Bananas

February 19, 2008 > 20 Comments

I can’t believe it is already time for another Kitchen Tip Tuesday. My weeks are flying by. This week I have some banana tips. Bananas are cheap, healthy, and most kids like them. They are also versatile. You can eat them plain, put them on cereal, use them in desserts, smoothies, and of course banana bread.

When your bananas are getting spotted and no one wants to eat them here are some ways to use them.

Freeze the bananas

Freeze them with the skin on, when the bananas thaw they are very runny and mushy, I use these in banana bread.

Peel the bananas and freeze them in ziploc bags, I use these in smoothies.

Slice the bananas and freeze on a cookie sheet. Once they are frozen, transfer them to a ziploc bag in the freezer, my kids like these for snack. They also can be used in pancakes or desserts that call for sliced bananas.

Our favorite smoothie-
2 frozen bananas
2 cups frozen strawberries
1 cup vanilla yogurt
1 orange (peeled to the white part)
1 apple (peeled and cored)
1 pear (peeled and cored)
splash of milk depending on how thick you like your smoothie
blend together and serve

Bake them

Banana muffins are a staple around our house, I make them at least once a week for lunch and try to freeze the extras for snacks.
Here is the recipe I use for banana muffins, I usually triple it- but I have six kids….

1 1/2 cups flour (I use fresh ground wheat)

1 1/2 teasp baking powder

1/4 teasp baking soda

1 shake of cinnamon

1 egg

2 mashed bananas

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup applesauce

Mix together and bake @ 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. Cook longer for bread, shorter for mini muffins.

Next time you are at the store and over ripe bananas are on sale, stock up and freeze them for later.

The Happy Housewife

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Comments

20 Responses to “Bananas”

Laura
February 19th, 2008 @ 8:58 am

Don’t you wish every food had such great uses after it goes “bad”?!

Sonshine
February 19th, 2008 @ 10:21 am

Good tips!

Do you have problems with your bananas turning brown when you slice them and stick them in the freezer? or even when you stick them peeled in the freezer ready for smoothies?

I usually peel and mash mine and stick about 1tbsp. of lemon juice in with them and stick them in ziploc bags already measured out for banana bread recipe. Adding the lemon juice I found that they didn’t turn brown on me.

happyhousewife
February 19th, 2008 @ 10:52 am

I have never had bananas turn brown in the freezer when they are peeled. I have some in there now that are about two months old and they are still the normal white color. I have had them stick together in the ziploc bag though, so now I freeze them in two’s and three’s in smaller bags. Thanks for the lemon juice tip, that’s a great idea!
The Happy Housewife

Melissa
February 19th, 2008 @ 1:47 pm

Great tips! I’ve heard about freezing them, but I’ve never had the nerve to see if it really works. I do now!

Also, the bday post on your daughter is precious!

Thanks for sharing.

Mrs. Taft
February 20th, 2008 @ 5:10 pm

Thanks for sharing We love chocolate-banana milkshakes, so that’s our favorite frozen banana drink

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