Okay, so I know this is an Outdoors blog, but we are really missing bananas here. Bananas are THE super fruit. We put them in lunch boxes, throw them in the daypack, mash them in the oatmeal, stick them in our ears, talk to each other on the "banana phone," and even crazy unheard of things like eat them! They fill our bodies with a glorious amount of B6, Vit C, and potassium; and at ~200 calories, they make a yummy low cal, on-the-go snack. They maintain blood pressure, heart health, soothe ulcers, protect eyesight, and build stronger bones. Plus, they're the perfect reason to pretend we really are part-ape!
But lately, I've not found one. single. banana. in any of our local stores! It's been nearly a week (and that's big time for us) that we haven't had bananas on our kitchen fruit stand. Last week's grocery trip turned up zero on the banana scale. They had NONE... not even an overripe one! This week's grocery trip was the same. They did have some plantains, but if you've ever accidentally tried to eat one of these like a ripe, raw banana - you know, bright yellow sweet goodness - you're in for a big, starchy, bitter surprise.
Tonight, I thought for sure I could score some bananas on our weekly Big Box Mart trip... but alas, all they had were a few bruised and battered, black and brown, tiny little baby bananas that wouldn't even make for a good hamster snack. *insert Miss Coo's frowny face here*
But I hadn't heard anything about a banana shortage. I'd heard there was a strawberry shortage, and we've certainly seen the likes of that (they've been MIA, too!). So as soon as I got the enormous amount of cat and dog food put away, I ran straight to ask my boyfriend (Google!) about a possible banana shortage. Turns out, I couldn't really find that much information on a banana shortage. All I seen was the Cyclone Yasi had destroyed three-quarters of the Australian banana crops back at the beginning of February. But Australia isn't even listed in the top 10 banana producing countries according to Wikipedia.
So, I'm confused. I thought maybe - just maybe - I actually do live under a rock and something major happened to the world supply of bananas. But unless the U.S. only imports bananas from Australia (and I know this isn't true) then we should have SOME bananas. Right?So... What am I missing??
I tell you what. The first person to help me solve the Mystery of the Missing Bananas wins... A BANANA... when I find one. No promises it'll be edible upon arrival. :-)
