Don’t Toss Those Overripe Bananas
By Marci Lutsky
If there is one thing I can’t stand, it’s wasting food. Even with the best of intentions meal planning, I still find some food goes bad because I forget it’s buried in the back of the refrigerator or what I think my family loves one week will be something no one touches the next week. If you are in the same boat, surely you have passed bananas slowly turning brown on the counter and find yourself wondering what will come first, someone eating them or having to toss them in the trash. There are many ways to use those bananas and here are some ideas.
The easiest way to save those aging bananas is to slice them and put them in the freezer. Usually I will lay them out on a piece of parchment paper to freeze and then once frozen, put them into a sealed bag. Frozen bananas are the key to good smoothies. Not only do they help create the perfect frozen texture, but they also add enough sweetener so that you don’t need to add sugar.
I make overnight oats weekly for my husband and kids. Overnight oats are great because it’s a quick, healthy and delicious breakfast which eliminates all meal preparation in the morning. There are countless variations for how to make overnight oats. My favorite recipe is ½ cup old fashioned oats, ¾ cup milk, 1 teaspoon chia seeds (helps thicken the mixture while adding a heart healthy component), 1 teaspoon almond butter and ½ mashed ripe bananas. Combine all of these ingredients in a mason jar before bed, shake and enjoy in the morning. Again, no additional sweetener is needed because the bananas take care of that.
Three Ingredient Cookies are another easy and delicious way to use those bananas. Mash together 1 cup of oats, a ripe banana and a handful or raisins or chocolate chips. Drop them by the spoonful onto a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 15 minutes. I can’t tell you how long they will keep in a container on the counter because they never last more than a couple hours in my house. With just oats, bananas and raisins, you don’t have to feel guilty about eating them all.
When in doubt, make ice pops. Am I the only one with that motto? My kids would eat almost anything in ice pop form. To a blender add yogurt, a banana and a dash or syrup if you want it sweeter. Pour them into ice pop molds and kids will love these as an after school or after dinner treat.
The most popular recipe on my blog is for kale banana muffins which is probably my favorite way to use ripe bananas. Next time you have bananas browning on the counter, don’t feel stressed. Now you have so many fun and creative ways to use them. Do you have other ideas? I would love to hear them!
Banana Kale Muffins recipe:
Ingredients
- 1 egg
- 2 cups kale
- 1 ripe banana
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1.5 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon chia seeds
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350. Combine egg through vanilla extract in a blender or food processor until well blended. In a mixing bowl combine flour through salt with a whisk. Add wet mixture to dry ingredients and stir with a spoon. Will be thick, like a pancake batter. Spoon mixture into muffin tin that has been greased or sprayed with cooking spray. If making mini muffins cook for 12 minutes. If making regular muffins, cook for 17 muffins. Cool and enjoy!
Marci Lutsky is a food blogger at Vegging at the Shore, www.veggingattheshore.com and can be reached at veggingattheshore@gmail.com.
