Wellness for the Family: Frozen Banana Recipes

Bananas are a flexible fruit for snacking and baking, it’s mixed nicely with quite a lot of flavors and provides up pure sweetness instead of sugar in lots of recipes. Excessive in soluble fiber and resistant starch, it helps add bulk to stool and acts as a prebiotic, or meals for wholesome intestine micro organism to flourish. Furthermore, it’s wealthy in vitamin C, copper and potassium.

Nonetheless, the fruit isn’t precisely recognized for its lengthy shelf life. Typically lasting lower than every week even in a fridge, many really feel pressured to throw away, freeze or make banana bread when the peel begins to show brown. 

When you’ve ever frozen a banana with a peel, you would possibly scratch your head on the coloration end result when frozen. A black frozen banana not solely doesn’t look visually interesting, nevertheless it’s additionally tough to peel. To correctly freeze a banana, first peel, lower in half, then freeze in a zipper lock bag eradicating as a lot air as potential. Freezing halves is useful for simple parts to keep away from having the problem of reducing by way of a frozen banana. 

Fortunately, utilizing frozen bananas can be utilized for a number of recipes past smoothies. Listed here are a wholesome few to attempt:

4 Recipes for Frozen Bananas

• Chai-Spiced Banana Coconut Zucchini Muffins
• Peanut Butter-drizzled Banana Pancakes with Berries
• Chocolate Dipped Banana Bites with Hazelnuts and Strawberries
• Wholesome Banana Chocolate and PB Smoothie

Click here for extra well being and wellness ideas from A More healthy Michigan.

Chai-Spiced Banana Coconut Zucchini Muffins

Muffins are a preferred and handy breakfast possibility for households on the go, however they usually come together with a dreaded sugar-rush. Fortunately, changing among the sugar and including extra fiber may also help provide extra long-lasting vitality and vitamins. Past including shredded coconut and complete wheat flour for fiber, this recipe provides a grated zucchini that provides one other dietary punch. 

Components

• 1 1/4 cup flour (complete wheat most well-liked)
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut, plus extra for sprinkling previous to baking
• 3/4 teaspoon floor cardamom
• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon floor ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1 cup mashed frozen banana (from about 2-3 bananas)
• 1 zucchini, finely grated, drained
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• 1 massive egg, room temp
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. If utilizing frozen bananas, defrost and take away extra water, then mash.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 levels F. Spray muffin tin with canola oil or different desired oil. 
3. Utilizing a towel, press extra moisture out of grated zucchini
4. In a big bowl, whisk moist substances (canola oil, maple syrup, vanilla, banana, zucchini and egg). 
5. In a separate bowl, mix dry substances, them add to moist substances.
6. Add batter to the muffin tin to 2/3 fullness. High by sprinkling coconut flakes. 
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or till a toothpick comes out clear.

Peanut Butter-drizzled Banana Pancakes with Berries

This banana pancake recipe packs in additional vitamins than the standard flour-based pancakes. The bananas add a pure sweetness and fiber whereas oats provide fullness and a slew of nutritional vitamins and minerals like iron, B nutritional vitamins and manganese. Whereas most pancake toppings aren’t wholesome – assume maple syrup or whipped cream – this recipe provides taste with out the added sweetness or energy. Combine powdered peanut butter to the specified consistency and gently drizzle over the pancakes. Pair together with your favourite berries and voila – a balanced, wholesome and scrumptious breakfast.

Components

• 1 banana
• 1/2 cup quaint oats, raw
• 1 egg white
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tbsp powdered peanut butter, chocolate-flavored 
• 1 cup blackberries and raspberries

Directions

1. If utilizing frozen banana, first defrost.
2. Separate yolk from egg white and save or discard.
3. Mix all substances in blender.
4. Warmth a nonstick pan over medium warmth and spray with oil.
5. Pour 1/3 cup of pancake combination into pan and let cook dinner or 2-3 minutes or till golden brown, flip and cook dinner for 1 minute on the opposite aspect.
6. Mix 2 tbsp powdered peanut butter with water to succeed in the specified consistency, including 1 tbsp of water at a time.

Chocolate Dipped Banana Bites with Hazelnuts and Strawberries

Typically having an after-dinner dessert rounds out the meal. A sq. of darkish chocolate makes for a superb selection that isn’t overly candy or wealthy in energy for the day-to-day. For one more glorious post-dinner deal with, check out these chocolate dipped banana bites plain, with hazelnuts or freeze-dried strawberries. 

Components

• 2 bananas, sliced to ¼ inch thick
• ¼ cup chopped hazelnuts
• ¼ cup chopped freeze-dried strawberries
• ½ cup darkish chocolate chips (50-60 %)

Directions

1. Warmth a cup of water in a saucepan over medium warmth. Place a bigger bowl with chocolate chips on prime and permit for the steam to warmth the chocolate slowly.
2. Utilizing meals tweezers or tongs, dip half of the banana within the melted chocolate, then dip in hazelnuts, freeze-dried strawberries or depart plain. Placed on parchment paper till chocolate has solidified, then preserve frozen in a freezer protected container.

Wholesome Banana Chocolate and PB Smoothie

Frozen bananas preserve glorious within the freezer for as much as a yr. On this recipe, they act as each ice and a sweetener to make a creamy smoothie together with the traditional taste mixture of peanut butter and chocolate. Choosing powdered peanut butter cuts down on the energy related to nut butters with out sacrificing the style. 

Components

• 1 frozen banana
• 1 cup milk of selection
• 2 tbsp powdered peanut butter, chocolate-flavored
• 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder or 1 scoop chocolate protein powder

Directions

1. Mix all substances in a blender and mix till easy.