Dole has new recipes for Mickey’s B-Day

Dole Food Co. is releasing more Disney-themed recipes in celebration of Mickey Mouse’s 90th birthday on Nov. 18.

The recipes are latest in Dole’s year-long “Powering the Hero Within” initiative, culminating in a four-month celebration of Mickey Mouse’s milestone. The promotion combines recipes and how-to recipe videos recognizing different eras of the iconic mouse’s history. Mickey Mouse’s image is also appearing on tens of millions of Dole bananas, pineapples, bagged salads and vegetables in the U.S. and Canada, according to a news release.

The promotion kicked off Oct. 15 with six classic Mickey Mouse recipes (representing the 1920s-1940s Mickey).

“Powering the Hero Within” continues through January, and includes digital, social, food blogger and other activities designed “to help parents and other everyday heroes motivate their families toward healthier eating,” according to the release.

Dole and Disney first partnered in 1976 when Dole sponsored Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room at the Disneyland Resort and at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World, according to the release.

“Dole and Disney share a commitment to helping families create healthier, happier lives – and no one embodies this optimistic spirit better than Mickey Mouse,” Bil Goldfield, Dole’s director of corporate communications, said in the release. “He is truly an icon and our (registered dietitians) and recipe developers spent many months using his originality as inspiration to update some of the classic dishes popular during Mickey Mouse’s first 90 years – and the result is the broadest installment of recipes that Dole has ever created for a single program.”

The Disney-themed recipes are available at http://www.dole.com/ and on Dole’s Pinterest page.