in both conventional and organic product categories. From its founding by James Drummond Dole, the company has built its reputation on a ceaseless commitment to quality. Today, the DOLE brand stands for more than 150 years of quality produce — and the world’s largest supplier of fresh fruits and vegetables, including bananas. Dole strives to grow, produce, harvest, transport and distribute its bananas and other produce in the most environmentally and socially conscious way possible. For more information, go to www.dole.com/bananas.
About Dole Food Company, Inc.
Dole, with 2011 net revenues of $7.2 billion, is the world’s largest producer and marketer of high-quality fresh fruit and fresh vegetables, and is the leading producer of organic bananas. Dole markets a growing line of packaged and frozen fruit and is a produce industry leader in nutrition education and research.
Source: Dole Food Company, Inc.