Banana Desserts

Banana desserts are a summertime treat. Bananas are sweet, delicious, and extremely versatile.

They are good for your hair, skin, digestive health, and even your vision, they can be baked, fried, frozen, mashed, and used in place of oil in baking.

Health Benefits of Banana Desserts

There are many health benefits that come with eating bananas:

Potassium powerhouse:

• A medium banana gives you 450 milligrams, which is 13% of what you need every day. This mineral is a big player in heart health.
• Potassium-rich foods help manage your blood pressure because they help you get rid of more sodium when you pee.
• Potassium also relaxes the walls of your blood vessels, which helps lower your BP.
• May lower your risk of stroke
• Can help keep your bones healthy as you age
• Helps your muscles work better
• Can help prevent kidney stones

A Feast of Fiber:

• It’s no secret that the right amount of fiber in your diet is good for you. An average-size ripe banana gives you 3 grams of it. That’s about 10% of what you need each day.

• Most of the fiber in bananas is what’s called soluble fiber. It can help keep your cholesterol and blood pressure in check, and help ease inflammation.

• Green bananas are full of something called resistant starch. It acts like insoluble fiber, which is the kind that can help keep your bowels working at their best. Resistant starch also helps lower your blood sugar.

• In general, foods that are high in fiber make you feel full without extra calories. That also makes them a good choice if you want to shed a few pounds.

Prebiotics and Probiotics:

• The yellow fruit is a source of prebiotics.
• Those are carbs you don’t digest, but they’re a food source for the more-popular probiotics.
• Those are the good bacteria found in your gut.
• There’s also evidence that probiotics can help with the annoying diarrhea people get after they take some antibiotics.

Cocoa Banana Ice Cream

INGREDIENTS (makes 1 serving)

• 1 banana, cut into small pieces, placed in a plastic bag, and frozen
• 1 1/2 tsp cocoa powder
• 14 dry roasted salted peanuts

TIP

Keep a bag of banana pieces in the freezer for a quick and delicious any-time chocolatey treat. (It works without the peanuts as well.)

STEPS

1. Place the banana and cocoa powder in a food processor.

2. Process on and off several times until creamy, stir in the peanuts, and serve immediately.

Nutrients (per serving):

Calories: 193;
Total fat: 7 g;
Total carbohydrate: 32 g;
Dietary fiber 5 g;
Protein: 5 g

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