I get home from grocery shopping today and sent my husband out to haul in groceries. He walks in with the first load and says, “Are there a bunch of monkeys coming to live with us?” Haha. Poor man, his wife is crazy.
He found 63 pounds of ripe bananas in the back of the car. I paid $7 for the whole bunch (that’s only 11 cents a pound!). My local QFC had a serious surplus of bananas this morning and I could buy a few bunches at $0.38/lb or I could buy an entire case for about $7. I thought the case had about 20 pounds in it – um, more like 63 pounds!?
Now I’m starting to have second thoughts. What on earth am I going to do with all these bananas? My daughter ate two on the car ride home and it didn’t even leave a dent. Of course I’ll be making banana bread. I’d love recipe ideas that I can freeze – to spread the banana love over many weeks.
I’d love your help. What would you do with 63 pounds of very ripe bananas?
Sincerely,
Going bananas in Olympia, WA
http://thebakingbird.blogspot.com/2009/02/best-vegan-banana-bread.html
The best banana bread recipe ever!!!
Banana ice cream!! slice bananas…freeze for 2 hours…put in blender/food processor…blend until consistency of ice cream. Add favorite toppings…choco chips, carmel, cinnamon…or enjoy plain!!
Hi
We used to live in Hawaii and grew bananas. All of the above are great ideas! Including sharing some! Just some comments about freezing. Either peeled or unpeeled works. They tend to get freezer burned and turn dark faster though. If you freeze them with the peel on (my preference), simply take out of the freezer and slice in half. Then run your knife down the half in length wise cuts (maybe four) and the peel will break away quite easily.
use the peels for the garden it will bring in the butter flys and if you have roses best plast for themm
Totally awesome haul!! I have gotten about 10 pounds at a time, but no where near your haul. I usually take the riper ones and dehydrate them (daughter LOVES them) and keep them in canning jars. Freeze them for recipes, freeze them on popsicle sticks for the kiddos, and eat them until they are gone!!
Freeze, Freeze, Freeze!!!
Definitely peel them before freezing them! I learned that lesson the hard way and would hate for you to get as mad as I was when I couldnt get the inner peel off! But frozen bannasa do make great smoothies and also, you could slice some (pre freezing), melt dark chocolate and spread over the slices, then freeze individually…its a delicious somewhat healthy dessert!
I set the whole frozen banana on the counter for maybe 20 minutes. If I am in a hurry I will set it in a bowl of warm water. When soft to touch, cut off the end and squeeze the banana out of it’s skin. All that comes out is pure banana. No peel. Have done it for years and works like a charm!
Get yourself that YONANA’s machine thing and have be set in the “soft serve” dept. for the whole summer!
Make lots and lots of banana bread and banana muffins, etc. All of those baked goods are easily frozen.
I put overly ripe bananas in the freezer, as is. When I make oatmeal or pancakes I take one out, wash it off and put it in the microwave to soften it. Mine has a “soften” button. When it is squishy I peel it and put it in a bowl and mash it up. I put it back in the microwave for a few seconds to warm it up and it turns into a puree. Then it is easily added to oatmeal or batter. This makes the best banana pancakes ever!
I have a friend that makes a dehydrated banana cookie. He has expeimented for about five years. buying boxes and boxes of over ripe bananas. He puts sunflower seeda, flax seeds, sesame seeds, even added peanut butter to a batch. helines the screens with parchment paper and spoons out the mixture in cookie size portions. whatever sounds good to you add it and try. good luck and have fun. jude ps some pliability makes it easier to get off the parchment.
I freeze bananas just as they are in the peel. It will take up more room than mashing, but works well. When ready to make banana bread, thaw in mircowave and use.
I seen this on the doctors. Yonanas ice cream maker. Turns only bananas into ice cream in seconds. Healthy ice cream. I googled it. Bath bath & beyond and I’m sure other places. My family loves nanas too. I would take a deal like that in a minute. Schools out perfect snack.
I was going to sugguest the smoothie idea, I drink about 6 cups of smoothies a day. But if I had that many bananas, which I wish I did, I would also use them in baking as well. Like the muffins and bread
I think a dehydrated stash would be good… good to add to things later and they rehydrate in the baking. I make banana nut oatmeal that way… and the browner the sweeter and more flavorful they are.
good luck!!
we got ours on amazon for like 40 bucks and it has a few trays… like 5
I get tons of going bad type bananas each week too, like 15 or so probably, and I puree them, store them in ziplock, freeze them, and use them as needed in recipes…this takes up very little space in comparison to whole bananas in your freezer. I add them to pancakes, to french toast, to plain yogurt, cookies, cakes. I have a cookbook called Deceptively Delicious and it has TONS of yummy pureed food recipes. Email me if you want a couple really good and nutritious recipes to try! I don’t know if with copyright stuff I am allowed to post recipes from cookbooks…am I?
RECIPE:
freeze in 1-2 in slice for 1.5 hours
put in food processor until creamy
Presto! Banana Ice Cream
(optional 1 TBS of Peanut butter /3 bananas)
ENJOY
To SHARE:
Ask the pre-school if they can accept them/ use for a filler project/ freeze on sticks for healthy ‘ice pops’ (cut in half add popsicle stick also can add chocolate syrup if needed)
Freezer Tip:
If you freeze the bananas mashed up be sure to write on the bag how many bananas are in there š
I’m so jealous lol I peel bananas and freeze them since I’m on a smoothie diet. If I make my recipe for lunch and dinner, that’s 2 bananas a day. This stash of bananas would only last me about 2 months at that rate š
Bananas are great for thickening smoothies. I cut them into pieces and then freeze them in baggies in portion sizes. Also, did you know that you can freeze bananas whole, with the peel still on them? You CAN! I do it all the time. When I am ready to make banana bread or muffins I just put 3 bananas in a bowl and let them thaw. Then I open one end and push the banana out and mash it up a bit. Wah la! Enjoy your bananas! I would be tempted to buy the whole box too if I weren’t moving across the state in 3 weeks.
I have a couple ideas. First of all, peel, cut in half and dip in melted chocolate and freeze – DELICIOUS summer treat!!! Next, freeze for use in smoothies! I make a smoothie using orange juice, banana and frozen strawberries. No sugar, nothing else – simple and delicious!! I’m so jealous!
Fruity tropical adult beverages. It’s the perfect season (if we ever have any sun) and frozen bananas work great. I also agree on the dipped bananas. You could have a Disneyland moment whenever you wanted that way.
I normally bring overly brought stuffs to work to share with my coworkers (most of them bring me insert coupons every week). Another way is to donate some to the zoo for the monkeys, if they accept bananas donations.
You can mash the bananas and freeze them when you are ready to make that banana bread instead of doing it right now. Just mash them with a bit of lemon juice and freeze either in a big bag together or in ice cube trays
I say, sell some to me so I don’t have to pay that gawd awful price that the commissary charges and I in return will turn it into ice cream. Oh heck, just come over and we’ll discuss coupons and all things frugal while I make us a batch of banana ice cream in my new ice cream maker while we sip strawberry/banana smoothies. Dare to dream right? Lol.
Oooh yea…banana bread, banana nut muffins, dehydrated banana chips….you could also make banana ice cream (put it in a blender with ice and an optional splash of milk). Use it to top your cereal, oatmeal, ice cream, oh boy! All those bananas!!
I don’t think either of your kids are in school but if I had that many I’d send some to the school to share with the teachers and kids.
Tons of ideas! I’m sure you’ll be sick of bananas for a while after this LOL
My husband is a high-school special ed teacher at an alternative school. And the kids he teaches often can use free food. He’s taking a ton to school tomorrow.
My husband would be totally excited about this deal! He buys lots of bananas for banana ice cream and for bananas foster (so yummy and really fun to make!) Have fun with all of those bananas!
Banana chips! MMMM. My fav:
http://panlasangpinoy.com/2012/01/01/banana-chips-recipe/
I also peel and freeze for later use. This is hands down my families favorite banana muffin recipe
http://annies-eats.com/2009/03/11/banana-espresso-chocolate-chip-muffins/
Enjoy!
Freeze them for smoothies, cut them in slices and freeze to make chocolate covered bananas, dehydrate them for banana chips, make muffins and bread and then freeze those.
cut them up and freeze them. when frozen, pop in food processor. whip them into ice cream. add 1/2 cup of chocolate chips or peanut butter. Low fat, summer ice creamish treat.
Good banana crumb muffin floating around on the Internet. I use mine for homemade banana ice-cream, also banana pudding.
Dehydrate some and make banana chips for trail mix!
Maybe take some to the food bank, or pass out in town to homeless people who are actually hungry and could use that food rather than stockpile and possibly waste? What a good way to teach lessons to our kids about people who are less fortunate than we are.
Peel them and freeze them whole in flat layers in gallon bags. I buy tons of “cut” (very ripe) bananas all the time when they are available. The four of us drink green smoothies every morning for breakfast so that’s 4 x 7 = 28 bananas a week, plus eating and cooking bananas. But I have 2 refrig/freezers and a deep freeze too.
You can do dipped frozen bananas. And banana pudding. You can also share with family and friends. I wish our QFC was closer!! It closed a minto after we moved back.
freeze them for homemade banana bread, or i freeze them then add them to my favorite oatmeal cookie recipe with chocolate chips/walnut or peanut butter for a banana bread cookie, family loves them!
I once read a neat post on an Asian food blog about how this woman’s 90-year-old grandma always looked for the brownest bananas then dried (dehydrated them) and used them in all kinds of baking. She swore the taste was outrageously good.