5 Ways You Can Make Use Of Overripe Bananas

A squishy banana turning black on its peel is hard to eat as a snack, as many would agree. The window of opportunity between an edible banana that is still ripe and firm to when it turns overripe, is so thin that almost always when you buy bananas in bulk, there’s a chance that some might turn inedible. But before you leave them to rot a little more or discard completely, you’d be surprised to know what you could put those to use by blending or mashing up. Here’s 5 ways you could turn this obvious disadvantage in your favour with a few simple tricks and easy to follow recipes.

1. Blueberry-Spinach Smoothie 

If you have a blender at home, then you are in luck. Overripe bananas are sweeter than your perfectly ripe ones and provide a natural sweetness to your smoothies and shakes. This smoothie recipe is loaded with anti-oxidants and fibre and will give you the perfect start to your day. 

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup of frozen blueberries 
• 2 cups of spinach, washed 
• 3 overripe bananas 
• Water (as required) 
• Honey (optional) 

Method: 

1. Add your frozen blueberries to the blender, followed by 2 cups of spinach and 3 peeled overripe bananas. 
2. Blitz it up and once all the contents within the blender are homogenized, check the consistency. 
3. If you want it to be a little less thick, add water to remedy that. 
4. If you want your smoothie to be sweeter, add honey to your liking. 
5. Pour it in a tall glass and bon appetit!

2. Gluten-free Sorghum Banana Bread 

If you’re looking to use gluten-free alternatives to all-purpose flour for baking, sorghum is the closest you could find. Spruce it up with overripe bananas on your countertop and you’ll be surprised to find out how indistinguishable it looks and tastes to a classic banana bread. This bread also requires no use of a stand mixer, just your upper body strength to mix it all together with a whisk, so, need I say more? 

Ingredients: 

• 1 ½ cups (190 grams) sorghum flour  
• 4 to 5 overripe bananas, peeled 
• 80 grams of salted butter, melted 
• 150 grams of light brown sugar 
• 1 whole egg 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda 
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon 
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg 
• A pinch of salt 
• A pinch of ground clove 

Method: 

1. Before you do anything, preheat the oven to 177 degrees Celsius. 
2. In a large bowl, mash the wet ingredients together. Start by mashing the overripe bananas, then add the melted butter and whisk it together.  
3. Add the egg, vanilla, brown sugar and the spices, namely, cinnamon, salt, clove and nutmeg to the banana and butter mixture and whisk them together to a fine paste in the same bowl. 
4. Once the wet ingredients are compiled, add the sorghum flour and baking soda through a fine mesh sieve to avoid any lumps. Use a spatula to mix them until they all come together, and there’s no speck of white left in the mixture. 
5. Butter a 4x8 inch loaf pan and then pour the mixture in it. 
6. Bake for 50 minutes to an hour, depending on the temperature in your oven. Stick a skewer in the bread to check if it comes out clean.  
7. Once the bread has baked, cool on a rack for 30 minutes to an hour before removing from the loaf pan. Slice and serve!  

3. Easy Vegan Layered Strawberry And Mango Ice Cream 

If you’re looking to make ice cream that’s easy on the gut and not too loaded with sugar, but is equal parts delicious and to-die-for, then look no further! This scrumptious layered ice cream will tend to your sweet tooth for days, and it’s vegan too! Here’s how to make it. 

Ingredients: 

To make mango ice cream-

• 6 mangoes, peeled and cut into large chunks, and frozen 
• 2 overripe bananas, cut into chunks, and frozen

To make strawberry ice cream- 

• 4 overripe bananas, peeled, and cut into chunks, frozen  
• 3 ½ cups frozen strawberries 

Method: 

1. In a blender, blitz up the frozen mango and banana chunks until it's smooth.
2. Put the blended mixture in a freezer proof container, with a large surface area. Tap the container lightly over the countertop to make sure there are no bubbles and the mixture has spread evenly throughout. 
3. Secure the lid and put it in the freezer. 
4. Once the mango ice cream is frozen solid, then you can move on to make the strawberry part. 
5. Wash the blender and add the frozen strawberry and banana chunks. 
6. Same as before, blitz the two together until they’re smooth and creamy. 
7. Empty the contents of the blender over the frozen mango layer of the same container.  
8. Smoothen out the upper surface, tap the container lightly like before. 
9. Secure the lid and put it in the freezer. 
10. Give it a day or till it’s frozen solid and revel having made ice cream in your home that’s both healthy and tasty!

4. Vegan Banana Pancakes 

Pancakes for breakfast can bring a smile to anyone’s face. It can be the perfect start to your day too and if you have any overripe bananas hanging around, it is the optimal way to make use of them first thing in the morning. What's more is that it's vegan and requires very few ingredients to pull off altogether. 

Ingredients: 

• 3-4 overripe bananas 
• 3 tablespoons light brown sugar 
• 1 cup whole wheat flour or atta 
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon/cardamom/ground fennel seeds 
• For toppings: blueberries, raspberries or chocolate chip 
• Water, as required 
• Neutral oil, as required 

Method: 

1. Add your overripe bananas to a large mixing bowl and mash them. 
2. Add the light brown sugar to the mashed bananas and whisk them till it is all homogenized. 
3. Add the flour and spices to the wet ingredients. 
4. Add water bit by bit and mix as you go along. 
5. Once the batter is droopy but thick, stop adding more water to the mix. 
6. Brush oil in your non-stick pan and put it on medium heat. 
7. Add the batter to the center of the pan and let it spread out by itself. 
8. Place your toppings on the uncooked side of the pancake. 
9. Check if the underside of the pancake is cooked, add drops of oil to the sides if it needs it. 
10. Flip once the underside is brown and nothing is sticking to the pan. 
11. Rinse and repeat till you have your stack of pancakes ready to be served.

5. Vegan Carrot Cake 

Even though this is a cake where the most prominent flavour will be that of the carrots, the bananas will make this cake moist and umptious. It is the perfect accoutrement to have during your evening tea, or just as is. The sweetness of the carrots, bananas, and dates warrants no further use of processed sugar in this recipe, so rest assured it is very healthy as well. 

Ingredients: 

• 2 cups finely shredded carrots 
• 2 cups unsweetened plant milk, such as almond, soy, or cashew 
• 140 grams pitted whole dates, chopped 
• 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 
• ½ cup golden raisins 
• 5 overripe bananas, peeled and sliced 
• 2 cups regular rolled oats 
• 3 teaspoons baking powder 
• 2 teaspoon baking soda 
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg 
• Pinch of ground cloves 
• Pinch of salt 
• ¾ cup of chopped nuts (could be an assortment of cashew, pistachios and almonds) 

Method: 

1. Combine the plant milk, dates, banana, and vanilla in a medium bowl and let it stand for 30 minutes. 
2. Place the oats in a blender. Cover and blend until a powder forms. 
3. Transfer the oat flour to a large bowl. Add the rest of the dry ingredients like salt, baking powder, baking soda, and the spices, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. 
4. Preheat the oven to 177 degrees Celsius.  
5. Transfer the wet ingredients in the bowl to the blender. Cover and blend until smooth.  
6. Add the date mixture to the oat mixture in bowl; stir just until combined. Fold in the ½ cup of golden raisins, ¾ cup of chopped nuts and the shredded carrots. 
7. Line a 10-inch square baking pan with parchment paper.  
8. Spread the batter into the prepared baking pan.
9. Bake for 50 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.  
10. Cool in the pan for 20 minutes. Remove from the pan and cool on a wire rack.