Recipe – Banana Blueberry Bars

Ingredients

1 cup medjool dates, pitted and diced

1½ cups apple juice (or water)

1 cup oat flour (oats ground fine in blender)

2 cups rolled oats

½ tsp. cardamom

3 medium ripe bananas, diced

1 tsp. vanilla extract

¾ cup blueberries, frozen or fresh

½ cup walnuts

Process

  • Soak dates with apple juice in small bowl for at least 20 minutes.
  • Line bottom and sides of a 9×9 baking dish with parchment paper.
  • Combine oat flour, oats, and cardamom in large bowl; set aside.
  • In blender place bananas, vanilla extract, apple juice and dates; blend until creamy.
  • Pour banana mixture into dry ingredient bowl; mix with fork. Fold in blueberries and walnuts.
  • Pour batter into lined baking dish; smooth top.
  • Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until light brown. Use toothpick to test for doneness.
  • Let cool 5–10 minutes. Serve.

Recipe – Banana Recipes: Green Goddess & Banana-Honey Tofu Ice Cream

Green Goddess

3 large ripe kiwifruit

2 ripe bananas

½ cup plain soft tofu, drained

1 ½ cups water, chilled

1 cup seedless green grapes

½ cup vanilla soy milk

3 Tbsp. honey

In blender, combine all ingredients and process until smooth. Pour mixture into glasses and serve.

Banana-Honey Tofu Ice Cream

½ lb. firm tofu, drained

1 cup plain soy milk

¼ cup honey

3 ripe bananas

1 ½ Tbsp. vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

In blender, puree all ingredients in 2 equal batches until very smooth. Pour mixture into ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s directions. Serve right away or transfer to airtight container and freeze up to 3 days.

Food – Bananas

Inexpensive, easy to eat, and always available, bananas are such a common treat that cooks tend to overlook the sweet (and savory) possibilities the fruit has to offer. Bananas are not widely consumed in Western dishes outside of breakfast, snacks, or desserts, but in Thailand there is a dish that combines sticky rice, black beans, and bananas, and in the Philippines you can find banana ketchup. In Kenya, green bananas are used to make fries, and you can use green bananas like potatoes to make various starch dishes.

There are some strong health reasons to expand your banana repertoire. Bananas are a good source of potassium, magnesium, vitamin B6, and fiber. Bananas are also high in starches called prebiotics because they feed probiotics, the friendly bacteria that help keep your digestive system in balance. All these qualities add up to make this everyday fruit pretty exceptional after all.

Nutritional Profile

One medium banana contains: 105 calories, 27 g carbohydrates, 3 g fiber, 32 mg magnesium, 422 mg potassium, 0.4 mg vitamin B6.

Mellow Yellow, Rosy Red, and Max-Flavor Minis

Branch out from everyday yellow (Cavendish) bananas and reach for a bunch of these:

  • Burro Bananas—Squat and chunky, their mild flavor and starchy texture make them ideal for savory dishes.
  • Red Bananas—Faintly sweet, these maroon-skinned fruits have a fragrant, firm pinkish flesh.
  • Baby Bananas—Fans extol these petite treats’ concentrated “true” banana flavor.

Choose the Best of the Bunch

Bananas continue to ripen once picked, so look for vibrantly colored fruit—green or yellow, depending on how soon you plan to eat it. Avoid buying bananas that have a grayish or dull hue; this means they’ve been refrigerated in transport, which stops the ripening process. Black or brown speckles, or “sugar spots,” are a sign of ripeness, whereas larger, black bruises indicate the fruit has been damaged.

Tip: Never throw away overripe bananas again! Instead, peel and freeze them whole in plastic bags before they turn black. Frozen bananas work great in smoothies and baked goods.