Frozen bananas give this a creamy, smooth texture without any added whole milk or sugar. Go bananas!From Dara Michalski of Cookin' Canuck.
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- Yields:
- 1 serving(s)
- Prep Time:
- 5 mins
- Total Time:
- 5 mins
Ingredients
- 1 c. Frozen Banana Pieces
- 3/4 c. Skim Milk, Or As Needed
- 3 tbsp. Creamy Peanut Butter
- 1 tbsp. Ground Flaxseed Meal
Directions
- In a blender, combine all ingredients. Puree until smooth.
If the smoothie is too thick, add more skim milk until the desired consistency is reached. Serve.
I always buy bananas with the best of intentions, but unless I need a grab-and-go snack, they typically get relegated to second place when the fridge is full of grapes, berries and watermelon. The poor, ignored bananas sit on the counter until they are spotted and totally unappealing.
To appease my guilt over wasting food, I throw the bananas into smoothies or churn out batches of muffins. But let’s be real—there are times when I just don’t want a smoothie or don’t have the time for baking.
And so I freeze.
Frozen bananas are great to have on hand for smoothies and baking, and take just mere minutes to prepare. Since the bananas won’t ripen further once frozen, choose bananas that are fully ripe, and even slightly overripe. The riper the bananas (though the fully blackened specimens should be avoided), the sweeter they’ll be.
For smoothies, unless you have a heavy-duty blender, small chunks of frozen banana are recommended so that you don’t burn out the blender motor. For baking, the bananas can be frozen in bigger pieces, as you’ll typically be defrosting them before mixing into a batter or dough. Just remember that the bigger the pieces, the longer it will take for them to defrost. Since the bananas are naturally sweet, cut any added sugar in half in your baking creations.
So, how do you freeze bananas?
Peel and slice the bananas into the desired size.
Line a baking sheet with parchment or waxed paper and line up the banana pieces in a single layer. This ensures they don’t fuse together after freezing, so you won’t have to pry them apart when you need to grab just a handful to use at a time. I can fit six bananas on one large baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap.
Freeze until the bananas are solid, about 2 hours.
Peel the bananas off of the parchment paper, and place them in freezer-friendly lidded containers. Pop them back into the freezer until ready to use.
Be sure to label the containers and freeze the bananas for up to 6 months.
Frozen bananas are fantastic for smoothies for a few reasons. First, they pair well with so many flavors, such as a classic strawberry-banana combination, a more tropical mango-pineapple-banana mix or a lunchbox favorite, bananas and peanut butter. Since the bananas are frozen, they eliminate the need to add ice to the smoothie, and when blended, add a creamy texture that makes you think that whole milk was added. Creamy without the extra fat is a good thing in my book!
For this smoothie, combine about 1 cup of the frozen banana pieces with some milk (I used nonfat), creamy peanut butter and ground flax seeds.
Give everything a good whir in the blender until it’s smooth. If you prefer the smoothie thinner, just add some extra milk.
Now it’s time to use your imagination. Come up with your own smoothie creation, or throw the frozen bananas in a food processor (with a little cream if you’d like) for a 1-ingredient banana ice cream. Alternatively, thaw the bananas pieces and use them in muffins, cookies, quick breads, pancakes and waffles.
Go bananas!
