Going Bananas!

Going Bananas

     I don’t know about you but at my house we eat a lot of bananas. My hubby buys a whole bag of bananas as least once a week. A lot of times we have so many that I just end up making banana bread out of them. I love to eat peanut butter banana sandwiches too. This week we decided to do something a bit different with some of the bananas. I pulled out our dehydrator and started to cut up my bananas to make banana chips.

Banana chips

     This is an easy recipe and even if you don’t have a dehydrator you can still make them. I just made up two trays for us since they are a sweet treat that we do not need a lot of. They are a great treat for kids and folks with a gluten intolerance and vegan approved.

     Things you need:

Lemon juice to toss the banana in to keep it from turning black

Bananas

Knife

Spray your trays with coconut oil to keep them from sticking.

Parchment paper for oven cookie sheet option.

  

 Slice your bananas 1/8 of an inch thick in rounds, toss them in the juice and place them on the trays or cookie sheets or screen. Place on a few trays to dehydrate or other options: you can dry them on a cookie sheet in the oven, or sun dry them on a screen.

• If you are dehydrating them, they will take between 6-8 hours at 135 degrees. 
• For oven the temperature is 175 degrees for about 3 hours.
• For sun drying you need about 4-6 days of 86 degrees heat. Where we live that isn’t a problem. But to help with the heat place drying racks on cement to help hold the heat.

     Once they are done they will keep in a an airtight container for a few weeks. That is if they last that long! That is all you have to do to make banana chips. They are a very healthy snack that has lots of vitamins c,b, fiber and potassium. They make you happy by the tryptophan in it. Eat them for weight loss because they help suppress cravings. Your kids will love them.

     I love using my dehydrator and it makes storing food so much easier. I love using mason jars because you can see what you have in them and it the color or each jar content is so beautiful to display on your shelves.

     I hope you enjoy the sweet snack as much as we do. Just in case you want to give your treat a twist here are a few ways to change it up. After you have cut up your bananas you can shake them in peanut butter or you can use a different juice such as orange juice, lime juice, cranberry, grape or sweetened coconut milk or sprinkle some cinnamon or ginger in them you could even sprinkle cocoa powder on them. Your dogs will love them too in moderation. If you have exotic birds they love them too.

Other uses: add them to granola, cereal, crush them up and add them to your favorite cookie recipe or add to ice cream. The list can continue, just go bananas!

     I bet you didn’t know that the peel of the banana is good for quite a few great things. You can even eat them, polish your shoes, whiten your teeth, keep aphids out of your plants and so much more!

Check out this article and you will never look at a banana peel the same again! Whatever you do don't drop it on the floor for the next person to slip on!

Surprising uses for peels

Quote for the day:

  “A monkey glances up and sees a banana, and that's as far as he looks. A visionary looks up and sees the moon.” - Author: Eoin Colfer

Scripture of the day: