Sunday, September 29, 2013

Things my ranchsitter taught me #2


Behold the banana – the perfect fruit. Tastes great, comes in its own wrapper, and is filled with potassium 
for those of us who are newly potassium deficient. I'm under doctor's orders to eat a banana a day. 
No problem. I love bananas. But little did I know until Ranchsitter #5 arrived 
that I have been eating them the wrong way all my life. 

How is possible to eat a banana the wrong way, you ask?


If you peel the banana from the stem end, as I've always done, you have all those pesky strings to deal with.
I don't like to eat the strings, so I painstakingly strip them off with the peel.



If you peel the banana from the other end...



...the strings come off by themselves!

This is not some internet rumor. I've been eating my bananas this new way all week and will vouch for it.
The most interesting part of this story is how Ranchsitter #5 learned this fun fact.
Her husband's (Hi, Brownie) oldest cousin was the ape handler at the Salt Lake City zoo.
He told her that the apes ate their bananas this way.
Animals are so smart.





31 comments:

  1. Definitely trying this on our next batch of bananas.

    ReplyDelete
  2. i have eaten a banana a day my whole 69 years and never new this or the fact that i always start peeling from the stem... can't wait to try this later today

    ReplyDelete
  3. I enjoy these type of information trivia :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. No kidding!!! Most of the time, I give up and just eat the strings.

    Animals ARE so smart!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm sitting here eating my banana, peeled from the "other" end. I wonder how many of us are trying this this morning. It works!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I see Smooch is close by. Does she get banana, too? Our Ruby comes running when she hears bananas being peeled, knowing that she will get one of the ends. Watching a dog chew banana will brighten the whole rest of your day.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Two for two.... I've read two blog posts this AM and I've learned two new, impressive bits of knowledge; your stringless banana eating and the fact that Alpacas have a communal poop pile. I can't wait for my plane ride back home - I am sure the folks seated next to me will be enthralled! ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a great idea. We are out of bananas right now, but I will try it later. You have an awesome team of ranch sitters!

    I've had potassium problems before, and a banana a day started to get really old after a month or so. If this is going to be a chronic issue, and not just a recovery from surgery issue, you might explore the many other excellent sources of potassium. Apricots and tomatoes come immediately to mind.

    One that I still use (although not every day--the only thing I have *every* day is tea) is Low Sodium V8. A 5.5 oz can has 700 mg of potassium and 95 mg of sodium. You do have to be careful because most of the many varieties of V8 have too much sodium to be good sources of potassium.

    If you get tired of bananas, ask you doctor about other foods for potassium.

    Julia

    ReplyDelete
  9. whaou thank you ranchsitter Nr5!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I'm a banana-a-day gal and today I shall peel from the other end. Whatchadon't learn from blogs!
    My dog also loves bananas - I use a little piece to give him his daily pill, as the pill can be squished right into it and -gulp - it is down the hatch. Much cheaper than those commercial pill pockets. :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. So, the majority of homo-sapiens are doing it backwards/upside down ... what else is new?

    I am glad that you are able to eat bananas and yogurt. I know they are good for you, but I just cannot eat them (personal taste, not dietary issues).

    Good luck with the expanding diet and keep posting the helpful hints :)

    M in NC

    ReplyDelete
  12. When I stop gagging over the sight of the spotty banana I'll try it. My sister and I share the same "disorder" - we cannot abide ripe bananas, but will happily eat firm ones that still have some green at the end. I've always done the same as you. But without the spots! For that reason I can't buy more than 1 or 2 at a time.

    Nancy in Iowa

    ReplyDelete
  13. Ha, never knew that and tried it this morning and it works!!! I'll be more apt to eat my daily banana now with no nasty old strings! Thank you Carson and ranch sitter #2.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Apes would know! Will have to check it out.

    thank you

    ReplyDelete
  15. If you require any extra protein or fat, you can run a knife of peanut butter down the side of that stringless banana, yum!

    Jo, Stella and Zkhat

    ReplyDelete
  16. I saw the banana picture and was afraid...very afraid
    :-) but then I realized it was all in MY mind...

    My son Jay told me about this and I refuse to change.
    ( I didn't know about the strings, I hate those )
    I'll think about it

    ReplyDelete
  17. Carson and All -

    First time commenter, long time lover of donkeys :-)
    I have experienced Potassium deficiency issues most of my adult life - from dizziness and disorientation sometimes to the point of collapse before I figured out wtf was going on. Many (MANY) years ago, when I was still menstruating (which seemed to make it worse), I found myself one day, close to blacking out, literally crawling down a hot sidewalk in Mexico midday - NO tequila involved!!! LOL! I always thought it was low blood sugar.

    It is always much worse during hot weather when I am outdoor exerting. I, too, can eventually get tired of bananas and have found that putting a packet or two of Emergen-C MSM in a tall glass of water takes care of my issues. Altho' it only has a small amount of Potassium, that seems to be enough and it also has other good minerals, etc. that all seem to work together and do the trick. The MSM helps with any aches and pains my old body gets from the hard work I love doing.

    I usually combine the MSM packets with one packet of Cranberry-Pomegranate Emergen-C that is high in C plus has electrolytes and usually do that twice a day in hot weather.

    No problems EVER since I started doing this a few years back! The stuff is pricey but you can order it on-line from Swanson Health for almost half off regular retail (I think) - shipping is the same whether you order one box or a dozen so I order a bunch and make sure I never run out.

    I do love bananas, tho'! (Almost as much as I love your blog :-)

    - denver

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anyone else besides me feel humbled?

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hmmmmm...so interesting! Now I wish I had bought bananas a the grocery store this morning! :)

    ReplyDelete
  20. Ha ha at Ethel's comment! :-) :-)
    And I hope Ms. Smooch got a lil bite of that banana...that's one of Roxy's most favorite treats! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  21. Waving my hand over here!! I knew this and have been peeling them the same way apes do for a few years. I learned this from an email I received some time ago! I am glad to see you are finally on the mend :)

    ReplyDelete
  22. Now, suppose you want to share that banana with ranch sitter #5 AND Smooch. How do you divide a banana evenly in thirds? Peel it and poke your finger into the end. I have heard it will (most often) divide into thirds lengthwise.

    ReplyDelete
  23. While I'm not a big fan of bananas, I put a half of one in my daily smoothie. No, I did not know the correct way to peel one! Now I do!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Haha Ethel! A friend of mine said the same thing when I showed them that trick.

    I learned that trick a couple of years ago and didn't realize about the string stuff but it saves from getting all that banana stuff under the fingernails! Just pinch the end really hard and it cracks open then peels quite easily.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Thinking of you tonight. Are you allowed wine now? I can picture you and Ranchsitter #5 settling back with glasses of wine, Smooch beside you with a special treat, getting ready to watch the final episode of Breaking Bad!

    Nancy in Iowa

    ReplyDelete
  26. Interesting. I will pass on this tip to all the banana eaters I know...I'm not one of them.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Oh Yes, i saw that on T.V. The chimps eat them that way. Speaking on t.v. , will Lucy be getting one? LOL

    ReplyDelete
  28. Not only a fun blog...... But a teaching one too!!!!! I'm trying this out as soon as I can get to the grocery store!! Which in itself lately is quite the adventure!!
    "Scarlet.....I have to depend on the kindness of strangers......."
    :)

    ReplyDelete
  29. I hate them. I think it is the texture or something. But I love Bananna flavored smoothies and candy...go figure. But to take a bite out of that...yuck. This is most interesting news though. Coconut water has huge amounts of potassium...in case you may want to switch it up a notch.

    ReplyDelete