I was at Kroger one day buying bananas, which I do at least 3 times a week. (I eat a LOT of bananas!) On this particular day they happened to be on sale and anytime bananas are on sale I have to take advantage. So I had probably 2-3 huge bunches of ripe bananas in my arms when a woman says to me, in all seriousness, "Wow, you're really goin' bananas!" Oh yes she did. I looked at the armload of bananas I was holding and said, "I guess I am!" What else could I say? Then she wanted to know what I was going to do with all those bananas. So I told her how I like to keep them in the freezer to have on hand for smoothies or banana bread. She had never heard of A) freezing bananas or B) using bananas in smoothies. All she knew to do with bananas was make banana pudding! So I gave her a few tips and off she went with her bananas. I'm still sure she thought I was crazy but I'd like to think that maybe, just maybe, she put a couple bananas in her freezer for a smoothie later on.
I usually have bananas in 3 stages in my kitchen. On average I eat 2 bananas per day so I have ready-to-eat, perfectly ripe bananas hanging on what I call the "banana hammock" (Brian HATES that I call it that - ha ha!) at all times.
When they have become too brown, soft, and/or spotted to be eaten on their own, they will be transferred to the freezer. Usually they will sit on the counter for a few days because I get lazy. Also sitting on the counter, however, will be bags of sale bananas from the Dearborn Farm Market. They have this amazing deal where you get a big bag of bananas for only $1.49! Sometimes they are overripe and will go straight to the freezer (as seen below with the pile of bananas on the left) and sometimes they have yet to ripen and may make it to the hammock for regular everyday consumption (you can see the ones in the bag are still green). It is such a great deal and I buy them so often that I swear they must think that I have a pet monkey. And I like to let them think what they will.
And last are the bananas in the freezer. I have a big container that I keep them in but sometimes they are also in freezer bags if I have a lot in there. To freeze, just peel and either cut or break into chunks. I like to just break them in half so I know later what I'm working with but you'll want to eventually break into smaller pieces when you go to blend them.
So there you go - next time they are on sale, you can really go bananas, too!
Use frozen bananas to make some of my smoothie recipes:
Tropical Spinach Smoothie
Do you keep bananas in your freezer? What do you use them for?
Please tell me you don't really call it a banana hammock!?! :) I used to always puree bananas before freezing them, but sometime I was in a hurry & knew I would likely use them for smoothies anyway so they didn't need to be pureed, so I just threw them in the freezer whole WITH the peels. Big mistake, lesson learned, now I always take a little time to peel them! I go through a lot of bananas at my house too, and I've never been to the Dearborn Farm Market but I might have to check out their bags of bananas Thanks for the tip! :)
ReplyDelete~Kaci
Yes, Kaci, I really do. ;) I'll try to remember to give you a heads-up when they have the bananas at the market because they aren't always there - that way you won't make a trip there for nothing.
DeleteWho doesn't have a freezer full? Difficult to have a good smoothie without them.
ReplyDeleteObviously the lady I met at Kroger doesn't! :)
DeleteWow! I thought I liked bananas but I only go through one a day. I've heard they ripen faster if they're kept in a bunch and in a dark place. Freckled are my favorite and once they get more brown than yellow, off to the fridge they go. I haven't frozen any but if I ever see them on sale, I will!
ReplyDeleteYes, they ripen faster in a paper bag - add another piece of already ripe fruit to further speed up the process. Thanks for adding this tip, Brian!
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