Dole Celebrates Winners of Get Up and Grow! Together Healthy Living Challenge

Two winners of a national healthy-living contest—along with their closest family, friends and co-workers—recently celebrated with chef-led parties showcasing the culinary possibility of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Hands-on nutrition and culinary instruction based entirely on fresh fruits and vegetables was the prize for a winner Jayne Macedo of Kearny, N.J. Macedo treated seven of her friends to a Sept. 24 customized cooking class and dinner as the First Prize winner of Round 1 of the 2016 Healthy Living Challenge, part of the year-long Get Up and Growl Together initiative and nationwide tour sponsored by Dole and the Dole Nutrition Institute (DNI) to encourage healthy eating and living. 

By winning the Get Up and Grow! Together individual sweepstakes, Macedo received a special evening hosted by Mark Allison, Dole’s director of culinary nutrition. Allison traveled to Macedo’s home to lead a night of hands-on instruction, followed by a dinner of Get Up and Grow! Together and other recipes developed by Dole to showcase the culinary possibilities of fresh fruits and vegetables. 

“Part of my role at Dole is to translate the research being conducted at DNI into amazing culinary experiences that you wouldn’t expect with fruits and vegetables,” says Allison. “I loved working with Jayne and her friends and family to show them just how delicious, easy and entirely satisfying a plant-based diet can be.”

The evening’s featured recipes—Strawberry Toast, Tropi-Grill Salad and Angel Food Cake with Strawberry Glaze—were jointly selected by Macedo and Allison from Dole’s extensive fruit and vegetable recipe libraries. 

“I wanted to combine several easy-to-make Get Up and Grow! recipes with an indulgent fruit-based dessert that would top-off the party in style,” says Macedo. “I also love strawberries, so Chef Mark was able to create the perfect menu for a memorable evening.” 

A one-of-a-kind, at-work culinary experience based entirely on fresh fruits and vegetables was the prize for Julie Lincoln, the Cincinnati winner. Lincoln treated 25 of her co-workers at Brandcraft Strategy, located in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati, to a Sept. 30 healthy office party as the Grand Prize winner of Round 1 of the 2016 Healthy Living Challenge.

By winning the Get Up and Grow! Together team competition, Lincoln received a special employee luncheon hosted by Amy Tobin of Q102 radio’s "Amy’s Table: A Guide to Living" and Allison. Tobin and Allison traveled to Brandcraft Strategy to lead a lunch celebration featuring special recipes developed by Tobin to showcase the culinary possibilities of fresh fruits and vegetables. 

“Part of my role as a nutrition coach and radio host is to introduce the public to the type of culinary experiences that you wouldn’t think are possible with fruits and vegetables alone,” says Tobin. “We loved working with Julie and her colleagues to show them just how healthy, delicious and memorable an office lunch can be.”

Kicking-off with Southwest Gazpacho Shooters and Chipotle and Cheddar Lentil Tacos, Tobin and Allison’s customized menu featured Cinnamon-spice Café Banana Frappes with Brownie Bite Power Balls featuring nuts and cacao, followed by Pickled Berry and Pineapple Yogurt Parfaits with Multigrain Granola Crunch. Guests were also treated to homemade Berry and Herb Infused Waters. 

 “I loved working with Amy to showcase fruits and veggies in creative new ways—even offering guests healthy new interpretations of chocolate brownies and coconut ice cream that rival the originals,” says Lincoln, founder of Brandcraft Strategy, a creative consultancy and makers of the Vegy Vida line of veggie dips and toppers for kids. “Get Up and Grow! is a natural fit for Brandcraft and together we presented an office lunch that was healthy, easy and delicious at the same time.”

Get Up and Grow! Together is a joint effort between Dole Fresh Fruit of Westlake Village, Calif., Dole Fresh Vegetables of Monterey, Calif., and the Kannapolis, N.C.-based Dole Nutrition Institute (DNI), which includes Dole’s newly formed Culinary Nutrition department that blends scientific findings associated with fresh produce with culinary arts to motivate consumers to cook healthy meals with fruits and vegetables.