Ode to Bananas

(So, Blogger apparently hates the bHappy project because when I tried to post yesterday, I kept getting an error about a "technical glitch" and they were sorry for any inconvenience. Pfft...you weren't sorry Blogger! Anyway, this is yesterday's (Friday's) post. I will update again later today for a proper Saturday post.)

I used to hate bananas. Actually, hate is too kind of word. Loathe would be more appropriate. My mom hates when we talk about the role bananas played in our childhood, because as we tell, she would climb on top of the dinner table and physically shove them down our throats. Which totally happened...ok, I'm kidding...sort of. I did grow up with bananas pretty much every night for dinner. My mom thinks they are "the Jesus of fruits," as my sisters and I put it, and we were each given one with dinner. A lot of times, these were not the bright, golden bananas of Dole commercials, but brown-spotted almost-ready-for-banana-bread ones. I understand that when you're raising three kids, throwing out ripened bananas probably is not very cost-affective. They're 69 cents/lb. though today. I'm sure they were even cheaper back in the 90's.

"Just cut out the bruises," she'd say as we sat there staring at our bruised banana, while dad gulped down his as well. When I was in high school, I finally had enough gumption to tell her that I would officially not be accepting bananas as my required side of fruit for dinner, that I would find something else. So I would then eat pineapple, pears, applesauce, etc., and for years afterwards, the smell of a banana would make me gag.

Enter the healthy living blog community. You know how many bananas these people pack away? Bananas are in everything! Breads, vegan overnight oats, banana "soft serve," etc. I decided to be brave, and try one. I selected a very bright yellow, perfectly un-blemished banana and decided to try it on my way to my hometown one weekend. I remember the text exchange with my boyfriend after I did:

Me: GUESS WHAT I JUST DID?
Matt: Lol, what?
Me: I ATE A BANANA!
Matt: Yay baby, I'm proud of you!
Me: AND I LIKED IT.
Matt: Haha, see, they're not bad. =P

I also called my mom at work to tell her the good news. Since then, I've eaten 1-2 bananas for breakfast, usually supplemented with an apple. I have run into problems though. My banana has to be slightly under-ripe. Once they start developing brown spots, turn soft, and have bruises, I will gag upon opening them. I still can't stand to get the little "strings" inside on my fingers, or the banana to mush on my hand at all.

It's a work in progress, people.