Going bananas

Elspeth Blanche Duncan

I eat bananas often. I love their taste and versatility. Sometimes, for breakfast, I slice one up and add it to a bowl with oats, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, flax meal, a few diced dates and almond milk.

I often make a creamy peanut punch by blending one or two bananas with almond milk, peanut butter, vanilla essence and cinnamon. While blending, I add two ice cubes to give the punch a refreshing chill.

When bananas start to soften and their skins develop many brown spots, I might peel and slice them and freeze the slices in a ziplock bag. When blended, the frozen slices make delectable "ice cream" with a soft-serve consistency. Various additions alter the flavour. A squeeze of lime creates a sorbet effect; adding cocoa powder while blending creates chocolate ice cream.

Sometimes I mash soft bananas with oats, flax meal/seeds and any one or all of the following: sunflower, sesame or pumpkin seeds, raisins or chopped dates, cocoa powder. This mix can either be rolled into balls or flattened as cookies and baked or (with coconut oil added) can be rolled into balls or flattened and placed in the fridge. The coconut oil, once refrigerated, helps hold the resulting chewy balls or cookies together.

The yellow peel with its brown spots can be used to make vegan banana peel "bacon." Remove the peels from the bananas and slice into about four strips per banana. Using a spoon, scrape off the white inner "layer" leaving just the skin. Marinate these strips for at least ten minutes or, ideally, a few hours or overnight in a mix of honey, soy sauce, smoked paprika and garlic powder. When ready, heat up a little oil in a saucepan and fry the strips lightly for a few minutes each on both sides, until they start to bubble a little. These delicious "bacon" strips may be chewy or crunchy depending on how long you fry them.

I love using a hand of green bananas to make a quick oven-roasted snack. I slice all of the green bananas raw, leaving the skin on. I then put the slices in a plastic bag or container, pour enough coconut oil on to coat them, sprinkle whatever spices and seasoning I feel like putting (options include salt, black pepper, cumin, cinnamon, basil, thyme, paprika, etc.) and shake the bag or container (with lid on) so that the seasonings adhere to each oil-coated slice. I then toss these on a tray and roast them in the oven at about 350 C or more for approximately 15-20 minutes. The result is delicious roasted slices, almost like mini "biscuits" that are chewy in texture or (if sliced more thinly and left longer in the oven), somewhat crunchy. They are delicious eaten as is, plunged into a dip, or can be topped with anything from hummus to cheese to jam to peanut butter.

Sometimes I make mini "sandwiches" or towers with them, interspersing slices with different ingredients – eg slice olive, slice cheese, slice date – and holding them all together with a toothpick. The peel creates a wonderful chewy texture and offers many health benefits. Google and read about the benefits if interested.

At the press conference on May 3, our Prime Minister told the nation, “If you were eating two bananas, you may try to eat one for some good reason – either to make it last or to share it with someone.”

Upon hearing that, I sensed that some citizens would "run" with the statement on social media – creating memes or making political jokes and comments. I even wondered if some enterprising citizen might apply the phrase (along with illustrations of one or two bananas) to T-shirts, hoping to make extra income in these jobless-for-many covid times.

Some social media "warriors" pointed out that the Prime Minister once accused Kamla of racism for use of bananas (to feed a "black" girl as if she was a monkey) in a UNC ad and that, considering this, it is interesting that he chose to use that particular fruit as his example.

Bananas are worthy of being seen in a positive light. Imagine if the statement made inspired the nation to embark upon a healthier lifestyle, eating more fruits and vegetables to help build up health and immune systems – instead of religiously consuming doubles, KFC, Royal Castle and the like which (judging from the long panic-buying lines prior to lockdowns) seem to be the most popular national dishes.