Saving the Spotted Banana

A harsh winter in New England means that our produce pickings are sadly sparse. However, the trusty banana remains a tasty ally in helping Americans achieve their 5 fruits and vegetable servings a day. (If you want to calculate exactly how to break down those 5 servings according to your age and gender try this tool from the CDC).

But all too often our favorite plantain languishes on the kitchen counter, ripening, and becoming the squishy, spotted banana. Usually we throw away these unfortunate fruits, and if we estimate that the average American family throws away 1lbs of bananas every 2 weeks (that's 3 medium bananas) then at $0.69 a pound that is costing you  $16.56 per year. That may not seem like a lot of money, but consider other costs that aren't necessarily financial.



The last time the USDA did a study on food waste in 1995, they found that approximately 27% of edible food was wasted. Several studies have extrapolated this data and found that in 2007, 2% of our total national energy consumption was used to process and transport food that ultimately ended up in landfills. In fact, it costs taxpayers over $1 billion in annual local taxes to dispose of 300lbs of food per person. The total cost of this wasted food is estimated at over $31 billion.

Besides, this kind of waste sends a callous message to future generations of Americans, and the rest of the world, especially considering HungerReport.org estimates that already 925 million people around the world are classified as undernourished due to a lack of food. But even in America 49 million people are going hungry right now, that's 1 in 6 Americans according to FeedingAmerica.org.

So I made it a personal mission this year to save as much food as possible from the plunge into the dustbin. One of my first successes was saving several over-ripe bananas by freezing them until I figured out a way to incorporate them into a tasty meal.

In the meantime, I did some research on my favorite fruit, and discovered that the modest plantain has some surprising nutrition facts under that yellow peel. Forget 100-calorie packs, each medium banana packs 3g of soluble fiber, plus it's a good source of Vitamin C, Potassium, and B6, all in just 105 calories. Did I mention it has a low cholesterol, saturated fat, and sodium content? Great for dieters, the high fiber content curbs your appetite by giving you a feeling of fullness, and aiding in lowering your overall cholesterol. The Vitamin C and B6 make the banana a healthy weapon against colds by aiding your immune system, ensuring healthy formation of red blood cells, and creating antibodies.

 I could have mashed up the bananas and made them into baby food, but since I have not bore any children recently I decided to try my hand at making smoothies. Here's a simple recipe to start you off:

1 c Sunrich Vanilla Soy Milk-$0.37
1/2 c medium frozen banana - $0.12
1/2 c frozen strawberries - $0.34
1 tbsp vanilla whey protein (optional)
 *If you are not using frozen fruits, make sure to add several ice cubes.

Blend for 3 minutes, or until smooth.

Total cost of my strawberry banana vanilla soy smoothie was $0.83.

A similar smoothie at Jamba Juice can cost $4.50 + tax. Making your own smoothie at home saves you $3.67 !


Try some variations of this post-workout! Use skim milk, honey, cocoa powder, peanut butter, frozen blueberries, apple juice, orange juice, or pineapples.  

Do you have any tips for utilizing frozen bananas? Share them in the comments section below.