CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In honor of the 10th anniversary of “National Eat More Fruits and Vegetables Day,” an annual holiday created by Dole Food Company and others to encourage Americans to adopt a more produce-rich diet, the produce leader is making what sounds like an unusual suggestion.
According to William Goldfield, Dole’s director of corporate communications, Dole wants to change the name of the holiday to “Eat More Bananas Day” for 2024 only – and is releasing five new, 15-minute dessert recipes to allow banana lovers to enjoy the world’s most popular produce on Memorial Day and all summer long.
“Dole is going bananas throughout 2024 to celebrate our 125th year in the banana business – so we want to remind Americans that the iconic yellow fruit is more than delicious, nutritious, and recipe-friendly enough to shoulder the all-produce holiday all on its own,” said Goldfield. “We also commissioned a National Banana Day Survey that found that bananas rank ahead of all other fruits and vegetables as a must-have grocery staple and impulse purchase.”
“So at the end of the day, there are many ripe reasons behind this year’s friendly name-change suggestion,” he added.
Dole’s five new banana dishes introduced today were created by Melanie Marcus, MA, RD, Dole nutrition, wellness and communications manager, as part of the 125th Banana-Versary. Four of the five are vegetarian and two are also vegan, gluten-free and low-sodium
- Banana-Candy Bar Pops (Gluten-Free): This healthier take on the retro treat features pitted dates, sugar-free peanut butter, vegan dark chocolate chips and roasted unsalted peanuts covering ripe DOLE® Bananas on a stick.
- Banana Hummingbird Muffins (Vegetarian): DOLE® Bananas and Pineapple come together in this quick and easy muffin recipe that can be customized with raisins or crystallized ginger.
- No-Bake 3-Ingredient Chocolate-Banana Cake (Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten-Free and Low-Sodium): DOLE® Bananas, vegan dark chocolate chips and all-natural peanut butter come together in the easy 15-minute summer dessert.
- Grilled Banana Bites with Cashew-Maple Dip (Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten-Free and Low-Sodium): DOLE® Banana slices on bamboo skewers are brushed with grapeseed oil and placed on the grill, then dipped in a smooth maple syrup, cashew butter, soy yogurt mixture for bite-sized summer fun.
- Bananas Foster Trifles with Date Caramel (Vegetarian): The iconic dessert from Brennan’s in New Orleans is the inspiration for these elegant-but-simple treats made with DOLE® Bananas, dates, angel food cake, almond milk, almonds and rum extract.
Dole worked with the cities of Los Angeles and Monterey, Calif., and Charlotte, N.C., in 2015 to designate the Thursday before Memorial Day as “National Eat More Fruits and Vegetables Day” and has been using the holiday to introduce healthy new recipes ever since.
The Dole 125th Banana-Versary continues throughout 2024 with contests, charity engagements, city proclamations, social media activations, Bobby Banana appearances, recipes, employee events and free digital downloads and giveaways across the county.
Shoppers can also find collectible Dole 125th Banana-Versary stickers, spotlighting the people, the journey, the flavors, the earth and the heritage of Dole, on millions of DOLE® Bananas across the U.S. and Canada. The company is working with retailers throughout North America to bring the celebration to shoppers through dedicated displays, point-of-purchase materials and other in-store activations to build more engagement with the banana category.
For continually updated information, go to Dole 125th Banana-Versary landing page (www.dole.com/en/125). Use hashtags #DoleBananaVersary, #DoleBananas125, #BananasForTheFuture, #BananaVersary and #Fresh4Future to join in on the conversation.
For hundreds of additional recipes made with DOLE® Bananas, go here,
About Dole plc
Dole plc, is one of the world’s largest producers and marketers of high-quality fresh fruit and fresh vegetables. Dole is an industry leader in many of the products it sells, as well as in nutrition education. For more information, please visit www.dole.com
