Go bananas

Potassium’s Purpose
Let’s start with the basics. Potassium serves as an electrolyte, carrying tiny electrical charges throughout your body, ensuring the proper functioning of your heart. A drop in this vital mineral can cause cardiac arrhythmias (irregular heart beat), and potentially, death. Nerves need it to transmit messages.  Digestive enzymes need it to break down food particles. Potassium salts are needed by the body for sugar metabolism, fat metabolism, brain and nerve function, cellular respiration, smooth operation of your lungs, the health of your joints, and for just about every system in your body. Athletes and people living in hot climates need even more of it this nutrient than the average Joe.
Are you getting enough?

Powerful potassium
Currently there are no RDAs for potassium, however 2.5 to 3 grams (that’s 2,500 to 3,000 milligrams) are recommended. Two to six grams (2,000 to 6,000 milligrams) is considered a good range.

Most Americans fail to come close to this because of their over reliance on packaged, processed, canned, frozen, and refined foods. Surveys suggest that few Americans are getting enough potassium from their diets.

Skip the pills
But don’t look for a pill to meet your potassium needs. Use of potassium supplements can cause fatal heart attack and potassium pills are limited by law to 99 milligrams. You’d need to pop 20 to 60 potassium pills a day to meet your potassium needs! Who needs or wants to do that?

Just peel it!
Fresh vegetables and fruits are your best source of potassium. Bananas aren’t the only nor even necessarily THE best source of potassium, but they’re certainly a good one. They’re familiar, easy to find, easy to eat, and delicious. The average banana contains 467 mg of potassium and 1 mg of sodium.

Banana picture on right from Wikipedia

Banished bananas?
Yeah, I know bananas have been blacklisted by some nutrition gurus because they’re high in the glycemic index but I think this issue is often misunderstood. I hardly think they’re to blame for the obesity and diabetes epidemic.

In their under ripe stage, bananas score as low as 30 on the glycemic index (experts consider a ration below 50 low). When more ripe, their glycemic index is still moderate, in the 60's. That’s still lower than white bread, bagels, cold cereal, and many other processed foods. Besides, research has shown that the glycemic load of a food is more important than its GI (glycemic index).

What about their glycemic index?
The glycemic load is calculated by multipying a foods GI score by the amount of carbohdyrate in a 10 gram portion. Although some fruits, roots, and tubers score high on the glycemic index, they have relatively low glycemic loads compared to modern refined foods, in part because of their bulky nature. The glycemic load of a ripe bananana is only 12. To lower the glycemic index and load of a banana, simply eat it with protein or fat.

Other banana benefits
Bananas contain pectin, a soluble fiber (called a hydrocolloid) that promotes healthy bowel movements. Bananas also contain inulin (an indigestible carbohyrated favored for its ability to feed the friendly flora in your intestines). It’s better to get inulin from whole foods than to take it in supplemental form, which can easily lead to excess and cause G-A-S. Bananas have a naturally sweet taste, and they’re filling.

Frozen Banana Delight >>>> recipe below

Who binges on bananas anyway?
What’s the most amount of bananas you’ve eaten in a single sitting? My all time high: 2 big bananas. Then I was banana’d out. Didn’t want another bite. Compare that to cookies, candies, potato chips, french fries, and other foods people easily eat more than one or two of in a single serving. Bananas have a more natural stopping point than fried, sugared, and artificially flavored processed grain and potato-based foods.

Bananas and a low carb diet
I don’t think it’s a problem to include bananas in your diet, even if you’re low carbing. Could consider them a treat. If you’re low carbing, you could eat tham on a work out day or for your weekly treat meal or snack. Bodybuilders have for years included a weekly free or open meal that allows for inclusion of foods they don’t ordinarily eat on a daily basis during cutting or weight loss phases. Including this weekly treat meal can make following a low carb or paleo diet more sustainable and enjoyable long term.

Bananas and a produce-dominated diet
If you’re not low carbing, just eating a protein and produce rich diet, bananas are a far better choice for regular or frequent use than grains. They don’t contain gluten, phytates, or other irritating substances and they pack a generous dose of potassium. Note: If you’re following the SCD (Specific Carbohydrate Diet) or are very sensitive to inulin and other indigestible carbohdyrates, you may need to forego bananas, at least until your intestines heal sufficiently that you can eat them without disgetive discomfort.

Icy, creamy, delicious
Over ripe bananas make a great alternative to ice cream when sliced, frozen, and topped with a delicious sauce made from almond, cashew, or peanut butter. You can satisfy your sweet tooth and your urge to splurge with simple and wholesome ingredients. You don’t need an ice cream maker for this recipe, just cup or pint size freezer-proof containers with lids, a butter knife, mixing and serving spoons, measuring spoons, measuring cups, and bowls. If you have a food processor, Vita Mix, or blender, assembly of the sauce will be even faster.

The following recipes come from my previous book, The Garden of Eating: A Produce Dominated Diet & Cookbook by Rachel Albert Matesz & Don Matesz (Planetary Press, Copyright 2004). If you order it from my secure on line server, you’ll receive a FREE sample shopping list for the menus in the book 

Frozen Bananas
Prep: 10 to 15 minutes/ Yield: 6 to 12 servings

Besides making bananan bread, over ripe bananas can be sliced, frozen, and added to smoothies, protein drinks, or turned into Frozen Banana Delight (below) Let the bananas fully ripen––but not turn mushy or alcoholic––before freezing. To save money, buy organic bananas after they’ve been marked down. For ease of serving, store the slices in 8-, 12- or 16-ounce freezer containers with snap-on lids. Repeated thawing and freezing of a large container will blacken the bananas. Snack size portions are ideal.

Ingredients:
6 to 12 ripe or slightly over-ripe bananas (more as desired), rinsed, peeled, and thinly sliced

1. Spread banana slices on 1 or more cookie sheets. Freeze until firm.
2. Transfer banana slices to cup, half pint, or pint-size freezer containers, filled to the top. To prevent or reduce discoloration and freezer burn if containers are not full, top each container with a piece of unbleached parchment paper cut to size, then cover with a tight-fitting lid.
3. Label, date, and freeze bananas. Note: Bananas will keep better (and last longer) in a chest freezer. Use within 3 to 6 weeks for best results.

1 cupful: 157 calories, 2 g protein, 35 g carbohydrate, (4 g fiber), 1 g fat, 9 mg calcium, 2 mg sodium

Fluffy Nut Butter        
Prep: 10 minutes/ Yield: 1 cup; 8 servings   

To make almond butter, peanut butter, and other nut butters more spreadable and less calorie-dense, you can emulsify them with warm water and add a little sea salt. After the mixture chills, it thickens and fluffs up making a delicious spread for bread, waffles, baked sweet potatoes, winter squash, cooked apple compote, or sliced fresh or frozen bananas. For a sweeter taste, see variations below.

Notes: Select a bottled brand of nut butter that doesn’t contain added salt, sugar, hydrogenated oil, or soybeans, or use homemade nut butter.Although it may be tempting to dilute an entire jar of nut butter––don’t do it, unless you plan to freeze most of it. Diluted nut butter will sour in the refrigerator after about 5 days if unsalted; 7 to 10 days if salted. It keeps well frozen.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup roasted, unsalted, unsweetened almond, cashew, or peanut butter  
1/2 cup warm filtered water
1/4 teaspoon finely ground, unrefined sea salt (Celtic, Lima, or Real Salt…)

See sweetener suggestion below if using this with frozen bananas

1. Don’t discard the oil on top of a new jar of nut butter. Process the contents of the jar in a food processor, a Vita-Mix, orin a bowl with a sturdy spoon until smooth. Return nut butter to the original jar and refrigerate what you don’t plan to use immediately.

2. Dissolve the sea salt in warm water. Add the almond butter and mix or blend until smooth. Scrape the mixture into a wide-mouth jar or small bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours (or freeze for 1 to 2 hours) until thick, before serving. Use within 4 days if unsalted, within 1 week if salted, or freeze for up to 6 months in covered glass jars with 1-inch of headspace at the top for expansion.

2 tablespoons: 109 calories, 4 g protein, 3 g carbohydrate (3 g fiber), 9 g fat, 89 mg calcium

Variations:

*  Sweet, Fluffy Nut Butter: To the recipes above add 2 to 3 tablespoons honey or agave nectar, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, and 1/4 teaspoon pure stevia extract powder or clear or vanilla flavored stevia extract liquid.

Frozen Banana Delight

Prep: 5 minutes/ Yield: 2 to 4 servings                                                           

This recipe reminds me of ice cream, but it’s a lot more nutritious. You can assemble it in a mere minutes––if you keep sliced frozen bananas in the freezer and a jar of Fluffy Nut Butter in the fridge. Bananas have gotten a bad rap for being high on the glycemic Index, but don’t rule them out. They’re a product of nature: sweet, delicious, and packed with potassium. To reduce their glycemic Index, just serve them with a generous slather of nut butter.

Ingredients:
4 large ripe (sweet) bananas or 3 to 4 cups sliced, bananas, frozen (see recipe above)
1/2 to 3/4 cup Fluffy Almond/Cashew/or Peanut Butter  ( above)
Unsweetened cocoa powder or cacao/cocoa nibs, optional

1.  Empty frozen bananas into 2 to 4 shallow bowls. Allow to soften for 10 to 15 minutes.
2.  Mix Fluffy Almond, Cashew, or Peanut Butter with vanilla. Spoon sauce over bananas and serve. Dust the dessert with unsweetened cocoa powder or sprinkle with cacao nibs for a crunchy taste. Stir and enjoy.

1 serving without cocoa: 279 calories, 6 g protein; 38 g carbohydrate (7 g fiber), 10 g fat, 89 mg calcium, 4 mg sodium 

Variations:

*  Unfrozen Banana Delight: Replace frozen bananas with peeled, sliced fresh bananas.

*  Cocoa Nut Butter Sauce: Add 4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder and 3 to 4 tablespoons water to your Fluffy Almond, Cashew, or Peanut Butter. It adds only 18 calories, 1 gram of carbohydrate, and 1 gram of fat per serving. Add a dash more honey or stevia as needed.

*  Frozen Cocoa Banana Swirl: Prepare as for Frozen Banana Delight with Cocoa but alternate layers of mashed banana and cocoa nut butter sauce in 2 pint-size freezer containers. Cover and freeze for at least 4 hours until firm. Serve with an ice cream scoop and use within 7 days.

For more of my recipes, check out The Garden of Eating: A Produce Dominated Diet & Cookbook (Planetary Press, 2004)