Bananarama

 

There may be no better after-school treat than a banana. Everybody knows apples are good for you, but bananas have four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals.

 

Eat a banana plain, mix it with peanut butter, make an ice cream smoothie, or have a shake made with banana, milk and honey for a real power trip.

 

Here's what bananas do for you:

 

1.       Energy. The banana has three natural sugars: sucrose, fructose and glucose. That's what gives you an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy. Two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. That's why athletes love them so much.

 

2.       Happiness. Bananas contain tryptophan, a protein that the body converts into serotonin. Serotonin helps you relax, improves your mood, and generally makes you feel happier.

            Bananas also contain vitamin B6, which regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect     your mood.

 

3.       Strength. High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood. That helps you avoid getting anemia, a blood condition in which you feel weak and listless.

 

4.       Good blood pressure. Bananas are extremely high in potassium and low in salt. That makes them great for keeping normal blood pressure, and avoiding strokes.

 

5.       Alertness. The potassium also makes your brain more alert, so when you have a big test coming up, you might literally want to eat a bunch of bananas!

 

6.       No. 2. Bananas have a lot of fiber. Fiber helps your digestive system be more efficient. That makes you more "regular." Enough said about that.

 

7. Mosquito bites: The inside of a banana peel can really help reduce the swelling and itchiness of a skeeter bite because of the chemicals that are in the peel. They say you can tape a piece of the inside peel of a banana to a wart, and keep it in place with surgical tape or a plaster, and over time the wart will go away.

 

8.       Stress reduction. When you're worried or under pressure, you tend to eat too much food and often the wrong kind - chocolate, chips, cookies, etc. Yes, you need high carbohydrate foods for energy every couple of hours to deal with stress, but it doesn't have to be bad-for-you high carbohydrate food. It can be bananas! The potassium in bananas is great for keeping an even heartbeat, sending oxygen to the brain and regulating your body's water  balance.

 

9.       Tummy calming. You know how sometimes when you're worried, you get a stomachache? Bananas to the rescue again. Bananas are the only raw fruit that can be eaten without irritating your stomach because of its soft texture and smoothness.

 

10.   Shoeshine. You read that right. If your shoes are scuffed, just rub them gently with the inside of a banana, and then polish with a dry cloth.

 

It figures that such an amazing fruit would be able to do good even after it's "dead," too. Here's how you can recycle the outside to put the peel to use, after the sweet part is gone:

 

Mini Compost Pile

 

Ask your mom for an old pitcher or other plastic container with a lid. Keep this in the garage, in your back yard, or some other out-of-the-way place. Whenever you eat a banana, cut up the peel into pieces about an inch square. Put them in the old pitcher. You can put bits of other cut-up fruit or vegetables, old coffee grounds, and crushed-up eggshells in there regularly, too. Stir it around once a week or so with an old wooden spoon. The moisture inside the cut-up banana peel, combined with the chemicals breaking down, will soon create what looks like rich, black dirt. Because it IS rich, black dirt, and full of nutrients. You can use this compost next time you plant any kind of flower, vegetable or shrub in your yard. If your mom's an avid gardener, a sack of your special banana compost makes a pretty funny and pretty special Mother's Day gift. It'll also please Mom to think of you eating all those bananas in the first place, because Moms know just how good they are for you, inside and out.

 

By Susan Darst Williams • www.GoBigEd.com • After School Treats 001 • © 2006