I was delighted when we were given 40 pounds of bananas. It was a whole box, and there were a lot of bananas in it. They were in excellent condition. They were even organic! What a blessing. There were also a few bunches in a bag that were not quite as nice, but could still be used. So, I think I had about 50 or more pounds to work with. Here’s what I did with them.
- We have been eating bananas at every opportunity.
- I took some bunches to share with my family.
- I had the 4H dry some and they will use them at the next meeting.
- I tried another recipe that was suggested on The Prudent Homemaker blog. I cut strips and sprinkled them with brown sugar, cinnamon and ginger and they are drying now.
- Ja’Ana dipped some in chocolate and froze them for yummy snacks.
- I froze quite a few gallon-sized bags. I cut the bananas, put them in the bags, then squirted a squirt of lemon juice in the bag and worked it around with my hands to prevent browning. We use those frozen chunks for smoothies, and they can also be used for baking, if desired. They just need to be defrosted and smashed.
- Last, but not least, I made banana pudding. This was also a suggestion from The Prudent Homemaker Blog. I made a simple cornstarch vanilla pudding and added bananas. We ate some, but I put too many bananas in it and it broke down and became runny. So, I froze the rest for smoothies or milkshakes.
- We still have 4-5 bunches left over for eating and further creativity. It took most of the day yesterday, but I’m delighted to say I’m fully stocked up on bananas right now. What a blessing!
Becky, you have me curious. Would you be so kind as to tell us how you managed to get an entire box of bananas given to you? I wish that would happen to me!
Rhonda,
Rob went up to a Gleaner’s group that we used to be very involved with to pick up a load of extremely rotten fruit for the pigs. It was so bad that they were unable to distribute it to people. In fact, we probably won’t take anything that bad again–think Rob and Becky unloading boxes that were running with rotten fruit juice! Anyway, one of the ladies that we know up there gave us the box of good bananas. She had more than she needed. Sometimes they get in an insane amount of a certain item and people may get entire boxes of bananas, or flats of strawberries, or boxes of lettuce. The teams that receive the items can do what they want with it–eat it, preserve it, or give it away. I had been volunteering up there every Friday for a long time, but when we got another child unexpectedly, I had to give it up. At this time, we can’t even spare the time for the volunteer hours required to be a member–different seasons of life allow me to do different things, but it was worthwhile when I could do it.
Goodness, that’s a lot of bananas, and organic too! You did a good job being creative with them. I’ve only frozen them for smoothies and bread or muffins.
I was delighted to get them. The girls love smoothies, and a lot of them will be used for that around here.