This story was first published in the Toronto Star on July 25, 1978.

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Three weeks ago Star reporter Christie Blatchford quit smoking and took up toffee. Her weight ballooned. Desperate, she went on a seven-day banana diet described last week by fitness expert Allan Scott. Here is the first of her daily reports.

There’s only one problem with the Banana Diet.

Banana breath.

I’ve been on the diet for a mere day, have eaten just six of the 24 yellow devils I’ll consume this week, and already I reek of banana.

The inside of my mouth is dry, chalk-like, and well, banana-y. Even friends who don’t know about the diet recoil when I get too close to them. They leave, urging me to start smoking again so at least they’ll be able to identify the source of the foulness.

But for that and a raging thirst — liquids are restricted; yesterday I was allowed six glasses, three of them skim milk — I am thriving on bananas.

Psychologically, bananas are great for a diet.

Apples are round. Oranges are round. Grapefruit and peaches and plums are round. Pears are pear-shaped. But bananas are slender, a model-thin fruit. It makes sense, somehow, that a diet based on bananas will work.

That makes eating the yellow things almost fun, which is a good thing because after the novelty has worn off and you’ve downed the first three or so, bananas get boring.

Not that they aren’t a swell fruit and all. It’s just that they’re not terrifically satisfying.

Yesterday, for instance, I was longing for my supper of three bananas. I dived into the first one with a vengeance, the anticipation of chewing something driving me wild. But every time I went to chew, the wily banana had slid down my throat.

Still, there are ways to beat the banana.

The first trick is in the buying.

Firm, slightly green bananas are best because they give you the illusion of eating solid food. Ripe bananas — those with the misleading perfectly yellow skins — are nice, once in a while, maybe. But after four or five in a single day, they will increasingly bear a resemblance to baby food. (That in itself would be discouraging; ever seen a skinny baby?)

The real secret to enjoying this diet, though, is in the serving.

Served whole and at room temperature, six bananas in one day would taste bland.

But if you vary the way they are served, six bananas in one day almost taste.

For that reason I include the following recipes.

SLICED BANANAS AND SKIM MILK

Take one firm banana and slice thinly.

Place in a small bowl.

Sprinkle with skim milk. Serve.

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WARM BANANAS WITH PAPRIKA

Take one or more firm bananas and slice thinly.

Place in a small dish. Sprinkle with paprika.

Put dish in microwave oven, or regular oven, until browned on top.

Serve.

COLD BANANAS AU NATUREL

Place one or more bananas, whole, in refrigerator.

After a half-hour, remove and serve while still cold.

You can see the possibilities are endless.

Undoubtedly, in the next days, I will discover other banana recipes.

Do not let mockers or tellers of banana jokes discourage you. You really won’t be hungry, and you’ll be getting thin.

Think thin.

Think yellow.

I am doing both. I think I am thin, but because I am also thinking yellow, I haven’t yet had the courage to weigh myself. But my friend Pat, who has also been on the Banana Diet a day, did. She has already lost three pounds.

And we are both brushing our teeth regularly.