Wednesday Wellness by A Panama Mama - Best Snack Ever - Dehydrated Bananas
Today is my first post for Wellness Wednesday. Each week I would like to bring to you something about health and wellness. I have various healthy recipes, workout routines and other natural remedies that I have used. I hope it will encourage you to be more purposeful with your health or make a healthy change.
When we moved to Panama and started attending the Friday market, I noticed one vendor had dehydrated bananas. I thought this was interesting sounding, but I didn’t buy any. A few days later, we went to a friend’s house and she offered me one that she had purchased. I was hooked…and so were the kids! These are some kind of yummy! There had to be some secret!
We started thinking about it and realized that we have a dehydrator at home and my friend told me how she makes them. All we needed were bananas and we would be all set! It is so simple.
- Buy bananas.
- Cut bananas in half lengthwise and discard peels.
- Put bananas in the dehydrator and cook until no longer soft (about 12 hours) at 135 degrees F
That’s it! There is no special seasoning or magic trick. These are tasty and they are good for you! They travel well, make a great pick me up in the middle of the afternoon and aren’t quite as filling as a regular banana. My kids love these.
We recently took a trip and dehydrated something like 4 dozen bananas before going and they were all gone when we returned home. There is no way we could have traveled with that many unbruised bananas any other way. Great for toddler snacks, school lunches, hiking, plane rides, breakfast and so much more!
If you do not have a dehydrator, you can also cook this in the oven on the lowest temperature setting, but it will take up to 12 hours. These will not get crunchy liked fried banana chips. Just cook them up to your desired texture and enjoy!
Check out what this site has to say about them:
"Ounce for ounce, dehydrated bananas are about four times higher in fiber, potassium, carbohydrates, sugar and calories than the fresh variety."
Let me know in the comments if you give these a try!
Wellness Wednesday will be brought to you here every Wednesday by A Panama Mama.
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yum yum. whoops, that's only 2 words. yum. seriously, though, how do dehydrated bananas compare to commercial banana chips. which I absolutely love.
Banana chips are mighty tasty, although fried and sugared up. Dehydrated bananas are just peeled bananas that are dehydrated. They taste like banana and aren't crisp although you can make them crisp. These are healthier and yet still yummy.
Great how to!
Brings back memories... Dried banana chips were my veriest favorite as a child!
I have been thinking of getting a dehydrator myself and this definitely puts it in my list. The only thing is that I need to be sure that it is energy consumption friendly. 12 hours of energy used is not a small issue for folks who needs to go on a budget. At this point of time I will try to scout for friends who love to have that, otherwise, I will have to go for the store packed for now. lol.
Good post in promoting healthy snacks (especially for the kids!)
upvoted and resteemed
Thanks for the reply! I haven't really thought about how much energy it takes, but that does make sense. We use ours pretty regularly - at least a few times a week. Ours has 4 trays and can dry around 2 dozen or so bananas at a time. I know there are various kinds of dehydrators too. I bet amazon reviews would help with that.
Well, Amazon is not a big fan with Malaysia.
Too much competition lol.
But yes, everything needs to be place in calculation and see if there are better ways for dehydrating.
I saw a few models that has 4 trays too. Just need to see it's power usage and then calculate the costs to see whether it is worth while or not.
4 trays can do a lot!
It's been a long time since I've had dried bananas like this (I did like them though).
Another similar -but different- snack I'm a big fan of is plantain chips. I get both the sweet and salty types made with coconut oil since I prefer coconut over vegetable oils. Ever try them?
Yeah, we've had plantain chips. Yum. We tried them at PriceSmart with peanut butter and it was mighty tasty!
Great idea! When our bananas have fruit I usually freeze the excess, but I'll have to try this. Thanks, and looking forward to your future posts :)
Cool !!!! I think dipped in Nutella sounds good too :)
For me, dehydrated food was an acquired taste. As a kid, I wasn't that fond of dried apples or apricots. But it's grown on me through the years (no pun intended.) I may even talk to my husband about getting one of these contraptions.
I've also come to really like banana chips. I'm glad to see you say they can be made crispy with this process. The idea of dry / soft, for some reason doesn't quite make it.
It might also be a way for me to eat more bananas. I read every so often how good they are for you ... but my resolve to eat them more -- well, ... falters.
Even I don't understand it. I'm crazy for banana flavored taffy. I'll by that by the pound. (I had a favorite taffy shop in Estes Park, CO where I'd go and stock up for several months every so often.) Real bananas though ... not so much.
Maybe this will change my mind. I'm willing to give it a go. [smile]
Yeah, we recently had a batch that we cooked too long and they were super crunchy. Fried banana chips you get in trail mix are my kids' favorite, but not nearly as good for you as these. Anyway, thanks for the reply! :)
I love dehydrated bananas! I usually dry them in rounds, but I like the cut in half method you showed us all, much less work.
Can't wait to see your future Wellness Wednesday offerings!😊
Thanks! Yeah, they are yummy and feel more substantial as halves. Maybe it helps you realize how many you've eaten that way as well. "Oops, I just ate 2 bananas worth!" ;) Have a great day! Thanks for the comment!
A food dehydrator is on my list of things I'd love to have. I did the oven method with mangos but it took so long that I never did it again. I'd love to try bananas. They are always so cheap to buy at the store that a bunch would be great to have dehydrated as a toddler snack for my daughter.
It is a great snack and you can get a good dehydrator from amazon for pretty cheap. I'm pretty sure that's where we got ours.