Banana Bread and Thoughtfulness

Photo Credit: Tiny Acorn Portraits

As a thoughtfulness curator, I help people collect their thoughts. Did you know that being thoughtful has everything to do with banana bread?

The funny thing is I never knew anyone who didn’t like bananas until we moved to Minnesota and my neighbor said she eats everything EXCEPT bananas. I couldn’t believe it. A foodie who didn’t eat bananas. Like no banana splits? No PB, banana slices and honey sandwiches? No Banana Fosters? No BANANA BREAD?!!!

National Banana Bread Day is coming up on February 23rd and as always, I went straight to Nationdaycalendar.com to see what the site had to say about it. I learned that bananas came to the US in 1870 but it took at least 23 years for bananas to be advertised in bread. It is believed that The Vienna Model Bakery, which was owned by Gaff, Fleischmann & Company was the first to produce banana bread in 1893. I had no idea that the bananas were sliced, dried and then ground into flour to make the bread. That’s a lot of work! During WW1, there was a surplus of bananas in Hawaii and so in order to prevent waste, alternative uses for bananas were invented - hence, banana bread!!

I love learning all this kind of information whenever I log onto Nationaldaycalendar.com. Not to mention the site also lists recipes for some national days. For this particular day, they provide recipe links for a variety of banana bread like: buttermilk, sour cream, applesauce, chocolate chip and peanut butter chocolate chip.

The recipe above is a thoughtful pinch from one of my bestie’s mom, Star (don’t you love the name Star?). She would make this banana bread for us roomies and it was always so delicious.

Here’s what I love about banana bread as a baked good: 1) We’re repurposing fruit. If the banana is too ripe, we don’t have to toss it out. As a matter of fact, the riper the banana, the sweeter. We repurpose bananas and the bread has more flavor. No waste - great taste. Win-win. 2) Most ingredients for banana bread are so basic that we usually have them handy on a daily basis. In fact, if you have ripe bananas but you don’t want to make banana bread at that moment, peel them, place them in an airtight container (I use a ziplock bag) and store them in the freezer until you’re ready. 3) Recipes for banana bread are usually not very complicated. However, the taste always seems like it was made out of a labor of love.

So why do I think banana bread has everything to do with curating or collecting our thoughts? The same reasons why I love banana bread can be applied to how our thoughts are collected. 1) We repurpose our thoughts - when our buckets are so full of good, warm thoughts, we are able to give to others from our abundance and it’s even sweeter. 2) The tools we need to be thoughtful are so basic - we already have what we need inside us. 3) It’s not complicated -being thoughtful doesn’t have to be hard. In fact, the easier the gesture is for us to pass along our thoughts, the more intricate the outcome. Baking banana bread doesn’t require culinary expertise yet it yields a pretty tasty treat. Being thoughtful is the same.

This recipe isn’t difficult but it isn’t easy either and the ingredients are not very basic but the taste is a symphony of flavors. I wish I knew where I got the recipe from but it’s over 22 years old so I’m sorry I can’t give credit where credit is due. Try this!

The heart-shaped chocolate chip banana bread is from Breadsmith. When I used to eat chocolate - I would get this all the time!

Ok, it’s time to confess, banana bread and thoughtfulness are not one and the same. It’s literally not the case but metaphorically, it works, right? Banana bread isn’t for everyone -especially if someone is averse to bananas. However, giving a piece or a loaf to someone who does like it (do not give any to my neighbor Dana) is a great way to show thoughtfulness on Sunday, February 23, 2020. Remember, it’s nice to aspire to bake banana bread but you can easily go to your favorite bakery and buy some. Or an even better idea that helps with time management is to grab a slice at Starbucks while you get your caffeine fix. Treat yourself (self-care) or others. Little gestures make big impacts. Have a great #Nationalbananabreadday!

Pinches,

Barb