Use Overripe Bananas

It happens to the best of us: a bunch of bananas, purchased with good intentions, ripening too quickly to be used as a stand-alone snack. Luckily, there's no need to be wasteful; even past their prime, bananas can play a variety of non-traditional roles beyond the fruit salad platter. Read on to learn creative ways to use overripe bananas.

Steps

Bake Easy Banana Bread

Banana bread is a widely enjoyed, traditional way to use overripe bananas. This simple recipe requires only a few ingredients that you likely already have in your kitchen pantry.

  1. Gather ingredients.
    • 3 ripe bananas, mashed
    • 2 1/2 cups self-rising flour (or add 3 & 1/2 tsp baking powder & 1/2 tsp salt to regular flour)
    • 3/4 cup brown sugar
    • 1 cup milk
    • 2 tablespoons butter
    • 2 teaspoons vanilla
    • 1 cup chocolate chips, dried fruit, or walnuts (optional)
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  3. Mix first six ingredients together in a large bowl. When ingredients are just combined, fold in the chocolate chips, dried fruit and/or nuts if desired.
  4. Pour mixture into a greased loaf pan. You may also use muffin tins or a small cake pan, depending on how you would like to serve the bread.
  5. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean. For muffins, bake for 25-30 minutes.
  6. Allow to completely cool in the pan. Serve and enjoy![1]

Make a Green Smoothie

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  1. Gather the ingredients. In addition to one or two of your ripe bananas, you'll need:
    • 1 big handful of chopped spinach or kale
    • 1 cup of plain yogurt
    • 1 big spoonful of peanut butter
    • 1 diced green apple
    • 3/4 cup dairy, soy, or almond milk
    • Cinnamon and honey, to taste
  2. Blend all ingredients together, using a blender or food processor. If needed, stop the blender at 20 second intervals to scrape the sides and mix ingredients with a rubber spatula.
  3. Once thoroughly blended, pour into a glass. If you'd like, garnish with a handful of your favorite granola, berries, or a dollop of whipped cream.[2]

Make Non-Dairy Banana Nut Ice Cream

This banana based recipe for non-dairy ice cream is an easy and economical alternative for those with lactose intolerance, and can be made vegan by omitting the honey and adding vanilla.

  1. Gather your ingredients.
    • 2 or 3 overripe bananas
    • 1/4 cup water, soy milk, or almond milk.
    • 2 tablespoons honey
    • 1/4 cup chopped nuts of your choice
  2. Peel and chop or mash all of your overripe bananas. Put them in a ziplock bag and store them in the freezer overnight.
  3. Blend the bananas and liquid until creamy. You might need to let the bananas soften a bit before blending them.
  4. Stir in the honey and nuts. Spoon into a bowl, and enjoy.[3]
  5. Finished.

Enrich Plants

Having a green thumb is much easier when you have overripe bananas on hand. Mixed with water, bananas become a nutritional powerhouse for your indoor and outdoor plants.

  1. Peel one overripe banana. Place the peel aside. Puree the ripe banana with 1/2 cup water.
  2. Dig up the soil around a bush in your yard in need of a little extra nourishment. Pour the banana mixture into the soil.
  3. Put the empty banana peel in a large jar and cover with water. This creates an enriching "juice."
  4. Mix one part homemade "banana juice" with five parts water.
  5. Water plants regularly with this mixture.
  6. Continually add fresh water to the banana jar to replenish your supply.[4]

Feed Butterflies

Monarch butterfly populations have reached a critical need due to the depletion of their natural habitat. While we don't all have space to plant a garden, it's easy to use your overripe bananas to supplement their food source.

  1. Combine the following ingredients in a pan to create a nutritious formula for the butterflies:
    • 3 mashed, overripe bananas
    • 1 or 2 cans of stale beer
    • 1 pound white sugar
    • 1 cup maple syrup
    • 1 cup fruit juice
    • 1 shot of rum
  2. Paint mixture on trees, stumps, rocks, or tree posts. Alternatively, you may soak a sponge in the liquid and hang it from a tree limb.[4]

Tips

  • Use your leftover frozen banana from the ice cream recipe as a replacement for ice in milkshakes and smoothies. It bolsters texture and keeps the drink cold without eventually melting.
  • Mash a ripe banana and apply it to your Make a Simple Facemask for 20 minutes before rinsing with warm water. Top it off with a splash of cold water, and you have instantly tightened pores.
  • Banana bread isn't the only baked good using our star ingredient. There are many recipes for cakes, breads, puddings, and muffins that also put overripe bananas to use.
  • Rubbing the inside of a banana peel on leather shoes and buffing them with a soft cloth works well as an effective, non-toxic shoe polish.

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Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.bestrecipes.com.au/recipe/Very-Simple-Banana-Bread-L7009.html
  2. ↑ http://www.livingtodine.com/2013/01/23/kale-apple-banana-smoothie/
  3. ↑ http://www.abeautifulmess.com/2012/08/non-dairy-ice-cream.html
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 http://www.treehugger.com/lawn-garden/make-food-struggling-monarch-butterflies-recipes-your-leftovers.html

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