They are more like a mashed potato than a banana. here are some excerpts I've copied from the web: "Back at home we enjoy 'mangu' regularly as the basic carbohydrate component for a variety of meals, and especially when we are having a 'full Dominican breakfast'. For many parts of the world it is perhaps more likely that mashed potato is eaten, but we think this simple plantain recipe, which is raelly a regional variation of mash using fresh young plantain, or even young green bananas, is even better! Season the mangu with salt to your tasteand the mash is ready to eat! You might also like to add a grinding of black pepper to this plantain recipe, although this is not so commonly used in the Dominican Republic. This plantain recipe is very commonly used as part of a typical Dominican breakfast. You will often find hotels and households serving mangu alongside other breakfast items such as fried eggs, fried salchichon (Dominican sausage), fried salami and even fried cheese! So when you visit the Dominican Republic you may be surprised to see that most Dominicans are actually quite slim considering their great love of fried foods to start the day!! You will have noticed that we call the plantain recipe outlined above a basic recipe for mangu. This is because it is possible to enrich it or make it a more up-market product by adding grated cheese to the mix whilst making the mash. Some people also like to add lardons (small strips) of fried bacon (along with the tasty fat rendered from the meat whilst frying!!) to add even more flavor...and plenty more calories too!!! We hope you enjoy inventing your own variations on this basic recipe for mangu!" Hope this helps- yummy michaelp

Hi there, from a fellow Minnesotan! I like the idea of three bean salad, and you could easily put that together in a hotel room and the day before! How about picking up a cold shrimp cocktail from the supermarket deli? Or a pound cake and some strawberries for dessert? Here ae a couple more ideas to add to your list of considerations: White Corn Salad 2c frozen shoepeg white corn 3/4c chopped roma tomato 1/2 c chopped cucumber 2T chopped green bell pepper 3T white wine vinegar 1-1/2 tsp olive oil 1 tsp Dijon mustard tsp salt 1/8 tsp ground black pepper 1 clove garlic, minced Combine vegetables in bowl, toss. Combine remaining ingredients in a jar and shake vigorously. Pour over corn mixture and toss well. Serves 4 From Cooking Light magazine, date unknown Make the orzo for this one before leaving home and just kkep it chilled in a zip lock bag. Greek Orzo Salad 1c uncooked orzo 2c chopped cucumber 1\-1/2c cherry tomatoes, quartered 1c feta cheese,crumbled 1/2c chopped onion 1/2c chopped fresh parsley 1/2c chopped black olives 2tsp salt 1/4tsp pepper Dressing: 1/3c extra virgin olive oil 1/3c lemon juice 1tsp minced garlic ½ tsp salt 1/4tsp pepper Cook orzo, cool, place in bowl with prepared vegetables. Toss with dressing and chill If you can keep the fruit cold, you could make this in your hotel room, too. Super easy! Sunny Fruit Fiesta 1 cantaloupe, halved and seeded ½ honeydew, seeded 1/4c sugar 1/4c fresh lime juice 2T fresh lemon juice 1T orange-flavored liqueur (optional) 1-1/2 tsp grated lime zest 1c fresh sliced strawberries 1c black or red seedless grapes Using a melon ballr scoop cantaloupe and honeydew into balls, set aside. or just cut fruit into bite size chunks In large glass or ceramic bowl, combine sugar, lime juice, lemon juice liqueur and lime zest. Stir well to dissolve sugar. Add fruit and toss gently to combine. Cover and refrigerate at least one hour to blend flavors, stirring once or twice. Spoon the fruit mixture into serving bowls or hollowed out melon halves, dividing evenly. Serves 6. **For a tropical version, substitute kiwi slices, papaya or pineapple chunks, or mango cubes. Add a little grated fresh ginger, and maybe a dash of coconut extract. Linda

Your issue makes sense to me! I only have one large single bowl sink and I have the sprayer that pulls out of my faucet, not a separate handheld, which you may want to consider, as your sprayer is then always handy from any angle and can reach anywhere in either of your sink bowls easily. I put the soap dispenser 8" to the left of the faucet (which is in the middle) and an instant hot water 8" to the right. If you have already selected your faucet and it has the separated sprayer, then I would do what you are thinking of - place the sprayer to your right so you can use it with your dominant hand and the soap to the left. I'd have the big bowl with the the soap dispenser, since the sprayer should be able to reach it! HTH... kpk

I think I should have been more clear on this: "aparently when they are harvested small they have a much lower carb content then fully mature potatoes." this is not because they are smaller but weight for weight baby potatoes are lower in carbs than the same weight of mature potatoes. The way this was explained to me is that mature potatoes are harvested after the plant dies down, and it's during this die down phase that the plant stores carbs in the tuber (potatoe) so when they are harvested young well before they reach that stage they don't have the same % of carbs per weight. My dietician who specialises in diabetes told me if you eat potatoes, always choose the baby potatoes instead. hope that makes more sense