Thursday, January 22, 2009

Going Bananas

The subject

The photographer
My mom obligingly got me exactly what I asked her to for my birthday - a dehydrator. After attending a dehydrating class several months ago, I foresaw a glorious future where my children had kicked their pack-a-day habit of fruit snacks and were happily munching on wholesome home-dried fruit.
I decided to start with bananas. The chart said bananas take 6-12 hours to dry (a rather large window). I didn't get things powered-up until 3 pm but I reasoned it would surely be closer to 6 hours especially since I'd sliced the bananas thinner than recommended to speed things up.
9:00 pm: not dry yet
10:00 pm: not dry yet
Kelly & I start a movie. Surely they will be done by the time the movie is over
11:00 pm: not dry yet
12:00 pm: the movie ends
still not dry - the lamenting begins
What am I going to do! I'll have to stay up all night!
Kelly says I should just go to bed and let the dehydrator run the rest of the night (does he know how much we are spending on fruit snacks?!)
Then they'll be ruined and all the work I've put in (buying, slicing, and don't forget setting them on the trays) will be wasted!
There's nothing to do but set the alarm and hope the torture ends soon.
1:45 am: still not dry
2:45 am: Hallelujah I think they are dry enough!
Now do I need to let them cool before I put them in a bag? Heck no how much more sleep do I have to lose!
3:05 am: Back in bed. I'd better try to squeeze a nap in tomorrow
The next morning: Kids do you want to try these bananas?
They love them. They keep asking me for more all day.
That afternoon: No you can't have anymore. You'll get constipated! To Kelly, exasperated: They would eat these all day!
His reply: Wasn't that the point?
Nothing like dancing to keep constipation at bay.



9 comments:

Camie said...

Oh Becky! I'm impressed with your dedication....3:00 in the morning. Whew! My sleep is too precious.
On the other hand I'm sure your sweet little girls thought your efforts were well worth the rewarding treat! Kudos to you mom!!!

Sarah Brown said...

Way to go Bec! That's inspiring--the effort you go to to provide a healthy snack. What a neat gift though! Keep up the great work!(but in the day next time so you can sleep)

Holly said...

What an experience all for a little snack! The things we do for our children, right!?! While I was reading your post I was just hoping that the outcome would turn out the way it did, I was worried you'd have to break the news that the girls wouldn't even eat them. ha ha! Glad they liked them, sounds like a little too much! :)

Mother of Four said...

What we will do for our kids! I would love to "break" my kids of the habit of fruit snacks!

Becky said...

I am impressed! There is no way I would have stayed up all night. You are dedicated. I would have ran mine all night and runied them. Mont would have stayed awake for them. ;) Now I need to dry some bananas!

Sarah said...

Becks- you are hillarious! LOVE it! You didn't add the part about how you cut up all that fruit for the baby shower as well- You're amazing!

Nicole said...

My issue with dehydrating is that all the fruit gets eaten in less time than it takes to dehydrate. Oh, and I HATE cleaning the trays.

breyn said...

Yum, yum, yum!! You little homemaker you! You put me to shame!!! I loved the whole story (it was like picturing a short movie in my head, very animated). I am so impressed with your dedication. Bring on the prunes! Love ya!

Unknown said...

Oh, I love it. I did that with cinnamon rolls my first Valentine's Day with Chad. We had just started dating, and I wanted to make him breakfast in the morning. The timing had to be just right because I wanted them to be warm and fresh. So I set my alarm to make, to rise, to shape, to rise, and to bake. It was well worth it, though, as it sounds like your all-nighter was as well.