I wrote a post back in January with this Bob Goff quote:
It's Thursday. Time to quit something.
That quote came into my head this week as I noticed, yet again, that the bananas I bought were all turning speckled in their overripeness. I keep buying bananas even though my family keeps not eating them. It just feels like I should buy bananas because I've always bought bananas.
I used to buy 4-5 bunches at a time, as many as two dozen bananas at once. That was back when I made smoothies nearly every day, and I'd easily use 8 or more bananas for a round of smoothies. Now that I almost never make smoothies, my need for bananas has decreased dramatically. Occasionally Sailor or Story or TJ will eat a plain banana, but never the others of us. Bananas are not tattooed on my arm for good reason.
These days, besides the very occasional smoothie, bananas are used for one of two things at our house: Breakfast Cookies or Banana-Oatmeal Bars. Both are recipes I've wanted to share on the blog and both use up my too-ripe bananas. I've made these recipes so many times over the years that my kids, especially the boys, would say it's time to quit making them, this Thursday.
I must make myself walk past the bananas at Aldi next time, without stopping, without thinking someone will miss them. I must not buy them because they are pretty or cheap. I must not buy them for decoration on the Acacia Wedge Server on my kitchen counter. I must remember that there are many other fruits to root for. And as soon as I purposefully don't buy a single bunch, I know it is a given that my kids will start asking for bananas or the Breakfast Cookies or the Banana-Oatmeal Bars. Why didn't I think of this sooner?
Here are the PDFs of the recipes, with pictures below: