Yes, you read the title of that post correctly. We’re here to talk about banana PEELS today, people.
As someone who eats at least one — often two — bananas virtually every day, I was surprised to learn that I was losing lots of the fruit’s potassium by throwing away the peel. In fact, 40% of a banana’s potassium is in the peel. Plus, peels contain other awesome nutrients like vitamin A, vitamin B, lutein, and both soluble and insoluble fiber. (Crazy, right?) And to think about all the healthy goodness I’ve been tossing into the trash for years!
So that leads to the next question: Cool, so banana peels are good for you. But I don’t particularly want to EAT banana peels.
Enter banana peel recipes. (Prepare to have your mind blown.)
First of all, banana peels taste different — and should be treated/used differently — based on whether they’re yellow or green. Yellow, ripe peels are sweeter and softer in texture, and work well as additions to smoothies. (I used to peel and then freeze bananas for my smoothies, but have started cutting off the ends of the peel and freezing them whole. Just be sure to wash them first.) Easy as that! Just use your favorite smoothie recipe (one that includes a banana, of course), but put in the whole banana, peel included.
When it comes to green banana peels, think savory. These peels are starchier than their riper cousins, and take on the flavors of the ingredients they’re prepared with. Unlike with yellow peels, you definitely want to cook green peels. I haven’t yet tried cooking with green peels, but am planning on giving these a go to see what this trend is all about. (Have any of y’all tried cooking with green peels?)
Here are a few more recipes that include banana peels. Here’s to potassium!
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