The Truth About Bananas

Daddy Flava here:

I’d like to write about a very exotic fruit- the banana. For many American babies – mashed bananas is the first solid food they will taste. Baby Flava loves herself a banana; she can eat an entire one in a single sitting. She even loves the Banana Boat song!

Lately, I’ve been receiving several emails and links about the imminent death of the banana. You read that correctly, the banana is dying. Given that some of the previous topics in this blog have been considered controversial, let’s really examine if it’s time to play the funeral dirge for Baby Flava’s favorite fruit.

The basic premise is that there is a fungus that is wiping out the particular plant that produces the bananas we get from the supermarket, known as the Cavendish. The articles and emails go on to say that this happened before in the 60’s with another variant of the banana that we used to eat, the Gros Michel. The Gros Michel was a tastier version of the banana but due to disease/fungus it’s now extinct. A lot of these articles usually end by blaming large agro as the cause of the banana’s demise.

But hold on….the Gros Michel is not extinct and neither is the Cavendish is any danger or extinction. What did happen is that diseases made the Gros Michel not suitable for mass production and it looks like the same will happen to the Cavendish. In other words, we (the American consumer) might not have access to the same cheap bananas we currently buy.
The susceptibility of the banana to disease is because of its sterile nature (ever wonder where the seeds are?). It’s, IMHO, a really interesting plant and I encourage you to read more about it if you are curious. Wait till you find out about the banana industry!!!

So here’s the question: Are we soon never going to be able to eat a banana again? I think that any amount of panic is probably unnecessary (unless your main livelihood is based on the current banana industry). Scientists are working on genetic variations that would be more disease resistant. Also, we could start eating other types of banana, some of which I understand are tastier (but a little seedier) than what we currently eat. We might even have to wait for banana’s to be in-season like other fruit.

Of course, I sure hope this doesn’t result in higher banana prices. That’s one hardship I’m not really prepared to handle. However, I don’t think that future generations will have to live without bananas.

But it might be nice if some bananas disappeared forever.

Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream

I don't often feed Baby Flava sweets however, now that summer is almost here I don't think I can deny her our absolute favorite warm weather treat -- ice cream. Last week I came home from a local farmers market with two pounds of fresh strawberries and decided that homemade strawberry ice cream was in order. The finished product was delicious and it was no surprise that BF loved it. Her first few bites of ice cream were a bit shocking to her but after she realized that the flavor was worth the cold burst she kept coming back for more, waiting for the spoon with her mouth open like a baby bird.

We have a Cuisinart ice cream maker at home, which we really like but there are many other wonderful products out there that allow you to make ice cream at home.

Strawberry Ice Cream
2 lbs fresh organic strawberries
4 T fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C Agave nectar
2 C whole milk
2 C heavy cream
1 T vanilla

Stem and slice the strawberries, place them in a bowl with the sugar and lemon juice, mix well. Let the berries macerate in the juices for an hour or so. Afterwards strain about 1/2 of the berries and set aside. Place the remaining berries and juices in a blender and puree until smooth.

Place remaining ingredients into a bowl and whisk together. Add the pureed berries to the cream mixture and blend until well combined. Once finished place the mixture into the refrigerator for 6-12 hours; this will help prevent crystallization of your ice cream in the freezer. When you are ready to make your ice cream turn on your machine and pour your finished cream mixture into the frozen bowl. Mix until thickened, about 20 minutes. Add the remaining strawberry slices you set aside and let the machine run for another 5 minutes. Once finished transfer to a freezer safe bowl and freeze for several hours or for a softer ice cream, serve immediately.

- Mama Flava -

Easy Weeknight Fish

Since tuna is out of the question as a dinner option in our house (too much mercury) and it looks increasingly like wild salmon (see article linked here) will be harder to acquire on a weekly basis, I have had to rethink my weeknight fish of choice for Baby Flava. Low mercury content fish like sole and tilapia have become good options for us and for the most part the price is right. The only downside is that these types of fish do not have as many Omega-3 fatty acids as other fattier fish do. So, it is important not to forgo salmon altogether! I suggest feeding your little one wild salmon as much as possible and otherwise increasing the amount of whitefish you prepare each week.

Yesterday I pulled some Trader Joes Dover Sole out of the freezer to defrost for dinner. These thin fillets make for a simple dinner because they cook fast. However a fish like sole needs a different kind of preparation than something like salmon. My favorite easy white fish fillet preparation is as follows. Baby Flava snarfs this fish so fast I can hardly keep track of how much she has eaten. Cut into bite size pieces for your toddler or mash up with a fork for your younger baby.

Easy Weeknight Fish

Rinse fillets in the sink and pat off excess water leaving fish slightly damp. In a separate dish (a deep baking dish is best) place 1/3-1/2 cup of white whole wheat flour. Add a few pinches of salt, some ground pepper, garlic powder, cumin, and a pinch of chili powder to the flour. Mix until well combined. Heat a skillet to medium/high and place a few teaspoons of butter/smart balance in the pan. Once the butter is hot take each fish fillet and dredge it in the flour mixture. Make sure each fillet is covered completely and then shake off any excess flour. Place fillets in the pan and saute until golden brown then flip each fillet and cook until second side is golden.

I serve this fish as is to Baby Flava. For adults I like to add a simple brown butter sauce on top or (if I have a little more time) I deglaze the pan with white wine and create a simple sauce with garlic, butter, and spices.

- Mama Flava -

Better Bran Muffins

This is a recipe I have been working on for quite some time. The ideal healthy bran muffin has always eluded me. For years I found recipes that were on one extreme or the other of the bran muffin spectrum. I tried muffins that were as sweet as cake and I made my fair share of bran muffins that tasted like plain bran cereal. Several months ago I decided to get back on the horse and try again to create a better bran muffin and at last I think I have done it!

To be truthful, I must admit that Baby Flava has loved every version of this muffin that I created, even those that I didn't think were quite right so experiment with your baby. Add different veggies to find the muffin that your little one likes best. For me, this muffin had the best all around flavor and a great serving of veggies for a breakfast food.

Better Bran Muffins
1 1/4 C Lowfat Buttermilk
1/4 C Blackstrap Molasses
3 T Canola Oil
2 Eggs
2T Brown Sugar
1 C Whole Wheat Flour
1 & 1/2 C Wheat Bran
1/2 C Oat Bran
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 C Carrots (finely grated)
1/2 C Sweet Potato (cooked and mashed)
1/2 C Dried Cranberries (roughly chopped)

Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees and spray a 12 cup muffin tin (unlined) with canola oil. Place the first five ingredients in a bowl and whisk until well combined. Add the dry ingredients to this mixture and stir until the batter comes together. Lastly, add the carrots, sweet potato, cranberries and mix. Scoop the batter into muffin tins until each cup is full. Bake for 15-20 minutes until done. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then remove to finish cooling on a wire rack.

* These muffins are best kept in the fridge to stay fresh, they freeze well too.
** Grating the carrots very fine is worth the extra work, they add a lot to the texture of the muffin.

- Mama Flava -

Is it really worth it to buy organic food?

Daddy Flava is here with what will hopefully be the first of many posts.

I consider myself thrifty about any type of purchase, particularly food. Mommy Flava will sometimes get frustrated with me when we shop together since I can spend an indefinite amount of time comparing products. Even when I think I prefer a food product that is more expensive I still like to back it up with a blind taste test (btw, you can taste the difference between clover and mesquite honey - who knew?).

On the other hand, I also firmly believe in an adage that my grandfather (great-grandpa flava?) told me to live by: never go cheap on your stomach. That philosophy has always seemed right to me, in particular if you also believe that "you are what you eat".

Now, with recent skyrocketing food prices, I have increasingly become torn on whether to spend money on organic foods. Is it really worth spending that extra money on the organic product? To put the dilemma another way: could I be spending (or saving) the extra money I spend on organic foods in another way that would better benefit my family?

Of course, there are no easy answers. In particular, there is no scientifically conclusive evidence that buying organic foods results in better health (or even taste). But I find it hard to ignore what seems to be an increasing amount of circumstantial evidence, like this article on Morning Edition.

There might not be anything wrong with non-organic food but I can't shake the feeling that it's probably worth it to spend the extra money to put a better product on our plates. I hope (and expect) that years from now we might even be able to say that spending money on organic foods is a good investment since it will result in better health and lower medical bills.

But who knows? In the mean time, I'll continue to comparison shop, lean towards buying organic food, and hope I'm not wasting my money. Then again, if I'm buying an organic tomato because it tastes better than a non-organic, at worst it's a tasty mistake.