Bananas Galore!

Lately, I have been craving bananas and I’m not sure why. I tend to have at least one a day, and some days as many as 5! I’m going to grow a peel soon!

I felt kind of bad about this, as I always had this view that the banana was the “junk food” of the fruit realm – that it was a higher sugar content and lower nutritional value food. So I looked in to this more. (Of course, I’m not going to beat myself up one way or the other – either way, bananas are leaps and bounds better than the old cheesy, salty, fatty, chocolatey things I used to gorge on!)

As a fruit, it is known as a potassium power house. True, there are other great sources of potassium, but I like my bananas these days! (Especially with a little bit of copper-rich cashew butter. Yumm!) But bananas are also a great source of vitamin B6 and even has Vitamin C!

This little guy also has been found to help with stomach ulcers by helping first to produce a thicker mucus lining in your stomach to provide a stronger barrier against acids. Bananas also contain protease inhibitors which may help eliminate the stomach bacteria that has been accused of causing ulcers. They have also been tagged as a good food after dealing with, shall I say, excessive eliminations from your colon. :)

Need more? The greener the banana, the better for you blood sugar – it will be a much less drastic peak and crash of your sugar levels so that’s good! But what if you like your banana very yellow, even slightly browning? True, it about doubles in the affect it can have on your blood sugar - BUT! The University of Innsbruck in Austria finds that fully ripened bananas carry a heavier antioxidant punch. And it is more alkaline at that riper stage. So, pick your perk! (Maybe add some almond butter to slow the blood sugar spike.)

Yet another added perk: bananas’ high fiber content can protect your heart from disease.

So, while variety is always best, for me and my taste buds, we’ll continue to enjoy bananas as I crave them! :)

Have a beautiful weekend!

~Katie

PS - An easy recipe idea (not my own - I forget where I first learned this one.)

Take 2 bananas, slice and freeze. Then whip them into submission in a food processor for a healthy, all natural "frozen yogurt" dessert! No fattening creams, no acidic sugars... just pure health! I am experimenting with all-natural, all health cacao sauces, I'll keep you posted :)