Back home from 23 day road trip to visit family. During the trip I did not have bananas as much as usual. Normally I try to do a banana every day or two, which seems to prevent night time foot cramps (good potassium source).
ANY GOOD BANANA RECIPES?Bonus points if it is something we can freeze leftovers. The 3lb banana pack at Sam’s is a great deal, but even when I put some in fridge to stall ripening it’s hard to finish them all. (And for $1.38/pack, it’s OK to discard a few… just would prefer not to waste). So far banana bread is my only idea, but since I’m more of a pumpkin bread baker I don’t have a favorite recipe.
I like this banana bread recipe. You can omit the chocolate chips or just put a few on top.
There is also a NYTimes recipes I often use.
Other uses for bananas besides freezing for smoothies? Banana pancakes, banana slices with milk and a dash or sugar, or banana slices and a squirt of whipped cream.
Or scroll down this and see suggestions for recipes for the different stages of bananas from green to very ripe!
Back in the days of thinking eggs were bad, my mother used to have a neighbor save their egg shells and give them to her. She would then make my dad egg beaters and leave the neighbors shells in the kitchen sink. He never knew.
Banana ice cream. Good by itself but I sometimes add mini chocolate chips, peanut butter, cocoa powder, or walnuts. Lots of recipes online, but it’s basically just frozen bananas in a Cuisinart with a little milk or cream (any kind). Tastes like soft serve ice cream.
Believe it or not, I was able to stretch my big batch of bananas by putting most in the fridge. Admittedly the last few were a bit mushy and I threw part of each in the trash. Next time I will try some of the recipes posted, but I was busy with other things… especially the garden.
Today we were busy with a daytrip up to Rocky Mountain National Park (had to figure out the new timed entry scheme)… such a nice change of pace. Our picnic lunch was rather boring. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PICNIC LUNCH FOOD?
A charcuterie assortment. I avoid anything with mayonnaise, although egg salad and tuna salad sandwiches would be my favorite if I knew the timeline for eating them.
If we’re hiking, hard boiled eggs, baby carrots with individual hummus packets, trial mix. If true picnic, like at Tanglewood or similar, something more sophisticated, like a charcuterie sandwich board (grilled sausages, broccoli rabe, fresh mozz, roasted peppers, artichoke hearts, crusty rolls), a heavy on the veg pasta salad with a vinaigrette-based dressing, mozz/pesto/tomato sandwiches or grilled zucc/eggplant & mozz sandwiches.
This is interesting. It’s hard to say if the benefits are due to the fruit or avoidance of other food/calories or other reasons… but it made me a feel a little better about the high-sugar cherries I had just logged into MyNetDiary app a few minutes before reading
I like fruit but don’t eat obscene amounts of it. I also don’t have diabetes! But I do not worry about calories or sugars from fruit. I can eat a lot worse things!
I never used to be concerned about calories and sugar from reasonable amounts of fresh fruit, though I try to avoid too much fruit juice. (Small victory - a few years ago I convinced my husband we should buy clementines or oranges, stop buying jugs of OJ for the two of us). Now that I am at the boundary for “pre-diabetic” A1C, I pay more attention to sugar… still deciding daily target for total sugar because the natural sugar concerns me far less than added sugars (my food app does not split it).
Fun story - Years ago I laughed when somebody challenged my afternoon banana snack… they asked, “don’t they have a lot of carbs?”. I was not concerned. It was the food that kept me away from the work vending machines and my beloved snacks - Reese peanut butter cups or Cheetos.
HAPPY FOURTH!! I hope you are all finding some healthy foods to celebrate. And perhaps some not-as-healthy treats too, to celebrate the holiday.
I am pleased that it is now so easy to buy the smaller watermelons (usually seedless) at the market. There was no way that I want a big one for the two of us.
SIDEBAR: Oh, speaking of watermelon … a church friend to today thanked me heartily for the recommendation (and inclusion in meal delivery) of watermelon for his mother when she was in her last weeks of hospice care. It was really one of the few foods that had excited my mother last year when she had been in similar situation, weak heart and on oxygen. She still ate a bit of her beloved ice cream and milkshakes, but she seemed to prefer watermelon which gave her some hydration too.
We often Just buy a quarter of a watermelon for 2 Of us.
I made my favorite tomato, peach, red onion, basil, fresh mozzarella or burrito, honey,salt and pepper, and vinegarette salad today. Tasted like summer! Also made a Boston Cooler for a mid day snack!
I try to have a serving of fruit, generally various berries, everyday. However, when in season, I’ll buy a large watermelon and eat a 1/4 a day. Watermelon is my absolute favorite.
I wish our stores offered quarter watermelons. Instead the sell cubed watermelon in plastic containers - it’s pricey, which I’d be OK with if it looked fresher.
If you like canned tuna, how do you like to prepare it? Usually we add mayo and chopped celery, sometimes chopped onion. We were out of celery today and used chopped green onion. I happened to glance at the mayo label… ha, I had forgotten it is 100 calories per tablespoon. Any alternatives to recommend?
I make canned tuna (Italian, dark, in olive oil) with cannellini beans, jarred artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, and fresh basil. Or sometimes just with the beans, lemon juice, and pepper.
I haven’t eaten canned tuna in years, but my favorite way was with finely chopped onion and dill pickle. I don’t know if it has less calories, but I don’t mind the “light” mayo. (I can’t stand Miracle Whip).