Going Bananas (b-a-n-a-n-a-s).

Hooooray! Bananas for everyone (even me!)

I'd like to tell you the story of the time I forced myself to like bananas. Forced myself as in, I ate the first full banana of my life in August (2012) and now I eat one almost every day. Banana party ova here!

You see, not too long ago, I decided that twenty-eight years of a banana free existence was no longer acceptable because though my tummy needs a constant intake of food to be happy, my bountiful booty requires that I monitor this intake closely. "Have a banana!" everyone says. "They're filling, sweet and so good for you" (ZERO weight watchers points!) So I decided, despite my dislike of the flavor and hesitation about their awkward consistency (so mushy!) to force bananas into my diet. Slowly but surely I managed to eat them without cringing and eventually (almost) enjoy them. When my tummy rumbles at 4pm, I'm thrilled to have a guilt-free solution that avoids a trip to the office snack machine! 

Now I admit, there were hurdles along the way - like the time I tried a greenish banana (I'm more of a brown spots gal apparently) or the time I unknowingly purchased a plantain and spent all morning remarking how "difficult to peel and funky tasting this ginormous banana is!" (live and learn:) But the moral of the story is that food may be more mind over matter than I first thought. I wanted to like bananas because they are a truly filling, healthy snack (move over grapes, there's a new fruit in town!) and though it may take me anywhere from 5-10 minutes to do it, I now eat them on a regular basis. So I challenge you to bring something new into your diet this fall - who knows, maybe you'll go bananas for it ;)