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

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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

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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.
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Comments

07/20/2010 12:31am

I never think of freezing unused bananas. That's an interesting idea. I usually make banana chocolate chip muffins with overripe bananas. It's the only way I can get my son to eat bananas.

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07/20/2010 6:26am

Yum!!! Those are 2 fantastic ideas!!

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07/20/2010 6:33am

I love the idea of banana milk. I do a similar thing with peanut butter. mix a banana with 2 tbsp peanut butter in the blender and I have a yummy banana peanutbutter. I also love to bake with my extra bananas, eat them as snacks, put them in sandwiches, etc. I always get exactly 7 bananas each week, so I rarely have an extra one!

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07/20/2010 2:16pm

hi Wendy

banana shakes are a great way to use up banana's, I always freeze them expecting to make banana bread....I just got a blender so maybe smoothies are shakes will be next!
Dennis

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07/20/2010 4:07pm

Thanks for the great ideas!

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07/21/2010 12:20pm

i <3 these recipes! (p.s., looks like the coca-cola straw dispenser is earning its keep...it looks great!) xo.

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07/24/2010 9:08am

That's so great that I found your post on Bananas! My husband loves bananas while they aren't my favorite, except in banana bread and smoothies. He just asked me whether bananas froze well. I told him I thought so, but I'd peel them before freezing. I'm glad that you concur with my thinking! I love your blog, btw, and am glad I'm subscribed.

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07/24/2010 1:44pm

Jessielynn -
Thanks!! I do <3 the straw dispenser!

Helena -
Thank you so much! I really appreciate your comment and sweet words!

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08/16/2010 8:14pm

This is a classic quick dessert for kids but I still love them. They're really good with a little chile powder in the chocolate. Wink wink.

Cheers Wendy!

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08/17/2010 1:09pm

@Matt - thanks for the great chile powder idea!!

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