The Beauty of Over-Ripe Bananas

If you saw these at the store, would you think, "Eww! Those are some bad bananas!" and look for the blemish-free bright yellow variety?

If so, you'd be really missing out! Let me explain. After school yesterday, David went to the local market and found these beauties on sale. Only $0.19 per pound! He grabbed all that they had left and spent a whopping $0.77. He jumped on this deal because he knows that these bananas are perfect for banana "ice cream!"

I first read about this phenomenon over on The Kitchn this past summer and couldn't believe it til I tried it. Well, I tried it and it was amazing!

First, cut up bananas and place in the freezer for at least a couple of hours.

Once frozen, take the bananas out and let them slightly thaw for about 10 minutes before whipping them up in the food processor or blender. And that's it! Before blending the bananas, you can add in whatever you like. Cocoa powder, peanut butter, and chocolate chips would all be good. But technically, you don't have to add anything at all. You could just whiz up the bananas on their own and it would be great.

I like to add in a little soy milk to make it creamier and a few drizzles of agave nectar for some added sweetness (I tried honey and it tends to glob up in cold foods, so I go for the agave). I also like to put in a few dashes of cinnamon.

If you do this in a food processor, you'll need to let it run for a few minutes to get the right texture. I've never tried it in a blender, but I'm sure you'd need to give it a few minutes that way too.

Got this food processor at Wal Mart a while back for only $5! Best $5 I've ever spent!

Voila! Yummy, easy, cheap, healthy "ice cream!"

The bananas David brought home will be enough for about 8 small servings of ice cream. Since he only spent $0.77 on the bananas, that's less than $0.10 per serving! Blows my mind.

I don't even like to eat bananas by themselves, but I love this ice cream. So even if you aren't crazy about bananas in their natural state, give this a try and let me know how it goes.


Hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving!


~Tammy