Please Help Us Settle an Argument/Bet!
Janet and I were having this really deep discussion the other day about the proper way to eat a banana. Things got quite heated as we both presented our opposing banana-eating strategies. I peel the entire banana first, throw away the peel, and hold the banana in my hand to eat it. Janet eats her banana like a monkey, peeling it halfway down, then holding the unpeeled bottom portion while eating the top portion and so forth. I think she looks like one of the characters from Planet of the Apes when she eats bananas this way, but what do I know? Maybe that’s how everyone eats bananas. Her other preferred banana-eating method is to MASH the banana and eat it like baby food! Oh dear…I can feel the veins in my neck bulging again, as if we’re having the whole argument all over again!
If you’re reading this, please, please take a minute to let us know how you eat your banana. This is not about taking sides or feeling sorry for Janet because I called her a monkey…just tell us how you eat your banana and we’ll see which one of us wins the 20 bucks! Do you peel it first or eat it like a monkey? We just HAVE to know!
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Sandra | May 29, 2006 at 8:57 am →
Eat it like a monkey… it’s the ONLY way to eat a banana!
JT | May 29, 2006 at 10:12 am →
I eat mine like Janet (not that I’m taking sides). It keeps your hands clean, and your banana too I guess!
Mashing is not my cup of tea, though it would come in handy if I ever lose all my teeth.
Stephanie | May 29, 2006 at 10:42 am →
I vote for monkey–it’s closest to true banana eating “etiquette”. That involves peeling a little at a time and using a fork, and thinking about Emily Post all the while.
Marlene | May 29, 2006 at 11:55 am →
Like a monkey!!!
Greta | May 29, 2006 at 5:38 pm →
Oh no. Things are not looking too good for me at this point. Does everyone eat bananas like a monkey? Am I the only non-monkey in the pack?
Lizzie222 | May 29, 2006 at 6:04 pm →
Like a monkey!!! Its the REAL way to eat a true banana!
Torie | May 30, 2006 at 7:21 am →
I eat it like a monkey too!
Looks like the monkey way might be the way???
Sharon | May 30, 2006 at 7:44 am →
You girls are all hanging from branches….throw that peel away and eat it like Greta and me do. Quit monkeying around.
Ella | May 30, 2006 at 11:14 am →
Do you know why Monkeys eat them that way? Have you ever seen where they put their “hands”?? Would YOU want them touching YOUR food? Not so dumb, those Monkeys!!
I’m thinkin’ you’re gonna be out 20 bucks Greta!!
Greta | May 30, 2006 at 12:01 pm →
Ella, I don’t want a monkey’s hands on my banana! My hands are perfectly clean though
You peel an orange and hold it in your hands, so why not a banana?
Lisa | May 30, 2006 at 2:58 pm →
I leave the peel on…it’s a little cleaner that way. Besides, I have a cat that loves bananas, and if she smells it on my hands, and I didn’t share it with her…let’s just say she gets revenge!
katie | May 30, 2006 at 3:25 pm →
I eat like a monkey, I ate once the other way and my hands were all slimmy.
Carina | May 30, 2006 at 4:01 pm →
Peel 1/2 of it eat it until you are about an inch from the peel, peel it until the peel is about 1 inch from the bottom, contiune to eat, when you peel off that last inch pop the rest of the banana in your mouth.
You peel the whole thing FIRST???? Thats jsut weird!
Helen | May 30, 2006 at 6:40 pm →
I often eat a banana for breakfast at my desk. Since I don’t want to look like a monkey, I peel it entirely, and throw away the peel. I then break off a bite size piece, placing the rest on a napkin until I’m ready for another bite. Civilized, until I lick my fingers!
Tracy | June 1, 2006 at 12:48 pm →
Strangely enough I just finished a banana–ate the first half by peeling it down and then took off the peel and held it in my hand, yech! Keep the peel on!
Nina | June 1, 2006 at 1:02 pm →
I guess I’m also a monkey – keeps the hands clean!!!
Michelle | June 1, 2006 at 3:54 pm →
I think I am actually a combination of the two of you. I will peel the banana half way and snap the banana in half (not sure if “snap” is the right word for a banana), or break off a piece anyway, and eat that piece. Then peel a little more, break off another piece eat that piece (out of my hand) etc…until I’m done. So I guess in a sense, I agree with both of you!
Moe | June 1, 2006 at 10:19 pm →
I peel it first and discard the peel.
Judy | June 2, 2006 at 10:58 am →
I eat it like a monkey or slice it into a dish with a bit of sugar and milk
Lorraine | June 2, 2006 at 8:54 pm →
Well, if you really want to eat a banana like a money you will be surprised at what I have to say.
Most people will peel a banana from the end that has the ‘handle’.
A monkey will pell a banana, but not from the end with the handle. but the other end.
Try this and you will be surprised.
For those of you who eat a banana only after peeling it, don’t peel it fromt he end with the handle. Rather, peel it from the other end. Seems funny at first, but you will find that it is easier to ‘start’ the peeling. The peel comes off very easily. Peel the banana entirely and then eat it.
This is how monkeys peel the banana, from the ‘wrong’ end.
I’m not kidding. Seriously this works, try it!
Margo | June 4, 2006 at 10:39 pm →
Well, personally I’m with Michelle, eating it a little bit each way. My son however, claims to be the authority on banana eating, his style being like Lorraine’s above, except he adds a rather (gross) interesting step which is biting into the peel on the non-handle end, thus starting the peeling process. It’s a little trick he saw his dad doing, so Monkey-See, Monkey-Do. Or does this all say something about evolution? Yikes! If you’ve not bitten into a banana peel, I don’t recommend it. I’ve been trying to get my husband to quit that for 21 years now, to no avail. I don’t sink my teeth into any fruit peel, especially without washing it!! Anyhow, that’s our take on the debate. Oh, my son adds that he after the biting start, he removes the whole peeling before eating the banana. However, from a Mom’s point of view, this is a very messy habit. The banana gets dropped a lot, breaks often, and banana is one of the worst foods to get out of clothing. Then again, he’s a typical twelve year old boy.
Helen | June 5, 2006 at 3:06 pm →
I peel it halfway down, and then break off pieces and put them in my mouth. For some reason, I don’t like biting pieces off the banana!
Denise | June 11, 2006 at 8:16 pm →
I eat it like a monkey. Tastes better that way.
Kathy | June 12, 2006 at 3:21 pm →
Peel halfway, break off small peices, continue to peel and break until it’s gone.
but if I had to pick one – definitely the monkey way!
Heather | June 18, 2006 at 10:06 pm →
Well, I am with the monkey people! WTG Planet of the Apes!!!
But, as a trick for those of you who love to mystify your children — Get a banana, and a sterilized pin. Insert the pin into the banana peel and “cut” the banana while still in the peel. Do it again at one inch intervals all the way down the banana. DON’T LET THE KIDS SEE YOU DO THIS!!! Then, once all done, announce to them that you have magic powers and can slice a banana without using your hands, only by using your mind!!
Do a bit of abracadabra in front of them, wave your wand, so to speak…. Then let them peel it, and they will think you are magic indeed!!
Have fun!
Mary | October 23, 2007 at 9:06 pm →
I haven’t seen anyone do this like I do: I bite the end of the banana to get it started and I peel the banana and throw away the skin. Then I stick my finger in one end of the banana to break it apart and it splits into 3 sepearate lengths all the way to the other end. Then I eat each separate piece by breaking some off and biting some off till it is gone. Any way you eat a banana it is delicious!
Ola S. | July 23, 2008 at 9:46 pm →
The fact that you’d even put this topic up for discussion is hilarious! And I can’t believe the number of responses it generated!! I guess I’ll add my two cents as well…. No offence, Greta, but I’ve never actually met anyone who eats their bananas the way you do, (I didn’t even think there WAS another way to eat a banana besides the so-called “monkey” way) so I’m surprised that there are actually people out there who agree with you! But WHY, practically speaking, would you take the peel off completely?? As Janet bluntly said in your banana bread episode, “then your hands get all slimey — now that’s just stupid.” (Haha! Probably one of my favourite Janet quotes from the show!) But hey, if that’s what floats your banana boat then go for it! Makes the world a more interesting place! haha
STEVE | September 26, 2008 at 9:51 am →
WHICH END OF THE BANANA TO YOU PELL FROM THE STEM END OR THE OTHER END?