Tag: banana

Bananas – should we eat the skin?

Todays post is about bananas and whether we should eat their skin as well.

There have been a lot of social media posts regarding this topic recently. It seems to have started with an Australian dietitian – Susie Burrell, who says we should be eating bananas skin and all.

Susie Burrell has stated that eating the peel is an easy way to boost your diet with extra dietary fibre, vitamin B6, vitamin C and magnesium. She recommends blending or baking them to break down the cell walls to make the nutrients easier to absorb – for example, in smoothies, cakes and curries.

The Pro’s and Con’s

The idea of eating the banana and the skins may seem like a good way to increase your nutrient intake.

As ripe yellow skins are rich in antioxidants that can help fight cancer, and green skins contain the amino acid tryptophan, which promotes better sleep. The skins also contain resistant start, a type of fibre that benefits gut health.

However, as vitamins C and B6 are destroyed by heat, using the skins in baking or curries to consume these nutrients doesn’t seem viable. Using them in smoothies makes more sense.

The other factor to consider is chemical absorption. The popular Cavendish variety of bananas are bred using cuttings, not seeds. That means there is no genetic diversity among the plants, and therefore they have weak immunity. As a result, it’s one of the most heavily sprayed crops. The peel, or skins, of the banana absorb some of these pesticides.

Peeled bananas are still healthy

Bananas are a great source of potassium, an essential mineral for maintaining normal blood pressure and heart function. One medium-sized banana can contain approximately 400mg of potassium.

A medium-size banana also contains about 3 grams of total fibre. Fibre is a nutrient that helps regulate the speed of digestion. When our digestion is well regulated, the conversion of carbohydrates to simple sugars and the subsequent release of simple sugars into the body is also regulated.

Approximately one-third of the fibre in bananas is actually a water-soluble fibre. Soluble fibres in food have been associated with a decreased risk of heart disease.
Within their total fibre content, bananas also contain pectin’s. Some of the components in pectin’s are water-soluble, and others are not. As bananas ripen, their water-soluble pectin’s increase, and as a result bananas become softer in texture as they ripen.

As the water-soluble pectin’s increase, so does the concentration of fructose. The mixture of the water-soluble pectin’s and fructose content helps control how fast the body digests the carbohydrates which then reduces the impact of the consumed banana on our blood glucose level.

They are low fat – 

Bananas are a very low-fat food with less than 4% of their calories being from fats. One types of fat that they do contain in small amounts are called sterols. The sterols can assist to block the absorption of dietary cholesterol. By blocking the absorption, they help keep blood cholesterol levels in check.

Therefore the takeaway from all of this,

Including bananas in your daily meal plan may help to prevent high blood pressure, improve digestion and lower cholesterol and blood glucose levels. I have previously shared some recipes using bananas that you may wish to try – Smoothies, Breakfast drinks & Seeded Banana Bread.


If you do decide to consume your bananas with the skin, make sure you choose certified organic product, and wash them well to avoid any possible pesticide residues.
I hope you found this post interesting.

Till the next one,

Live clean n prosper.

Sources – healthline.com, lifeStyle.com.au, whfoods.org

Food Misconceptions – Fruit or Vegetable?

Today I thought I would write about some of the more common food misconceptions. By this I mean incorrect references to some foods, particularly in regards to whether something is a fruit or vegetable. I was talking with some colleagues about this this week and I thought it would be interesting to research and share.

First – Peanuts

Many people regards peanuts as nuts, however they are not. As per Wikipedia – ‘The peanut, also known as the groundnut and the goober and taxonomically classified as Arachis hypogaea, is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds.’ ‘The botanical definition of a “nut” is a fruit whose ovary wall becomes very hard at maturity. Using this criterion, the peanut is not a true nut, but rather a legume. However, for culinary purposes and in common English language usage, peanuts are usually referred to as nuts.’ I’ve often wondered if that is the reason I don’t like them. I like all the other nuts!

Next – fruits and vegetables

Vegetable According to Dictionary.com a vegetable is any plant whose fruit, seeds, roots, tubers, bulbs, stems, leaves, or flower parts are used as food, Fruit Dictionary.com states that fruit is the developed ovary of a seed plant with its contents and accessory parts. Including the edible part of a plant developed from a flower, with any accessory tissues, Using this more specific definition all fruits are considered vegetables but not all vegetables are fruit. Olives, plums, tomatoes, artichokes and cucumbers are fruit. Lettuce, potatoes, celery and beets are not reproductive parts of the plant developed from flowers so are considered vegetables. So with that in mind, a tomato is not a vegetable. Neither is corn, zucchini, pumpkin, green beans and peas. Interestingly, berries are fruits that come from a single plant ovary with multiple seeds. With this in mind, scientifically bananas, grapes and capsicum are actually berries.
More berry facts
Raspberries, blackberries and mulberries are called ‘Aggregate fruits’ because they are actually a bunch of tiny little fruits grown together. Strawberries are also a different kind of fruit called a ‘fleshy receptacle’. This is because the actual fruits are the tiny little seeds stuck to the outside of the strawberry. Wow, who would have thought that there were so many fruits and vegetables that we refer to incorrectly. I will be looking at my fruit and veges in a whole new light now. Till the next post, Live Clean n Prosper.

A Seeded Banana Bread recipe

Seeded Banana bread

I have been looking for ideas for morning or afternoon tea. Sometimes a low sugar, low or gluten free cake is an acquired taste. I wanted something that would also appeal to our young nieces and nephew when they visit. So over the past couple of weeks I have been experimenting with different recipes.

The 2 best ones so far, have been Carrot Cake cupcakes and Seeded Banana Bread. The Banana Bread was the stand out winner. It was fairly easy to make, was moist and flavoursome. This recipe is great as there is very little sugar and the seeds add some extra health benefits.

This adapted recipe is from a book called ‘ A Modern Way To Eat’ by Anna Jones.

I did make some small changes to the recipe and it turned out really good. The next time I make it, I will add some more spices and that is how I will share the recipe with you today.

Banana Bread Ingredients

125 g plain flour (I used Kamut, an ancient wheat flour)

100 g Almond meal

25 g Coconut flour

100 g dextrose (or light brown sugar)

30 g Maple syrup

100 g seeds (I used 50 g Sesame & 50 g Golden Flaxseed)

a pinch of salt

1 teasp baking power

2 teasp Cinnamon

1 teasp Nutmeg

3 medium sized ripe bananas

grated zest & juice of 1 lemon

2 tablesp Olive oil

2 tablesp Coconut yoghurt (or natural yoghurt)

2 eggs

½ teasp Vanilla essence/paste

Method

Preheat oven to 200’ C and prepare a 450 g loaf tin.

Put all the dry ingredients (plain flour, Almond meal, Coconut flour, dextrose, salt, baking powder, Cinnamon & nutmeg) into a large bowl and mix well.

Put the bananas into a food processor with the lemon juice and zest, Olive oil, Coconut yoghurt, eggs, Maple syrup and Vanilla.

Give it a quick blitz so the bananas are broken down, and then slowly add the dry ingredients. Don’t over mix; just do enough to ensure it is all well combined.

Pour the mix into your tin and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.

We found it’s delicious on it’s own and goes really well with a cup of tea or coffee.

However I like a thick slice, warmed in the toaster and then spread with a little butter.

I hope you enjoy this Banana Bread as well.

Till the next post,

Live Clean n Prosper.