Every time I do my weekly grocery shopping I buy lots of bananas. In our house we never really know how many we are going to go through each week. Some weeks we eat more than others. Having too many bananas may seem like a waste, but for me it’s a good thing.
I love when we get to the end of the week and there are leftover ripe bananas! If I don’t use the bananas right away I freeze them for another day. Here’s a tip: peeling the bananas before you freeze them makes the frozen bananas much easier to work with.
Here are 2 ideas for extra bananas.
Banana Milk
Give chocolate milk a healthy makeover and try making banana milk. This recipe is especially great for kids who don’t like to drink milk. It’s sweet and delicious with an added bonus – this drink contains a serving of fruit!
Ingredients:
1 ripe or frozen banana
1 glass of milk
Directions:
Blend banana and milk together until lumps are gone. Add more milk until desired consistency so the mixture is not overly thick and easy to drink through a straw.
Yield: 1 serving
*Smoothies are another good idea but this drink works great if you’re looking for something extra quick and easy.
Chocolate-Banana Popsicles
As far as desserts go this one is not only easy to make, it contains very few ingredients. With fruit as the star you can let go of the guilt on this indulgence!
Ingredients:
2 bananas
1 bar of semi-sweet or dark chocolate
Sprinkles (optional)
Directions:
Cover a baking sheet with a piece of waxed paper. Peel and halve 2 bananas. In the center of each banana half insert a Popsicle stick. Place on baking sheet and freeze for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile melt the bar of chocolate either in a double-broiler on the stovetop or in the microwave stirring well.
Carefully roll each partially frozen banana one at a time in melted chocolate, afterwards placing it back on baking sheet and topping with optional sprinkles.
Refrigerate bananas 5 to 10 minutes until chocolate is fully hardened.
Serve and enjoy!
Yields: 4 Chocolate- Banana Popsicles
What are some of your favorite ways to use bananas? Please share in the comments.
