BANANA PICKING: I have been giving you a recipe in the last few weeks that calls for bananas. I buy a lot of them and I was watching some folks pick some bananas today and couldn't help but think that I needed to write an article on how to pick a banana. Now who would've ever thought there is a technique to pick a banana?

I always buy them when they still have some green color on them. They're a unique fruit in that they ripen after they're picked. I always choose the shorter, fatter ones, as they just seem to have a better flavor. And here's a little trick when you are picking them out, look at the bottom end of the banana (not the end where the stem is, but the other end) and make sure it has the fattest end of them all and that will be a good sign. Also, the thinner the skin, the better. And they are in Season most of the year which is rare for most fruits.

When I store them I always store them at room temperature and I only set them down where the both ends are touching the surface, not the middle of the banana as that will tend to bruise them more. And wait until they get a few spots on them as that is the indication that the starch in the fruit is now turning to sug ar. We refer to those spots as sugar spots. Now that doesn't mean they have to be soft and slimy, just a few spots and then they're ready for your dining pleasure. Green bananas are almost toxic to the body; they have to have a golden/yellowish color to them or they are of little to no value to the body nutritionally.

I always buy about 10 pounds a week, as they are one of those higher ranked foods on the human food chain. I like them as the fiber in them is soluble and not a fiber that the body has to deal with in an energy draining sort of way. You're probably thinking, how in the world do I keep them from going bad? It's easy, when they are almost ready, I put them in a real cool place in the fridge and they last for at least a week to 10 days.

They are a perfect combination with all dried fruit. I love them with dates and persimmons and dried mangoes. I had this recipe this morning. First of all I squeezed 1-½ pints of fresh Satsuma Orange Juice then put the noon stew on! After being in the office for about 1-2 hours, I got to trancing on my dried fruit that I started soaking the night before…raisins; dates; dried mangoes and a couple dried figs in 12-16 ounces of distilled water. So I went into the kitchen and put the ingredients into the Vita Mix (high-speed blender) with 8 Bananas and 2 Persimmons. Well it was another 2 Boy Howdy's and a half a dozen Hail Mary's. I looked out the window at the squirrels, birds and lizards galore while listening to the Temptations, lovin' life and wondering why people don't do this. This is just too good to pass up!

And by the way, bananas yield more per acre (Approx. 30,000 pounds) than any other fruit…almost twice as much as apples yield per acre. Bananas are also an awesome way to replenish your energy reserves after an athletic event as they have a high Glycemic Index (meaning they get to the body in the form of energy a lot quicker than most other carbohydrate foods) and they just give you that "AAAH" feeling! A wonderful food to nourish the heart and is virtually one of the finest foods you can eat. Enjoy them!

TRUTH IS TRUE: Truth is not a matter of your personal viewpoint. Wrong is wrong, no matter who does it or who says it. No matter what you believe, it never changes the facts. The facts, if they are there, always speak for themselves. Truth does not change because it is, or is not, believed by a majority of the people. If forty million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing. The sky is not less blue because the blind man does not see it. I conclude that beliefs will only be beliefs as long as there are people out there to believe them. But truth will always be truth whether we believe it or not. And whether you believe it or not, you are special and deserve to be healthy! Ooh, stop me somebody!

SUN SAFETY: I even use some Avocado when I'm on the sun as a skin moisturizer. Sounds bizarre I know, but if you look at most quality suntan lotions, they have some sort of vegetable oil(s) in them. I use Almond Oil, fresh Avocado and even the inside of the Mango Rind when I'm in the sun. It's tremendous for your skin. I would strongly encourage each of you to enjoy some sun, as it's one thing we can't live without. Here's a tip to insure you of "SAFE" sun: if you can see you shadow, that's a good sign. So my take on that would be the longer your shadow, the safer it would be for you to enjoy this most essential component to good health.

EAT FRUIT: One of the finest benefits of eating lots of fruit is it's totally clean with no toxic side effects and the benefits are enormous. Other than stress, you can stay virtually free of disease. Of course I eat more than just fruit for the day, but for the first 60-70% of my food intake is fresh fruit except in the harsh of winter. Then I will add more starches like Yams, Rice, Beets, etc.

BODY TIMING: Did you ever consider how perfectly your body is timed and controlled? How it maintains a normal temperature of 98.6 degrees? How the blood pressure is properly regulated and why you breathe an average of 16 times a minute and your heart beats 72 times? How common food is digested chemically and the nutritive part is transformed into body tissue - bone and muscle; blood and skin; hair and nails - and properly distributed while wastes and poisons are eliminated with no ill effect? You are special with an unnegotiable self-worth you're a champ, not a chump...Eat Good Stuff so You'll Always be Tough!

BLOOD STREAM LENGTH: Here's something for you to ponder. Your body is so incredibly awesome that if you took just the length of your blood stream in just YOU, it would circle the Earth two and one half times! And each and every minute it pumps about 5 quarts of blood and in your lifetime will pump enough blood to complete fill a freight train 2500 miles long. Gosh, you're awesome. Be especially good to yourself with the mindset of because you want to and not because you finally have to!

TO REALLY LIVE: Here's something I try to remember each day, if you're stressed at how your business is going, "If there's no market for what you love to do, don't change what you do---change the market"! I am discovering that many people want, above all else, to live life fully. But sometimes the past prohibits our living and enjoying life to the utmost in the present.

A schoolteacher entered his room a few minutes early and noticed a meal worm laboriously crawling along the floor. It had somehow been injured. The back part of the worm was dead and dried up, but still attached to the front, living part by just a thin thread. As the teacher studied the strange sight of the poor worm pulling its dead half across the floor, a little girl ran in and noticed it there. Picking it up, she said, "Oh, Oscar, when are you going to lose that dead part so you can really live?"

What a marvelous question for all of us! When are you going to lose that dead part so you can really live? When are you going to let go of past pain so you can live fully? When are you going to drop the baggage of needless guilt so you can experience life? When are you going to let go of that past resentment so you can know peace? Have you been dragging something that is dead and gone around with you? Are you ready to "lose that dead part so you can really live"? Life is a gift...so untie the ribbon and relish the miracle of the improvisational, dynamically wonderful you with the magnitude of your special uniqueness! You're the best you got.

COCONUT CRACKING how to get into coconut and do it within 1 minute and have all the flesh ready to eat. Now wouldn't that be a trick? Well it's a snap.

Get an ice pick and one of the eyes always opens easily and you'll have to hit the pick slightly with a hammer to get the other eye open so thecodont water will empty freely in a glass. Then put the coconut in those plastic grocery bags….in one rolled up, then another one rolled up and then one more rolled up. This way you'll have the coconut in 3 of those bags. Go outside and take your frustrations out on it by throwing it on the driveway several times until it's in pieces and then come back in the kitchen and open the bag to several pieces of fresh coconut all broken off the shell. Less than a minute I'll guarantee you.

OILS:The most important thing to remember about eating oils (As we talked about on last week's Tele-Seminar in the 3 Foods to Avoid at all Cost) is NEVER COOK THEM! In my nutritional counseling business, I've found that when I get my clients OFF the cooked oils, especially the COOKED ANIMAL oils, most of their skin rashes and blemishes clear up, their blood pressure is not much of a problem to them anymore and a host of other vascular problems improve.

I would also recommend cold pressed oils and preferably from a vegetable source. And I always keep them in the fridge to help keep them from going rancid as quickly as they would if they are kept outside of the fridge in the cupboards, etc. You can always locate these at your local health food store. And oh Yes, HOW MUCH OIL TO EAT! I always limit them to one half to one ounce per person per meal.

So here are my 6 favorite oils that I use when I prepare food!
1. Flaxseed Oil
2. Sesame Seed Oil
3. Almond Oil
4. Olive Oil
5. Canoga Oil
6. Walnut Oil "Brussels Sprouts"

GRAPE PICKING: One of the real important things to remember when you are eating Fruit is to eat it when it's in season. And how can you tell when they are in season…. usually by how inexpensive they are and when you see them in a massive abundance on the grocers' shelf.

And a food that's in season now is grapes! Here's how to tell when they are the sweetest. The Seedless Green Grapes should actually be turning a yellow color. Test them out. Take one of the green ones and one that is turning yellow. Taste the yellow one first and then the green one and you'll never forget that taste test. The Red Seedless Grapes should be a deep red and not a slightly red. Try the taste test again. Try the deep red almost wine colored one first and then the not so deep red grape after. You'll know from now on which ones are the best. Always the richest color of the grapes is a very good indicator. Of course make sure they are firm and not too far ripe. Grapes are one fruit that you can eat by themselves and be totally satisfied! But here's a great recipe if you want to eat then in a fruit salad (only).

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