IMMOKALEE – The EE-TO-LEET-KE Grill in Seminole Casino Hotel Immokalee has become the first Blue Zones Project ApprovedTM restaurant in a casino east of the Mississippi. To honor this event, The Grill has launched a new Blue Zones Inspired Menu to enhance the customer experience by offering new healthy, plant-based and whole grain menu options.

Seminole Casino Hotel held a VIP ribbon cutting ceremony Dec. 10 to celebrate the new Blue Zones® designation and new menu. Samples of the new “plant slant” dishes were served to attendees.

“We are very honored to work with the Blue Zones Project® to achieve our Blue Zones approved status. We are always looking for ways to enrich and energize our food and beverage offerings,” said Tariff Albakry, Seminole Casino Hotel Food and Beverage Director. “The Blue Zones concept is exciting and allows us to provide our guests with healthy and delicious dishes that achieve the goal of introducing more plant-based meals into our daily lives.”

Blue Zones inspired menu items include: breakfast dishes such as Old-Fashioned Oatmeal with a choice of two toppings -- honey, banana, strawberry or carrots, or Egg White Omelet with spinach, peppers, and portabella mushrooms; “Plant Slant” meals such as White Bean Hummus, Tex-Mex Bowl with quinoa, charred corn, cabbage, black beans, kale, salsa and avocado, or Portabella Mushroom Stacker with onions, peppers, arugula, balsamic glaze and quinoa; and 100 Calorie Nice Bites (desserts) such as Sweet Potato Parfait, Berry Fields, Melon Medley or Fruit Cup.

The new Blue Zones dishes feature farm fresh ingredients from Immokalee growers. Seminole Casino Hotel also has added an herb garden on property, growing rose thyme, basil, Cuban peppers, and mint to be used for the Blue Zones menu.

The Blue Zones were identified by National Geographic as five places across the globe where people were much healthier and lived longer lives than anywhere else. The researchers identified nine common characteristics in Blue Zones – called the Power 9 – that could add up to 12 years to a person’s life regardless of where they live. One of the Power 9 guidelines advises adding more fruits and vegetables to one’s diet.

The Blue Zones Project – Southwest Florida uses lessons learned from the Blue Zones to raise well-being in the community, encouraging individuals, neighborhoods, schools, worksites, grocery stores, faith-based organizations, and restaurants to participate. The EE-TO-LEET-KE Grill supports this community wide wellness initiative by making healthy choices easier with a range of “plant slant” whole grain options from the new Blue Zones inspired menu.