Personalize Your Plate

Strategies to use staple produce items in different ways

Healthy eating is not one size fits all.  In fact, customizing meals for cultural and personal preferences is the key to making meals enjoyable and delicious while keeping health in mind.  This year National Nutrition Month’s focus is personalizing your plate.  We checked in with Melanie Marcus Dole’s Registered Dietitian to see how she personalizes nutrition for her family.

“In my house, personalizing meals is a thing.  I’m usually consistent with the types of produce I keep in the fridge, but I have to keep in mind that not everyone likes to eat them the same way!  My favorites are bananas, sweet potatoes, and spinach.  I love to eat spinach in ALL THE WAYS - salad, sautéed, mixed it into eggs or even a smoothie but my husband does not love it cooked, so I have to consider how he can get the nutrition benefits in a way he will enjoy.

Here are a few tips for how you can prepare spinach in a variety of ways with just a couple of additional ingredients.

• Sautéed Spinach – DOLE^® Baby Spinach + olive oil + crushed red pepper flakes
• Heat 2 tsp oil and crushed red pepper in pan; add spinach and sauté until wilted.
• Creamed Spinach Polenta – DOLE^® Baby Spinach, polenta, low sodium chicken stock, vegan cream cheese
• Cook polenta and stock as label directs; stir in cream cheese and chopped spinach.
• Florentine Omelet – DOLE^® Baby Spinach, large eggs and/or egg whites, low fat feta cheese
• Sauté spinach in pan until wilted; pour in eggs and egg whites. Cook until nearly set; sprinkle with feta, fold in half and transfer to plate.
• Spinach Flatbread – whole wheat flatbread, DOLE^® Baby Spinach, low fat Mozzarella cheese, roasted tomatoes
• Sauté spinach to wilt; top flatbread with cheese, spinach and tomatoes, broil until cheese is melted.

• Spinach-Pistachio Pesto - DOLE^® Baby Spinach, pistachios, olive oil, garlic, fresh lemon juice
• Chop garlic in food processor, add spinach, pistachios and lemon juice and process until chopped. Slowly drizzle in oil and process until finely chopped. Serve on top of pasta, crostini or chicken.

“I love being able to have a few simple combinations, like these, in my back pocket for each of my staple produce items. It makes my life easy when preparing meals and it ensures everyone is eating getting valuable nutrients from veggies before they’re past their prime! And you can have a similar set of quick fixes for most staple produce ingredients.”

Published March 1, 2021