I have a “no freggie left behind” policy in this house.
Which is to say that EVERY fruit and vegetable will find a way to be used before it goes bad. However, sometimes unexpected trips pop up or for no reason at all your bananas magically turn from green to brown while you slumber.
There are of course a plethora of things you could do…but here are three that I’ve done lately, so I thought I’d share some healthy banana recipes!!QUICKIES
You’re heading out for vacation and suddenly realize you’ve got too many bananas left…don’t you dare throw them out! I’m going to give you some easy recipes today and ideas for enjoying all that yellow goodness.
Almost Bad Bananas:
- Green Smoothies: Blend it, freeze it, love it. — use up all your leftovers! you can freeze green smoothies then thaw and drink the same day you return home
- Chop the bananas up so you can toss the min smoothies later or use them in recipes below.
- MUST peel the bananas
- Ideal to slice and freeze on wax paper, then move to a freezer friendly container
- Lazy like me? Just toss them into a freezer bag, then you can hit the bag to break them apart when needed later
- Put bananas that aren’t bad yet in the fridge to extend their life – the skin will change but the banana won’t turn brown
Too Green Bananas:
- Over on 250 Degrees will do it in a jiffy (15 minutes)
- Set them over the fridge or somewhere warm for a couple of days
- Keep em’ green longer with those green vegetable bags you see!
- Keep em’ green longer by wrapping saran wrap around the stem
BANANA ICE CREAM
Everyone has been raving about this 1 ingredient dessert for years, so I finally gave it a try. And…well it’s fine, but I can’t say that it changed my life as I’ve heard others rave. Maybe I need to try a little more variety so here are a few fun recipes I found:
- Skinny mocha Banana Crunch Ice Cream from Whole & Heavenly Oven
- Tropical Banana Ice Cream from Five Heart Home
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Banana Ice Cream from Athletic Avocado
- Raspberry Swirl Banana Ice Cream from Well and Full
- Mint Chocolate Banana Ice Cream from Rawberry Fields
HEALTHY BANANA BREAD
I don’t bake, we’ve covered that numerous times here. BUT I know that ripe bananas are perfect for banana bread so I set out in search of a good recipe and came upon Flourless Banana Muffins from Running With Spoons!
I stuck to her recipe 80%. I swapped flaxseed for a little Hempseed Protein Powder, used Udi’s Gluten Free Oats, Once Again Nut Butter and I didn’t measure anything, yet still freaking amazing. Her recipe said it made 9 muffins, but I only had a 6 muffin tin so they were slightly larger and thus much more to David’s liking (he thinks my mini treats are just silliness). FREEZE TIPS
Since my banana muffins were larger and I didn’t want to eat them all in 1 sitting, I looked up some info on freezing baked goods!!
- Always allow it to totally cool before wrapping (prevents soggy or freezer burn food).
- Set dessert in freezer for 20-30 minutes (without being wrapped)
- Wrap in plastic and the put inside a ziploc bag
- Remove all air from bag (you can do this with a straw or just do your best)
- Pull out and put in fridge when ready to eat!
More Healthy Banana Recipes!!
Blueberry Freezer Pancakes from Rocket Fuel
Chocolate Covered Frozen Bananas {Dairy Free} – RTTF
3 Ingredient Banana Donuts from Healthy Diva Life
Paleo Breakfast Bread from The View From Great Island
Healthy Banana Carrot Muffins from Ceara’s Kitchen {pictured below}
Tropical Banana Coconut Bars from Chronicles of PassionWhat are your FAVORITE banana recipes?
How often do you eat bananas?
Other ways to connect with Amanda
Twitter: @runtothefinish
Instagram: RunToTheFinish
Facebook: RunToTheFinish
**Scientific evidence suggests, but does not prove, that eating 1.5 ounces per day of most nuts, such as peanuts, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol and not resulting in increased caloric intake may reduce the risk of heart disease. This post was sponsored by Planters, all opinions and info are my own.
Danielle @ Wild Coast Tales
Awesome list of ideas! I eat a banana everyday… right now mashed up in a grain-free porridge with eggs. I love the sweetness it adds!
Susie @ Suzlyfe
I only eat bananas in the “conventional” sense if it is for a long run, lol. (And then I put them in my banana holster aka flipbelt and run over to coaching with them, hahaha memories). Otherwise, I buy them and cut them up and freeze them and then eat them as a quick sweet treat! I did make an amazing protein banana break once. Need to get back on doing that again!
amanda
I totally used to try running with bananas, but they were always a gooey mess when I tried to eat them!
Alicia @Bridges Through Life
I eat bananas before my 5am workouts, it’s quick and easy to grab and my stomach doesn’t get upset. I usually have those workouts 2-3 times a week so if I have leftover bananas, I like to make paleo protein pancakes on the weekend with them and peel a couple to put in the freezer for smoothies.
shalama
banana bread is my favorite. I have a couple of loaves I need to make this weekend to freeze so that I can eat them this fall after my next bodybuilding competition. I don’t want to skimp on the sugar and flour so I will freeze them until Oct. 9.
amanda
OHHHH finding something I made and froze later is like my favorite!
Laura @ This Runner's Recipes
Somehow we never seem to have bad bananas in my house, even though I buy them a couple times per week. They’re my go-to pre-run snack. If I do have leftovers I love to bake with them.
amanda
David eats ours like they are going bad the same day I buy them :)