AKICILJ: the banana edition

[mrissa]

So. timprov's pseudotumor cerebri makes it necessary for him to take a medication that leaches potassium (among other things). The med is the only one available, the only therapy short of brain surgery or regular spinal taps (and they're not really interested in doing regular spinal taps -- risk of infection etc. -- and he's not really interested in the side effects there, either). So, y'know, okay: he takes the med, he can get out of bed pretty much every single day, and in exchange he has to eat a bunch of bananas.

But bananas go nasty at varying rates, so sometimes we will buy a bunch and he'll eat them all before they go south, and sometimes we'll buy a bunch and end up with five brown bananas.

I already have the banana bread recipe I want -- my grandmother's, and it's awesome -- and I already have ksumnersmith's addictive banana chocolate chip muffins -- and I already have a recipe for banana bars with pecans in. Any other suggestions?

I'm willing to just keep making up loaves of banana bread -- other people seem willing to take them home, and we have a chest freezer in the basement for storage purposes, and anyway banana bread is one of the things that makes the world go. (I am absolutely not kidding about the last part. Society holds together as much as it does in part because of people giving each other banana bread in tough times.) But if anybody has any alternate uses for bananas that have started to go brown, I'd really appreciate it.

Edited to add: While other ideas for potassium-rich food are welcome, we've already looked into that, and have concluded that we need to do that in addition to keeping a supply of bananas in the house, not instead of. It's great if he gets a little more potassium from, say, baked yams, or blueberries. But it's a lot easier for him to just keep track of whether he's eaten bananas than to try to calculate how much was in the potato salad and whether there was any in the asparagus or whether that's artichokes and so on.

Comments

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

My husband has been experimenting with protein shakes - plain yogurt, bananas, strawberries, ice, protein powder. One thing he's found is that in the fridge, banana skins go black but the insides stay light longer. Likely you already knew that, but I'm thinking fruit smoothies might be another banana option even if the bananas are a bit past their prime.

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

Ditto. Fruit smoothies is what we do with most of our slightly smushy bananas. And we make lots of fruit salad with the not-smushy ones. You can turn fruit salad into practically a main dish by making it with ricotta cheese instead of dressing. In fact, coincidentally, I am eating some of that right this minute.

[questioncurl.livejournal.com]

And slightly browning bananas stay forever in the freezer, which only makes them better in the smoothie.

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

Run drinks, but I'm not sure that's helpful.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

The rum is not, in fact, gone. But actual whole bananas? Really? Like what drinks?

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

Banana Colada
1 oz. dark rum
1 oz. light rum
1 whole banana or 1 1/2 oz. banana liqueur
3 1/2 oz. pineapple juice
1 oz. coconut cream
combine all with crushed ice, and blend well at high speed, pour into a collins glass, and garnish with whipped cream, a cherry, and a pineapple slice.

Banana Daquiri
2 oz. light rum
1/2 oz. triple sec
1 whole banana or 1 1/2 oz. banana liqueur
3/4 oz. lime juice
1/2 tsp. sugar
combine all with crushed ice, and blend well at high speed, pour into a collins glass, and garnish with a cherry and a pineapple slice and whipped cream

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Well, dichroic will very soon be the recipient of an experiment, and if it works, then other people may be as well.

[wintersweet.livejournal.com]

Cookinglight.com has a ton of recipes calling for ripe bananas--Banana Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce, Banana Caramel Custard, Banana Curry, Banana-Macadamia Madeleines, Banana Maple Ice Cream, Banana-Raspberry Cake with Lemon Frosting, Banana-stuffed French Toast, Chorizo-Banana Bean Soup, Caramel-Banana Galette, Spiced Bananas with Rum Sauce, Sweet Coconut Tapioca Soup with Bananas (Che Chuoi) ... I haven't tried most of these but I've had about a 95% success rate with CL recipes. I'm not sure if you can search without a subscription or not, but it might be worth a try (or if there's one you really want, I can always copy-and-paste.)

[jsgbits.livejournal.com]

Potassium supplement not an option? Does anyone make a potassium supplement?

Any other foods with high potassium content other than bananas?

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

Yes, and it's in multivitamins. But in a lot of cases with supplements, the question is not how much of the mineral is in there, but how much of what's in there is abosorbed.

[jsgbits.livejournal.com]

Ah, so bananas are the best food for absolute absorption.

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

No idea. But I think food tends to be better than supplements for that.

[wshaffer.livejournal.com]

Another reason why potassium supplements aren't readily available is that overdoses of potassium can be fatal. It's pretty much impossible to overdose on potassium from ordinary food sources, unless you have a medical condition or are taking medication that causes you to retain potassium. Overdosing from supplements is a greater possibility.

(Though, as far as I know, potassium chloride is still sold as a salt substitute, and could probably be judiciously used as a potassium supplement.)

The current issue of Cooking Light has a whole section on the benefits of decreased sodium intake and increased potassium intake for lowering blood pressure, and includes some high-potassium recipes. The only one involving bananas is for a smoothie using frozen banana, vanilla yogurt, milk, and graham cracker crumbs.

Some years back when I was trying to increase my potassium intake at my doctor's advice, yogurt was my potassium source of choice. Mostly because I was also trying to increase my calcium intake, and also because I only like bananas when they're slightly underripe.

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

As long as more potassium is better, you can get it in Gaotrade too - which is a good thing to keep around anyway, if you've still got that heat wave.

[secritcrush.livejournal.com]

You could freeze the bananas if they start to get a bit brown (they cook up fine later). Also, you can keep bananas in the fridge for a good while before they go - the skin turns ick brown, but the banana is usually fine.

[greykev.livejournal.com]

banana pudding / pie filling? fritters? ( http://www.digsmagazine.com/nourish/nourish_bananas2.htm ) or for that matter with a bit of bisquick you'd have banana pancakes! Hmmm, or banana dumplings. homemade banana ice cream? banana souffles? (http://bakingsheet.blogspot.com/2005/05/overripe-banana-souffles.html ) banana citrus sorbet? (and other tastey-looking things http://www.cookinglight.com/cooking/fd/inseason/package/0,14343,401650,00.html )

Or this Special Plantain recipie could be adapted, as could the tortillas ( http://www.angelfire.com/tx/CZAngelsSpace/PlantainRecipes.html )

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. I am generally not in favor of treating plantains as though they were bananas or vice versa, but the others are interesting -- banana pancakes, in particular, are quite pleasant at the right kind of restaurant.

[greykev.livejournal.com]

reduce the sugar in the recipie and they'd be about the same--to my tastebuds anyway. I wonder if they'd go well in monkey bread? Like stired into the sauce you pour over the bisquit bits?

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

You can freeze bananas. If you want to eat them like popsicles: peel, cut into convenient sections, insert stick if you like keeping hands clean, coat with chocolate if you like chocolate with bananas. Then freeze on a plate or a cookie sheet or a double thickness of heavy foil or whatever...put them in a zip bag after they freeze solid. For making banana bread, just peel and mash enough for 1 recipe and freeze it in a bag.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Mostly if I'm going to freeze the amount of bananas to make banana bread, I just make them in the bread and freeze it that way.

I do love chocolated frozen bananas, although I get laughed at when I eat them.

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

Banana cream pie. Don't have a recipe handy, but it's dead easy you know.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

In fact I did not know. My family is mostly bar/cookie/cake/crisp people rather than pie people.

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

Well, I came to pies later in life, but at it's most basic, banana cream pie is: piecrust, sliced bananas, custard, and whipped cream. Which means that you can do a perfectly acceptable version with a ready-to-bake piecrust (bake it single, then fill), pudding mix (vanilla, usually, but you can go for banana), sliced bananas, and whipping cream. Bake the crust, make the custard, let the custard cool, and then add the bananas to the custard or put them in the shell and spoon the custard on top (or hell, layer), schmoop on the whipped cream, and chill.

[mallory-blog.livejournal.com]

Personally - you know - I'm an absolutely hideous cook - but I live with foodies ::hee hee::

The Amazing Banana Cookbook
$16.95
Paperback
ISBN: 1410107078
Publisher: Creative Cookbooks
Publication Date: 09/2004
72 pages

Enjoy!!!

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

I should have known someone would do a book!

[mallory-blog.livejournal.com]

Actually, I think there are more than one out there :grins: - seems bananas are well loved by recipe makers but it would make sense to invest in such cookbooks with such an ongoing issue to be addressed - they will keep you experimenting forever :)

[redbird]

As long as the subject has come up, are you willing to share your grandmother's banana bread recipe? The last time I tried banana bread (from some generally reliable cookbook) it came out incredibly dry.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

It is here (http://www.marissalingen.com/gmabread.html).

[redbird]

It says margarine in the ingredients list and butter in the instructions; am I correct in inferring that either works?

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

True.

[dsgood.livejournal.com]

Frying either overripe or underripe bananas with eggs improves them.

The same goes for pome fruits. Doesn't work for citrus fruits.

[reveritas.livejournal.com]

YUM ... more details on the frying bananas with eggs?

[one-undone.livejournal.com]

I don't have banana recipes for you. However, depending on what other foods he likes, there are several alternatives to bananas that are equally rich in potassium, or even richer. Avocado, for example, has more potassium than bananas, and almonds have about twice as much potassium per serving as bananas. Orange juice has about the same amount of potassium in one cup as one medium banana has (450 mg vs 451 mg). Jason's dad is on a potassium-losing diuretic and I had to research some of these for him last year. While he likes bananas, he simply didn't want to eat them all the time. My grandma similarly got sick of having to eat them because of her diuretic - and they had been her favorite fruit - so having a wide range of choices becomes more and more important over time. Lots of great banana recipes are lovely to have, and can keep boredom at bay, but after a while, a banana is a banana, no matter how cleverly it is disguised.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Yah, oj has become another of our potassium staples around here. Of course, if we're all converging upon the juice to try to get Vitamin C to fight off colds (which we are), it doesn't last long -- but that's what they make grocery stores for!

[spaceoperadiva.livejournal.com]

You could dry a certain amount out of each bunch in advance of them going brown. Yum, banana chips!

[ladysea.livejournal.com]

I have a fondness of Banana and Strawberry smoothies. YUM!

Banana Cake

[maerchen.livejournal.com]

My grandma's recipe--because grandmas know these things.

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs (save 1 white for frosting)
1 tsp baking soda
dash of salt
2 cups flour
1/3 cup buttermilk (or milk with vinegar added)
1/2 cup hot water
2 mashed bananas

Cream sugar and butter; add eggs; then soda and salt; then alternate flour with liquids; then bananas. Bake in 9 x 13 pan @ 375 for 30 minutes.

Frosting:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 Tbsp butter
1 egg white
1/8 tsp vanilla

Vary amount of sugar to reach desired consistency.

Alternate frosting (what my dad always does):

Combine milk and powdered sugar until frosting is desired consistency.

Re: Banana Cake

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Indeed, Grandmas do know! Thanks.

[jennfurr.livejournal.com]

Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes


1 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbs sugar
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 large egg
2 Tbs oil (I use corn oil)
1 tsp vanilla
2-3 medium-large very ripe bananas
2/3 cup vanilla soymilk (or plain soymilk or regular milk)



1 In medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and chocolate chips. Set aside.
2 In small bowl, combine egg, oil, and vanilla.
3 If you like lumpy banana, mash them up with a fork. If you don’t like lumpy banana, puree them in a food processor. Add the bananas and the milk to the egg mixture and combine.
4 Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients and stir with a fork until just barely combined. There will be some non-banana and non-chocolate chip lumps.
5 Over medium heat, preheat pan. Cook pancakes on first side until little bubbles appear on the top. Flip and cook until done.

[jennfurr.livejournal.com]

Banana Chocolate Chip Streusel Coffee Cake


1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 Tbs cinnamon
1 1/2 cup flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 stick butter, room temperature
1 large egg
1 1/3 cup mashed bananas (about 3 large)
3 Tbs buttermilk, half and half, or plain yogurt



1 Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour an 8x8x2" metal baking pan.
2 Streusel: In a small bowl, stir together chocolate chips, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Set aside.
3 In a medium bowl, stir flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
4 In a large bowl, beat sugar, butter, and egg with electric mixer until fluffy. Beat in mashed bananas and buttermilk. Add dry ingredients and blend well.
5 Spread half of the batter in baking pan. Sprinkle with half the streusel. Repeat with remaining batter and streusel. Bake 45 minutes or until knife inserted into center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for these two!

[jennfurr.livejournal.com]

they're both really delicious... and have a permanent spot in my recipe book.