Bananas:  Love 'em or hate 'em!  I LOVE them!  Did you know there are TONS of things you can use them for besides eating??  Bananas are so cheap so this intrigued me! After reading an article on Care2, I chose my fave ones to tell you about!

Bananas can be used to treat dry, damaged hair.  For the scoop on how to do it, check out THIS article

Who doesn't want whiter teeth?  Bananas are a natural whitener!!  Rub banana peel on your teeth for about two minutes every time you brush! 

This time of year, bugs are out full force!  Rub some banana peels on the bites to alleviate the itch.

Potassium also helps with the healing process for cuts, scrapes, and bruises.

Splinters stink!!  I'll have to tell my splinter story one day that ended in an ER trip (thanks, sis)!! If you press banana peels onto the splinter, the fruit’s natural enzymes will work to get that thing right outta there!

Bananas are a perfectly safe, healthy treat for your furrybaby!

To save on the hips when you have an ice cream craving, simply blend a frozen solid banana in a food processor or blender. You’ll be surprised how much it tastes like soft-serve ice cream!

 

Dried and ground banana peels make an awesome mulch for seedlings and new plants.

There are TONS more tips for using bananas in your daily life! Did I miss any really good ones?  What things have you used bananas for besides just for eating?

Just How Brave ARE You??

How experimental are you when it comes to what you eat?  I will pretty much try any fruits/veggies/non-once-breathing things.  Having said that, I HATE curry.  It is gross!  I won't even try it anymore!  Ugh!  The exception to fruit would have to be Durian...if Andrew Zimmer gags and spits it out, yeah, no way am I going to be able to choke it down!  Anyway, I've tried over half of them and of the 45 left, I would not eat only 15 of them.  Hey, I'll try almost anything once!!

The Very Good Taste Omnivore's 100 List

Rules:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat (I hate curry)
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal (I hate curry)
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu (I don’t wanna die!!)
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

My Score:  55

My Goals for the Pantry Challenge

Now that I've told you what it is, I'm going to tell you my family's goals for the Pantry Challenge.  In pink you will see where I am at on that goal.

Goals:

• Inventory cabinets, freezer(s), and fridge.  I have done everything except for the fridge.  I have started that as well but we are eating from that this weekend.
• Create a menu for the first 2 weeks.  Done.
• Spend NO MORE than $20 a week or $80 a month on grocery products for January.  Starting Monday!  I am also including paper supplies like paper towels, plates, napkins, ziplocs, etc.  The money will be spend for produce, milk, bread, etc.
• Decrease food waste.   It makes me so mad to throw food away!  This month, I will post what I have had to throw away at the end of each week as well.  Hopefully it will be next to nothing!
• Use food that has been pushed to the bottom of my freezer and the back of my cabinets that I forgot about, which will in turn decrease waste!   Boy, did I find things that I had totally forgotten about!  

 So, what do you think?  Can you do something like this?  I didn't think I could do it at first but the more I talked about it, the more excited I got!  My husband has been a HUGE supporter for this!  He helped me inventory everything and looked over my menu.  He even complimented me on the it!  Such a good guy!

Coming up next will be my inventory list....I'm embarrassed!   



Still counting,
Joy