All Photos and Story By Gail

Do you like Bananas? I sure do. Whether I’m eating a fresh banana (which is considered to be possibly nature’s most perfect food) or enjoying virtually anything banana-flavored, I am all about this versatile, bright yellow fruit. There isn’t much you can’t do with a banana, except get it to give juice — and puréeing it in a blender is not the same thing. If you are a Banana Fan, let me enlighten you to the fact that yes, you can drink a Banana, because Banana Wave Banana Milk is a thing that exists.

Successfully formulated in 2015 by life-long banana enthusiast Steve Gelerman, Banana Wave is the world’s first non-dairy milk made from whole bananas. As a delicious alternative to dairy, nut, soy, and rice milk, it comes in three flavors: regular banana, strawberry, and chocolate. It’s also the only non-dairy, shelf-stable banana milk in the world. Wow!  Being plant-based, you know its good for you, but it is also kosher, soy-free and gluten-free, with no added high fructose corn syrup, or artificial ingredients of any kind, so it’s something  that you can feel good about giving to your kids.

Banana Wave is truly an exciting product, and more than just a tasty beverage to enjoy by the glass. Picture it as a perfect partner for freshly-baked cookies. You can easily substitute it for regular milk on your breakfast cereal, or add a splash to your coffee or tea, and it can be used as an ingredient in recipes calling for milk to accommodate those on restricted diets. While I confess that the Chocolate Banana Wave is my personal favorite, both varieties I tried taste amazing!

Packaged in recyclable, juice-box-style cartons with an attached straw, Banana Wave is perfect for your child’s school lunch box, for a snack at the office, or as a grab-and-go-pick me up. Find out more abbot Banana Wave and get a coupon good toward your purchase by visiting Bananawave.love!

Fruit of the Wise Men:

Shopping casually through the produce section of the market, we spot a stand overflowing with mounds of huge yellow fingers languishing seductively, calling us like the sirens they are. Our senses are alerted to the delight they offer with so little expense or effort to enjoy. Little do we suspect the magic and mysteries asleep in the history and fortunes of this sweet pile of potassium and possibilities. It is little wonder, once we do know, why its scientific name is Musa Sapientum, meaning fruit of the wise men. Here is proof of its name:

Health Facts:

They were the world’s first superfood as they are a great source of potassium, calcium, magnesium, manganese and vitamin C. They are low in calories and have no fat, no sodium, and no cholesterol. They play a role in metabolism, water, and chemical balance, enhancing muscle, nerve and heartbeat efficiency. They are rich in pectin that absorbs heavy metals and toxins. All of these smooth your skin and helps remove wrinkles, reduce blood pressure and bananas are in the top ten anti-aging foods. They are a mood enhancer because they contain tryptophan and Vitamin B6 that helps the body produce serotonin. They may lower the risk of heart attack and strokes and cancer. And the taste is terrific. I can imagine the awestruck look on the face of the first man who ate a banana 10,000 years ago. We could go on and on about them being good for you, but here are more interesting things you can do with them.

Things you can do with the Peel:

Remarkable are the wonders one may perform with the part we all throw away. Rub the inside of the peel on you to:

• Stop itching from bug bites and poison ivy
• Ease pain from scrape or burn and keeps swelling and infection down.
• Draw splinters out and remove warts.
• Brighten teeth, restore dry, damaged hair.
• Rub on the forehead for headache, on your shoes and plant leaves for a bright shine and makes your china and silver gleam.
• And you can cook and eat it and make tea with it.

Interesting and odd:

They grow upside down so the ends face the sun. A cluster is called a hand while a single banana is called a finger. Makes sense. There are about 10 to 20 fingers on each hand. They grow on plants officially classified as an herb, in the same family as orchids, palms, lilies. They were originally used for fiber for construction and paper and the Japanese still do. It is shocking to know that they are radioactive! They contain small amounts of the isotope potassium-40, but to be harmful, you will have to eat close to 700 daily for 80 years. David Evans Strickler invented the banana splitin’ 1904 when he was a 23-year-old employee at the Tassel Pharmacy soda fountain in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. They have been depicted in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.

Peeling Protocol, etc.:

Peel from the bottom up and avoid the stringy bits that cling to the fruit. (which, by the way, are very nutritious themselves).

Wrapping the stem with foil or cling wrap makes them last days longer.

Cavendish is the name of our bananas, and there are rare species that are bubblegum pink, blue, even fuzzy.

Fun Facts:

More songs have been written about bananas than any other fruit. The fastest marathon by a runner dressed as a banana was 2 hours, 58 minutes and 20 seconds, Barcelona Marathon, March 2011. The record for most bananas peeled and eaten in one minute is 8. A man in India once ate 81 bananas in a half hour. The average American eats 27 pounds every year. Compare that to the fact that every Ecuadorian eats an average of 218 pounds every year. Walmart sells more bananas than any other item. In 2016 China passed a new law that banned people from seductively eating bananas on live stream. Banana plant roots may be hundreds of years old and grow from cuttings of older plants so you can be eating bananas from the same genetic tree that grew bananas eaten by your grandparents. About 75% of each banana is water. And you can freeze them. And more, bananas are in the class of berries; and to add more complexity, a banana plant is the world’s largest herb.

What more can you ask of a fruit?

What more can you ask of a funny looking fruit that tastes terrific and has all of these fantastic properties? More and more uses are being discovered. A lactose-free drink is being made of them that underwent a scientific test with athletes, comparing the new banana drinks results with a top favorite energy drink. The banana drink won hands down in every category.

Banana’s virtues and uses are quietly being discovered for the amazing potential they have always had, which explains why they have been a major food source for so many cultures over time. They are nutritious, tasty, healthy food, and they shine your shoes!