My fondest memories of school field trips are eating a packed lunch with a sandwich and a banana. When my Great-Grandmother Arizona Henry packed lunches for me, she always included a banana. Years later, I still love a semi-ripe banana as a snack.
My favorite summertime dessert is banana pudding, like grandma used to make on hot summer days. We had this dessert more than ice cream during the summer. Grandma had a twist to her banana pudding because she used graham crackers instead of Nilla Wafers.
Bananas are high in sugar and will increase your glucose, so they should be eaten in moderation, but they are still a healthier snack than donuts or those high-sugar drinks, which have no nutritional value. 
Bananas have about 100 calories and are a good source of potassium. They have fiber and vitamin B6, and C with some antioxidants. They are a much healthier choice than any sweetened baked goods. My go-to snack is a fresh banana with peanut butter. I can’t eat one without thinking about all those school field trips and packed lunches.
Banana Pudding
4 cups cold whole milk
2 packages of instant vanilla pudding
12 oz. of Cool Whip, thawed
1-2 packages of graham crackers, broken
6-10 ripe bananas, sliced
1. Whip together the milk and pudding until thickened.
2. Cover the bottom of a clear glass bowl with a graham cracker, then pudding and bananas, finally adding the Cool Whip. Continue to layer until all ingredients are gone, saving Cool Whip for the top with one banana and a few graham crackers to garnish.
Stacy Schultz is a Registered Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist, a former Morgan County Commissioner and is the author of “It’s Stacy’s Grandma ‘Zona’s recipes” and “Great Grandma Zona’s Wisdom & recipes: Comfort food made easy.” She has been in healthcare for 35 years at War Memorial Hospital.
