Friday, January 30, 2009

Yes, We Have No Bananas!

I went to the store yesterday to pick up some things. My two stores of choice are Costco (Hello, my name is Michelle and I'm a Costcoaholic) and Caputo's, which is a fresh market store near me. Essentially, that means that they sell things I eat much cheaper than Dominick's or Jewel.

I look at the flyer for Dominick's, and they're selling avocados 2 for $3. And strawberries are on sale for $3.99 per pound. Romaine hearts are on sale for $1.39 per pound. Oooo, and tangerines are on sale for only $1.29 per pound.

Then I check out Caputo's. Avocados are $0.59 each. Strawberries? $1.79 for a one pound container. Hmm. Romaine? Three organic hearts for $1.39 (way more than a pound there). Tangerines are also on sale. How much, you ask? Why they're $0.49 per pound.

The list goes on and on. I do head to Dominick's periodically to pick up things like yeast and pasta, as they aren't always cheaper at Caputo's, but that's really about it. I feel ripped off every time I walk into Dominick's ever since I met Captuo's.

Back to my point -- and I promise, I did have one. I picked up the items I needed at Caputo's -- some grapes for $0.89 per pound. Their yummy potato gnocchi for $0.99 per container. Tomatoes for $0.49 per pound. The aforementioned romaine hearts and avocados. And I made a mental note to come back to pick up a few more things before the Super Bowl party I'm hosting.

I paid for my items and started to walk out the store. A store employee rushes by me to help an older gentleman with a bag and bring it to him. I step aside to let him through. When he comes back the other way, he excuses himself, and I turn to watch. He's rushing back with a second bag. I sorta wondered what was so fragile and/or heavy in the bag that he couldn't hand the older gentleman both bags at once, but whatever.

Again, the employee excuses himself. No problem, I say. Then I realize that he's handing the bag to me. Umm, what? Please take this bag of bananas as our way of thanking you for shopping at Caputo's. Oh. Now it makes more sense. I thank him profusely and walk out the store.

Then I notice that the bag really is pretty heavy. So I check it out. It is full of bananas. There are eight bunches of bananas. Fifty-three bananas. I counted after I got home. There are four people in my house, and one of the four of us doesn't like bananas after they've turned yellow (guilty -- I only like bananas when they're mostly green and before they start to get sweet).

Seriously, check out the massive stockpile of bananas -- and this is after my mom took the largest bunch home with her and the wee ones each ate four bananas and my husband ate a few.



I still have twenty-seven bananas sitting here. What do you do with that many? The wee ones will be on a banana kick for only so long. And my banana recipe doubled to make two loaves only calls for, at most, four bananas.

I'm digging through my recipes to find something else to make. Lots of something elses to make. Little Miss's half birthday is on Sunday. We'll be having dairy free banana cupcakes. I'm making banana bread. My uncle has a really great banana brownie thing with cream cheese frosting that I think I can duplicate. I'm going to have to find the banana mousse recipe I'd mentioned awhile ago and haven't made since. I think I'm still going to have bananas left after that.

I don't really want to freeze this many bananas. It would be nice to be able to put something else in my freezer besides these prolific yellow treats. And the wee ones no longer think mashed up bananas spread on toast is such a special treat, so that idea is out.

Help! Save me from drowning in bananas. What else can I make?



PS Yes, I will be posting a banana recipe on this week's Tasty Tuesday. Let me know if you have a preference, and I'll try to accomodate.

PPS The title is one of my grandfather's favorite songs ever. It turned up on a CD someone made for a one year old's birthday party, and the wee ones immediately started singing it when they saw our bounty. I love kids' songs that don't make me want to poke my eyes out with toothpicks.



It's not quite the right version, but this was the closest I could find to "our" song.

41 comments:

Smoochiefrog January 30, 2009 at 2:00 PM  

Banana splits baby! :)

Andrea January 30, 2009 at 2:08 PM  

Wow, my jaw dropped when I read those Caputo's prices. I need to look for a place like that around here!

I don't have any good banana ideas--I'd probably just freeze a whole bunch of them, or maybe make a huge batch of banana bread and freeze most of that.

Unknown January 30, 2009 at 2:12 PM  

All those bananas and you're going to need some of my Benefiber

AutoSysGene January 30, 2009 at 3:16 PM  

I cut up bananas in small piece and freeze them. Makes for a great peanut butter and banana smoothie...or a chocolate banana smoothie.

But then there are days that I can't chew, so that might work better for me then for you.

Melisa Wells January 30, 2009 at 3:44 PM  

Smoothies!!! Yum.

Aleta January 30, 2009 at 4:04 PM  

Woah!!! That's absolutely wonderful! Greg loves bananas and would polish those off in a week.

Here's an idea for the bananas - Banana Pancakes ~ SERIOUSLY delicious. My husband, Greg, has the recipe down pat and he taught me.... Had to dig through some archives on my blog, but found it:

http://fleurdealeta.blogspot.com/2008/04/gregs-nearly-world-famous-great-nanna.html

Jennifer January 30, 2009 at 4:14 PM  

Banana bread, banana muffins, banana pancakes, banana splits, chocolate covered frozen bananas.

That should cover your amasingly large supply of bananas.

I almost forgot, smoothies!

Molly Anne January 30, 2009 at 4:51 PM  

I know you said you didn't want to freeze them and it's already been suggested but....smoothies, lol! If the bananas are frozen you don't have to use any ice - so that's a bonus. And if you make a bunch of frozen banana and (whatever) smoothie you can refreeze that in little paper cups with popsicle sticks for handles and have smoothie pops for the kids.

My parents used to randomly burst out into that song so I would have joined in with the little ones upon seeing the banana pile! I ended up with it on a Louis Prima cd I bought a few years ago. :)

Carla January 30, 2009 at 5:39 PM  

heehee! You asked, you received! All I can say is mash, freeze, and add to baked things for moisture. I like your mashed and spread on toast idea:) Good luck!

MaBunny January 30, 2009 at 5:48 PM  

in my BH and G cookbook there is a wonderful recipe for banana/chocolate chip bars! They are yummy! If you don't have that cookbook let me know and I'll give it to you!

Katie Lane January 30, 2009 at 7:45 PM  

Mashed bananas on toast is in an eposode of the Gilrmore Girls, that makes me smile! Have fun with them and don't worry if you can't use them all. There were free remember. :)

Sarah January 30, 2009 at 8:15 PM  

mash them a freeze them in the quantities you need for your favorite recipes. They might darken a bit but tastes just as good as fresh.

Steph at Problem Solvin' Mom January 30, 2009 at 8:18 PM  

{{giggles}} too funny!

Bananas are really good sliced and frozen as a snack- they keep for quite a while that way! (and you can bake with them that way too if you don't like the banancicles)

Jenners January 30, 2009 at 8:34 PM  

I was just stopping by to thank you for visiting my blog the other day as part of BATW and I got caught up in your banana story. Why in the world would they give everyone so many bananas??? I mean, that is a nice gesture for customers but seems --even as a gift -- a bit extreme!!! Too bad you can't do a banana blog giveaway!! : )

Leslie January 30, 2009 at 9:39 PM  

Talk about going bananas!! :) I am the only person in my house who eats them so i have no idea what you could do with that many. Good luck! Could you donate them to the kids' school for lunches or something? Let us know what you end up making with all that monkey food!!

Michelle January 30, 2009 at 9:53 PM  

Smoochiefrog - I'd have to invite a LOOOOOOOOT of friends over to eat that many banana splits. I like the way you think though!

Andrea - I've found that most produce markets / hispanic grocery stores tend to have prices like this. I'm really amazed -- and depressed -- when I take a look at the local chain.

Megryansmom - Fortunately, my mom keeps a stash of HER Benefiber at our house for when she watches the wee ones. She just mixes it into whatever food she's eating. Ick!

Melissa - I'm good with smoothies. Hmmm a nutella a banana smoothie. That's definitely in the running!

Melisa - And not surprisingly, you totally agree. Were we separated at birth?

Aleta - 53 bananas in a week? Impresive. Oooo, I'm SO thinking banana pancakes. Sunday is Little Miss's half birthday, so I'll make those before church. I should be able to adjust them to dairy free!

Jennifer - You've got the whole list together, don't you? I think I like the chocolate covered bananas idea best!

Molly - It's funny you mention that. Santa was TOTALLY going to bring the wee ones a popsicle kit like that for Christmas, but he forgot. AHH! It's Louis Prima's version. Thank you -- it's been driving me nuts all day. I may have to go find it and replace it with the right version.

Carla - I did receive alright, didn't I? I'm actually way down on bananas right now. I've been baking away and using them in various things. I think I only have seven left -- can you believe it?

MaBunny - Oooo, I DON'T have that cookbook. I could totally go for banana and chocolate bars. Yum! And since I made dairy free banana cupcakes for Little Miss, I don't feel guilty about making something she can't eat.

Katie Lane - Seriously? I didn't just make that up myself? I'm so crushed. They were free... but I'm a child of the Depression (mentally). I can't throw things like this away!

Sarah - I actually already have ummm a number of bananas in the freezer. My issue was that I don't have more freezer space I can give to bananas. Sad, I know.

Steph - Glad I can entertain you! I bet the sliced and frozen would go over well with the wee ones. Hmm.

Jenners - I keep wondering the same thing myself. They must have gotten an oversupply or something. There's a reason it was all bananas. I may ask when I head back there tomorrow.

Leslie - I actually was thinking about stopping by the wee ones' preschool and dropping them off, but I was running late to get Little Miss off the bus so didn't have time. AND we have Trader Joe's who is graciously giving us all sorts of leftover food EVERY Saturday and Sunday that they use for snack so I know they have a ton of food already.

Suzi January 30, 2009 at 10:09 PM  

How about frozen bananas on a stick dipped in chocolate? Oooo, or chocolate fondue to dip the bananas in. Either one sounds gooooood to me.

Shelley January 30, 2009 at 10:17 PM  

Wow. I'm looking foward to seeing your banana recipe on Tuesday.

LORI January 30, 2009 at 11:00 PM  

HOW 'BOUT SOME YUMMY BANANA SMOOTHIES?! WITH YOGURT?! MY KIDS LOVE THOSE!

Simply AnonyMom January 30, 2009 at 11:21 PM  

my 4 yr old adores PBB sandwiches (Peanut Butter Banana). You could make a few of htose?

I know you do not want to freeze the whole bananas, but what about freezing mashed bananas. You can freeze them mashed up in ziplock type bags.

Michelle January 30, 2009 at 11:25 PM  

Suzi - Yep, that one is definitely in the running and OH! I have chocolate that I need to make fondue with. Ding ding ding!

Shelley - There will definitely be something up. I just have to decide what!

Lori - The challenge is the Little Miss is dairy free. I can use soy milk, but they're always so much better with yogurt. I may try it thought to see. I do have my wonderful new Vitamix after all!

Simply AnonyMom - I've tried the PBB. Mister Man is the only one who will eat peanut butter at all and he's flat out refused those before. Hmm, maybe I should try freezing the mashed ones -- although I am definitely whittling down my supply!

Anonymous January 31, 2009 at 4:07 AM  

LOL that is a crazy amount of bananas, better get baking!!! LOL

Kimberly @ Seriously Daisies January 31, 2009 at 6:46 AM  

That is SOOO many bananas! And so generous of the store to be handing them out! Did they think you might turn that many down? Which is why they ran after you going out the door, instead of giving them to you at checkout?? Too funny!!!

Hmmm, I have NO suggestions! I would do as everyone else already said, and freeze em, or make banana bread and freeze it. I always love banana bread, and would love to have some "nice and easy" whenever I needed it!!!

Good luck using 'em up! :o)

jubilee January 31, 2009 at 6:58 AM  

You are getting some Great prices on your produce! We don't have a fresh market near us anymore - I am so sad!

I'd love it if someone handed me a bunch of bananas. My kids (7,5,4) are just getting back to liking bananas. I guess they kinda got tired of them when they were toddlers. Now they know, if you are hungry and it's not a meal time, go grab a banana or an apple! I run out of bananas long before the apples. Ah, well.

Glad you enjoyed your SITS Day. And thanks for stopping by my blog to comment. Not every featured blogger tries to visit each commenter. Kudos to you!

Aunt Julie January 31, 2009 at 8:48 AM  

Banana pudding with Pop'rs on top? Why were they unloading all those bananas...did they get an extra shipment, or something? PS: If Mr. Man wants to do any more videos, I'm having another Giveaway, starting Feb. 8. Valentine's Day theme. Please let me know!

WeaselMomma January 31, 2009 at 9:26 AM  

I am actually planning on going to Caputo's for the first time ever today. Peel and individually freeze on a popsickle stick, with or without chocolate. Yummy

Lisa @ Crazy Adventures in Parenting January 31, 2009 at 9:46 AM  

Why oh why can't I ever score something like that?!?! *pouts*

I would make banana smoothies, banana muffins, banana topped pancakes, etc. You're obviously going to get really tired of bananas quickly, so I'd make a bunch of dough, or whatever, to freeze for another time :)

Laura January 31, 2009 at 3:09 PM  

Thanks for the tips on brushing. I really appreciate it. Everyone has great ideas for recipes, but maybe it's time to spread the banana love and give bread or muffins away to friends or neighbors. Then your family won't be sick of them!

Debbie January 31, 2009 at 3:23 PM  

I wish I had a store like that. But I am clueless on what to do with all those bananas.

Angie's Spot January 31, 2009 at 7:46 PM  

That is AWESOME that you have a store like that! My girls would go crazy if I came home with a bag full of nothing but bananas. I don't have any brilliant recipe ideas for you, but I'll be checking back for what recipe you post on Tuesday. Yum!

Michelle January 31, 2009 at 9:10 PM  

Eve - I have been baking and baking and baking some more. With mixed results!

Kimberly - I think that's why they just handed me the bag and ran! But hey, who am I to turn down free food?

jubilee - Yep, those are some great prices. Although I'll admit that I stopped at Aldi to get a couple things for the Super Bowl tomorrow and saw they had avocados for $0.39 per, cheaper than Caputo's $0.50 per today... but they weren't going to be ripe by tomorrow!

Veggie Mom - Hmmm... I like the idea of banana pudding. With Pop'rs. The only bummer is that leaves Little Miss out of the mix. I'm sure Mister Man would love to do another video. He loooooves being on camera!

Weaselmomma - What! You went to Caputos and didn't tell me? I'm crushed. Here's hoping you didn't see me zipping through the produce section at 2 today!

Lisa - Trust me, it's a rarity that I get something like this, too! I didn't think of the banana topped pancakes, but that's a brilliant idea!

Laura - No problem. The good news is that tomorrow is Little Miss's half birthday AND we're having a Super Bowl party. My dessert items all involve bananas. Mmmmmm. Suckers!

Debbie - They're great stores. I really love shopping there. And hey -- come back Tuesday, and I'll show you what I did do!

Angie - I bet your girls would like that. Do you think they'd be able to eat all 53?

Rae Ann February 1, 2009 at 8:13 AM  

First, I have to say that I wish we had a Caputo's in my small town. Wal-Mart is the only game in town - and it shows. Their produce is terrible.

Banana ideas: smoothies; a simple banana and blueberry fruit salad, frozen banana pops (dipped in chocolate and peanuts); bananas foster; bananas on pancakes! I have an awesome recipe for a Bananas Foster Tart. Drop me a line if you would like it!

WeaselMomma February 1, 2009 at 8:19 AM  

I was so at Caputo's and in produce around 2! I had 2 beautiful girls, 1 big cart and kiddie cart and a super model (past his prime) husband with me! I was the one saying "No, stop touching, just wait, hold on, yes we can get peaches".

Yankee Girl February 1, 2009 at 10:47 AM  

CAN'T STOP LAUGHING!!!!

Thanks for stopping by to visit. I am definitely not as smart of a shopper as you are. I usually just to go the store and pick up what I need without really looking at the prices. Well, I used to do that anyway. That all changed when I bought some bing cherries, strawberries and blueberries and ended up spending over $25. When I got home, I realized the cherries were $6 a pound and I bought 3 pounds. I am more careful these days.

Yankee Girl February 1, 2009 at 10:47 AM  

CAN'T STOP LAUGHING!!!!

Thanks for stopping by to visit. I am definitely not as smart of a shopper as you are. I usually just to go the store and pick up what I need without really looking at the prices. Well, I used to do that anyway. That all changed when I bought some bing cherries, strawberries and blueberries and ended up spending over $25. When I got home, I realized the cherries were $6 a pound and I bought 3 pounds. I am more careful these days.

Yankee Girl February 1, 2009 at 10:47 AM  

CAN'T STOP LAUGHING!!!!

Thanks for stopping by to visit. I am definitely not as smart of a shopper as you are. I usually just to go the store and pick up what I need without really looking at the prices. Well, I used to do that anyway. That all changed when I bought some bing cherries, strawberries and blueberries and ended up spending over $25. When I got home, I realized the cherries were $6 a pound and I bought 3 pounds. I am more careful these days.

Yankee Girl February 1, 2009 at 10:47 AM  

CAN'T STOP LAUGHING!!!!

Thanks for stopping by to visit. I am definitely not as smart of a shopper as you are. I usually just to go the store and pick up what I need without really looking at the prices. Well, I used to do that anyway. That all changed when I bought some bing cherries, strawberries and blueberries and ended up spending over $25. When I got home, I realized the cherries were $6 a pound and I bought 3 pounds. I am more careful these days.

Yankee Girl February 1, 2009 at 10:47 AM  

CAN'T STOP LAUGHING!!!!

Thanks for stopping by to visit. I am definitely not as smart of a shopper as you are. I usually just to go the store and pick up what I need without really looking at the prices. Well, I used to do that anyway. That all changed when I bought some bing cherries, strawberries and blueberries and ended up spending over $25. When I got home, I realized the cherries were $6 a pound and I bought 3 pounds. I am more careful these days.

Yankee Girl February 1, 2009 at 10:47 AM  

CAN'T STOP LAUGHING!!!!

Thanks for stopping by to visit. I am definitely not as smart of a shopper as you are. I usually just to go the store and pick up what I need without really looking at the prices. Well, I used to do that anyway. That all changed when I bought some bing cherries, strawberries and blueberries and ended up spending over $25. When I got home, I realized the cherries were $6 a pound and I bought 3 pounds. I am more careful these days.

Yankee Girl February 1, 2009 at 10:47 AM  

CAN'T STOP LAUGHING!!!!

Thanks for stopping by to visit. I am definitely not as smart of a shopper as you are. I usually just to go the store and pick up what I need without really looking at the prices. Well, I used to do that anyway. That all changed when I bought some bing cherries, strawberries and blueberries and ended up spending over $25. When I got home, I realized the cherries were $6 a pound and I bought 3 pounds. I am more careful these days.

Michelle February 1, 2009 at 11:01 PM  

Rae Ann - Ouch. Only having Wal-Mart is rough, but I know there are a lot of places like that. I think that goes back to the need to eat local and in season. I have a feeling that if I lived somewhere like that I'd be eating very differently than what I am now. And ooo, bananas foster sounds delish! I haven't made it into a tart before -- and email is being composed now, thanks!

Weaselmomma - Ah! I totally missed you. Definitely let me know if you head there again... it's my favorite new store. That and the Aldi across the street (by my gym). And the Costco just up the street. I love the kiddie carts at Caputos. I usually only take that one if the wee ones shop with me and let them carry the groceries. And the verdict?

Yankee Girl - With all those comments, apparently you can't! ;) Yep, cherries tend to be way expensive. I generally don't buy them anymore unless they're way on sale. I did recently because they were $2.99/lb which is better than I can do in the summer a lot. Here's hoping your produce prices drop soon!

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