Bananas are the ultimate fruit for smoothies. Bananas play a dual role making smoothies the perfect creamy consistency and just the right sweetness. For most a smoothie recipes a banana will provide all the necessary sweetness without having to add any other sweeteners. Also, bananas are widely available throughout the year and are one of the most cost-effective fruits for smoothies in the market. If texture, sweetness, and price weren’t enough, bananas are also a highly nutritious healthy food. All of these benefits make bananas an excellent option for regular daily smoothies.
Read on to learn all you need to know about using bananas in your smoothies.
What are bananas?
Bananas are edible fruits produced by the tall Musa tree. Bananas are botanically classified as a berry. Each Musa tree can produce 50 – 150 bananas that grow in bunches throughout the tree. Bananas are grown in hot climates throughout the world in over 100 countries. There are many varieties of bananas with different colors from green, to red, and yellow. Bananas are often called plantains. The difference has to do with how the banana is intended for use. If the banana is used for cooking it is referred to as a plantain. When cooked a firmer more fibrous less ripe plantain is typically used. Softer sweeter dessert bananas are the ones referred to as bananas.
Many bananas are artificially ripened before they hit your supermarket. The process involves picking the bananas green and exporting it to the destination country. Upon arrival to the destination country, the bananas are placed in a gas chamber like room where they are exposed to ethylene gas which induces ripening.
When the bananas hit the right vibrant yellow color they are sent to the store for sale. Bananas not exposed to the gassing are sold as plantains for cooking.
What do bananas taste like in smoothies?
Bananas have a very complex taste that noticeably changes as the banana ripens. A green unripe banana will have less taste, little sweetness, and more fiber resulting in a starchy taste. As the banana ripens and yellows the distinct banana fruit flavor will begin to come out along with more sweetness. The banana will begin to spot and eventually turn brown. At this last stage, the banana will taste the sweetest as fiber breaks down into sugar. The taste and texture will also start to change.
Bananas do have a rather strong taste that can often overpower anything it is added to.
However, I find with smoothies that the banana taste is greatly lessened when it is used in smoothies. When using a whole frozen banana in a smoothie with a cup or two or other fruits I find just a slight banana taste with most of the changes to the smoothie from the banana going to sweetness and texture.
Everybody has their preferences when it comes to the optimum time to eat a banana. For the most part, if you want more fiber and less sweet have your bananas on the green side, and for a sweeter taste in your smoothies use the banana somewhere between yellow and brown. My preference for bananas is to have or freeze them just as they begin to get brown spots on them.
What are the nutritional facts of a banana?
A raw banana without the peal is composed of about 75% water, 23% carbs, 1% of protein, and a tiny amount of fat. An average banana weighing in at 100 grams will have 89 calories. Additionally, a 100-gram banana will include the following:
- Carbohydrates: 22.84 g
- Sugars: 12.23 g
- Dietary fiber: 2.6 g
- Fat: 0.33 g
- Protein: 1.09 g
Vitamins DVQuantity %DV
- Thiamine (B1) 3% 0.031 mg
- Riboflavin (B2) 6% 0.073 mg
- Niacin (B3) 4% 0.665 mg
- Pantothenic acid (B5) 7% 0.334 mg
- Vitamin B6 31% 0.4 mg
- Folate (B9) 5% 20 μg
- Choline 2% 9.8 mg
- Vitamin C 10% 8.7 mg
Minerals Quantity %DV
- Iron 2% 0.26 mg
- Magnesium 8% 27 mg
- Manganese 13% 0.27 mg
- Phosphorus 3% 22 mg
- Potassium 8% 358 mg
- Sodium 0% 1 mg
- Zinc 2% 0.15 mg
Other constituents Quantity
Water 74.91 g
Are bananas healthy?
Bananas are a packed nutritional powerhouse and considered a healthy superfood by many. Bananas have high amounts of fiber, potassium, vitamin C, potassium, Vitamin A, Iron, and many other vitamins and minerals. One of the concerns with bananas is their high sugar content, especially as they are on their tail end of ripeness. As bananas turn brown, their fiber breaks down, and sugar content increases. Bananas are classified as a low glycemic food as they do have high amounts of fiber that helps slow sugar breakdown in the body or pass it through. Bananas in moderation do not cause an insulin spike in blood.
With all the nutrition in bananas, there are reports that bananas help with heart health, digestive health, weight loss, and can even help with mood stabilization. Since bananas are primarily made of carbs and are low glycemic they make excellent pre-workout energy. The carbs should steadily enter your system throughout your work out helping you throughout. Many endurance athletes use bananas as an energy source in their workouts and competitions.
Can you have bananas in your smoothies every day?
There are limited drawbacks to bananas in your smoothie every day. Bananas are very healthy and make smoothies have excellent sweetness and texture. One consideration is the intake of sugar. You may want to limit having high content brown bananas on the regular.
How to store and ripe bananas for your smoothies
I like to buy slightly green bananas. From there I simply set the bunch of bananas uncovered on the counter. Sometimes your banana will come with plastic wrap around the stem of the banana bunch. This keeps ethylene gas from escaping the banana and slows the ripening process.
Depending on if you want the bananas to ripen fast or slower you can keep the wrap on or remove it. From there I keep an eye on the banana to see when brown spots just start appearing on the bananas. At that point, I will either use the banana or freeze the banana.
Remember this will come down to preference and taste. The more ripe a banana is the less fiber and sweeter the taste. To freeze bananas you simple unpeel them, cut them into desired sizes, place in a freezer bag or container, and freeze. Frozen bananas will stop ripening and lock in their ripe state when frozen.
My preference is to use frozen bananas, so I usually keep a ripening bunch on the counter and a bag of frozen in the freezer.
How to use bananas in smoothies
Using bananas in smoothies is an easy task. Simply peel your banana and break it in enough pieces to fit in your blender. I like to use a half banana for a single-serve smoothie and a whole banana for a large meal replacement type smoothie. My preference is to use frozen bananas in my smoothies as the cold creamy texture that a frozen banana produces just can’t be beaten. Simply use the same amount of frozen to equate to half or whole banana for your smoothie.
Simple Banana Smoothie
- 1 Frozen Banana
- 1 cup of milk (dairy, Almond, Coconut, or any other)
- 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup Greek yogurt