Kids & Company Blog

You’ll Go Bananas for this Blog!

This week’s blog is dedicated to one of my favourite fruits, the banana. Not only are they extremely tasty, but they are also a healthy choice for you and your little ones. Bananas are high in potassium, low in fat, and a good source of vitamins and fiber. Best of all, bananas grow all year round, so you can enjoy this delicious fruit regardless of the season!

The banana was officially introduced to the North American market at the Philadelphia Exposition of 1876. For 10 cents apiece, visitors could purchase this exotic fruit wrapped in tinfoil and eaten with a knife and fork. Since then, bananas have evolved and they are now enjoyed in desserts, breads, and even breakfast items!

There are four stages in the life cycle of a banana. Each stage offers great new recipe ideas. I found this great article on the different stages at CostalLiving.com.  (Check it out here: http://bit.ly/14dC1S6) At the beginning of the cycle, bananas are under ripe and are green in colour. They have little flavour or sweetness during this stage, but they can be cooked in stews and curry. In the next stage, bananas become greenish-yellow, and this is the best time to mash or fry them as fritters! Bananas then become yellow all over in the completely ripe stage. This is the perfect opportunity to make a banana fruit salad. In the last stage, bananas become very ripe. When this occurs, try baking some banana bread or sautéing the bananas for delicious desserts!

I’ll leave you off with two great tips and a tasty Kidco Kitchen recipe! If you can’t wait to eat your new bunch of bananas, but they are not ripe enough yet to eat, try putting your green bananas in a paper bag with an apple, pear or tomato. Although this sounds pretty strange, apples, pears and tomatoes actually produce ethylene gas which quickens the ripening process. If however, your bananas are ripening too fast, put them in the fridge to slow down the process. You’ll be able to save your bananas until they are ready to enjoy!

 

 

Cheers,

 

Chef Lisa

Chief Food Ambassador

 

Kidco Kitchen Monkey Pudding

*Makes 5-6 Servings

What you need:

3 Bananas

1 cup Apple Sauce

4 tsp. Creamy Vanilla Yogurt

¼ tsp. Ground Cinnamon

 

What to do:

1. Wash hands.

2. Peel bananas and mash them in a bowl.

3. Add apple sauce, yogurt and cinnamon.

4. Serve ½ cup per serving.

 

 

 

 

Posted on: Wednesday July 17th, 2013

Posted by: Lisa Ruscica