About Banana (Recipes below...)
When Bill Gates said “Intellectual property has the shelf life of a banana” I wonder if he thought about the fact that apples last for so much longer!!
GI:
Banana has a medium GI level, somewhere between 47 and 70. A sweeter, riper banana will of course be on the upper side of this range. The GL however is still low (11-16). Don’t be afraid to snack on a banana, or use it to sweeten or flavour a dessert. yes they have a reasonable amount of carbohydrate (around 20% of their weight content), but like most fruits and vegetables there is a high water, vitamin and fibre content, so it is a much better source of carbohydrate than many others.
Supply:
Growing your own bananas is beyond the scope of most home gardeners, unless you live in a tropical area, however thanks to great transportation and refrigeration processes they are available year round in most countries of the world. Temperature and pressure of bananas is kept tightly controlled during transport and storage, and when they are ready to be sold, a rise in the temperature causes them to ripen! Check out these markets guides to find your local farmers markets and support your local growers! AUSTRALIA, USA, UK.
How to choose ripe fruit:
Buy it weekly, and buy some green and some yellow . Eat when it is yellow all over and smells nice!
Storage:
If you store ripe and unripe bananas together they will all go ripe quicker. If you store bananas with other ripe fruit they will also ripen. Ripe bananas release a chemical from the skin which causes other fruit to ripen, and may even cause a vase of flowers to turn early. Store in a cool place.
Banana recipes
February 15th, 2010
It is HOT… not only is it hot it is humid too…. since when is Sydney at 90-96% humidity for days on end? Thank goodness for the rains to break the cycle over the weekend.. and yet, suddenly I feel as if our whole city has up and migrated to the tropics. Eating food seems [...]
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November 8th, 2009
Reminiscent of gingerbread, but with a delightfully fruity twist on top! I was hoping the mashed banana/ milk/ maple syrup combo would do the trick that brown sugar normally does for an upside down cake (no way I was using half a cup of sugar) — It didn’t caramelise in the way I had hoped. [...]
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October 22nd, 2009
Exquisitely simple, yet so good. Don’t let anyone lead you to believe that the vessel you eat of does not make a difference to taste. I love putting something like this together in a cocktail glass for Dan – it makes that after dinner snack that little bit more special – who would have thought [...]
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October 22nd, 2009
The perfect way to start a weekend – I adapted our favourite banana pancakes recipe, this time sweetening the mixture with the grated apple. No added sugar, but it really doesn’t need it – round it off with piles of fresh fruit and some fat free, sugar free natural yoghurt. After that, all you need [...]
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October 3rd, 2009
Can it get any better for comfort food? Or any simpler? Sanitarium produces a product labelled “Natural Peanut Butter” which is 100% dry roasted nuts, containing no sugars, salts, or added oil. This product is a little cheaper than the health food store versions, but if you are having trouble sourcing it, nearly all health food [...]
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September 7th, 2009
If, like my mum you are allergic to chocolate, you will know the pain of watching others eat chocolate fudge cake! When mum turned forty, I made a giant carob black forest cake for the party. This year, a smaller, apple based cake very similar to our pear fudge chocolate cake. Melted carob drops, and [...]
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July 12th, 2009
One of the most disappointing things about being on a diabetic diet is missing out on things. Saying no to rich desserts is fine most of the time-particularly if the blood sugar spike makes you feel unwell. There are some occasions though, like birthdays, when it is nice to be able to have a piece [...]
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June 26th, 2009
Cafe pancakes are a real no-no for low GI and diabetic diets for a number of reasons: processed white flour, high sugar and usually fried in generous amounts of butter and served with syrups. Delicious, but the huge spike in blood sugars may leave you feeling irritable and rotten afterwards if you are diabetic. This [...]
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