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Fun Facts
The handy banana is technically a berry and grew up in Asia and Papua New Guinea as far back as 5,000 BC. Today India is top banana -- growing more bananas than any other country. The yellow Cavendish is most popular, but bananas come in all colors from yellow to white to red. The banana discovered America in the 1500s thanks to Portuguese traders. These days, Americans go bananas for bananas -- they're our favorite fruit, and we eat an average of 11 pounds of bananas per person per year!
Star Power
Feeling stressed? Grab a banana! It's the only fruit that contains the amino acid tryptophan plus vitamin B6. They work together to help the body produce serotonin - a neurotransmitter that makes you feel calm. B6 also supports the immune system by pumping up the power of infection-fighting white blood cells. Not to mention vitamin A for healthy eyes and potassium to protect the cardiovascular system. Did you know that the entire banana is edible -- flesh, peel and stem?
Quick Preps
PREPARE: Just peel your banana and eat, or peel and cut into slices.
- Add a sliced banana to oatmeal, yogurt, cereal or smoothies.
- Eat a sliced banana with a toothpick. Dip into almond butter!
- Use sliced bananas on nut butter sandwiches instead of jelly.
- Make a healthy chocolate shake. Purée a frozen banana with with coconut milk, avocado and raw cacao powder.
Fun Tip
Make a banana phone call to your favorite person before peeling and eating!
Star-Powered Recipe
Make-Your-Own BANANA SUSHI
Serves 1
Ingredients
- ½ banana with peel on to prevent browning
Toppings
- Peanut butter, almond butter, sunflower seed butter in small cups
- Granola, chia seeds, hemp hearts, cacao nibs, goji berries, coconut flakes, etc. in small cups
Method
- Remove peel from banana.
- Spread nut or seed butter of choice in a line on top of the banana.
- Sprinkle toppings of choice then slice into sushi bites. Enjoy!
How to Store
Fresh, whole: Fresh, whole: Stored at room temperature, bananas need about 2-5 days to ripen. Once ripe, place in the fridge for up to a week. The skin will turn black, but the flesh will be delicious.|To freeze: Peel and mash. Add a teaspoon of lemon juice per cup of mashed banana to prevent browning. Place in airtight containers or freezer bags for up to 3 months.
Fresh, cut up:Squeeze some lemon juice on the banana slices before covering with plastic wrap and placing in the fridge for 3 or 4 days. To freeze, follow directions above.
How It Grows
Bananas don't actually grow on trees - they grow on sturdy stems on the world's largest herb plant. These tropical plants reach up to 25 feet high, and their leaves are huge -- typically 9 feet long and 2 feet wide. Each banana stem hosts several bunches of bananas, called hands, and each individual fruit is called a finger!
Peak Seasons
Year round
Varieties
Cavendish, Lady Finger, Dwarf Red, Gros Michel, Monte Cristo, Goldfinger