I was a very picky eater when I was a kid. I didn't like most vegetables and I didn't like most fruit. Every once in a while, I would eat a few slices of apple... if the skin was peeled off and it had absolutely no remnant of core attached. And even then, I would only eat a minimal amount until I opted for something.... chocolaty-er. Sometimes, I would eat a grape or two, but that was a rare occurrence as well. Once or twice, I may have eaten a sliced banana in my morning cereal, but only because I saw it as a "serving suggestion" on the front of a box of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes and I figured that Tony the Tiger wouldn't steer me wrong. I did not make it a habit.
When I was 19, I ran an outdoor fruit and vegetable stand for my cousin who owned a produce delivery service in Philadelphia. He would buy bulk fruits and vegetables from wholesalers and distribute them to local restaurants. In the summer months, he would purchase additional stock to sell to passers-by on Spring Garden Street, a major city thoroughfare that saw a lot of foot traffic from nearby public transportation. I ran that sidewalk stand for him for a couple of summers. It was a great job. I was able to sit out in the sun and kibitz with regular customers. I was often asked about the fruit I was selling. "Hey, are the plums sweet today?" and "How are the strawberries and cherries?" I never knew how to answer. I never sampled any of my wares. And, much to my cousin's chagrin, I bluntly told the truth. My answers, as you can imagine, were met with puzzled looks. How could a guy who sells this stuff not eat this stuff? But, that was the situation, whether my customers liked it or not.
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| Sam the Banana Man |
A few years ago, I read a fascinating book called The Fish That Ate The Whale. It was the biography of Sam Zemurray, a Russian immigrant who was responsible for introducing the banana to the United States. The book read like a swashbuckling adventure novel, filled with international intrigue, double-crossing, espionage and high finance. Oh.... and bananas. I enjoyed this book so much. It almost made me want to start eating bananas. Almost. But, I didn't.
Recently, however, I have changed my eating habits considerably. Although I have been a vegetarian for nearly fifteen years, I have not been the model vegetarian. Sure, I stopped eating meat, but I wasn't necessarily the most healthy eater. I still ate candy and cake and cookies and all kinds of non-healthy foods. I just didn't eat meat anymore. It took a health scare to bring me to the realization that as I approach my "golden years" I should stop eating like a six-year old. I stopped eating junk, introducing nuts, grains, fresh vegetables and even the long-avoided fruit into my diet. And just within the past few months, I started eating bananas. A lot.
I now cap off my evening meal with a ripe, yellow banana. With every bite, I cannot believe that I never ate bananas on a regular basis. I saw other kids when I was growing up consuming bananas all the time — during school lunchtime, at recess, on the playground, everywhere. My brother ate bananas. My mother offered me bananas and I always refused. What was wrong with me? Why was I passing up those delicious, easy-to-access, easy-to-manage, self-contained treats. Bananas are pretty much the "perfect food." They are high in potassium and are good for lowering blood pressure. They are a good source of essential vitamins and minerals. Bananas are high in fiber, while being naturally free of sodium, cholesterol and fat. They come in their own wrapper which can be used to provide comic relief, if properly implemented. And they taste pretty good, too.
The Gros Michel (also known as "The Big Mike") was the most popular variety of bananas in the world. In 1965, disease wiped it out, bringing the Gros Michel to extinction. It was replaced by the Cavendish variety, which is what most supermarkets, greengrocers and produce purveyors currently stock internationally. There is speculation that, because bananas are notoriously difficult to cultivate and very susceptible to disease, the Cavendish could face the same fate as the Gros Michel. So eat them while you can.
I know I will. And I'll be making up for lost time.
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