What don't you know
about bananas?

Bananas are a very versatile fruit 🍌

Bananas are one of the most popular fruits in the world, alongside other fruits such as apples and oranges, it ranks in the top five. Bananas in their natural form, are gluten free, whole food and vegan friendly. They are nutritious and conveniently packaged in it's own natural shell, making it easy to carry with you and eat it on the go.

When it comes to ideal first foods for your baby, bananas are at the top of the list! They are easy to digest and naturally sweet which make them highly palatable for even the fussiest eaters.

Sliced bananas can be added to smoothies, oatmeal, yogurt, cereal, and/or toast with any nut-butter to add additional flavor, texture and nutrients.

You can slice and freeze bananas to use at your convenience. Add frozen bananas into smoothies as an added ingredient or simply blend them up as-is to make “nice cream” a healthy alternative to ice cream.

Depending on the recipe, bananas can be used to replace certain ingredients such as sugar (for sweetness), oil (for moisture), and/or egg (for binding) when baking and cooking as a healthier alternative.

Wild bananas (Musa acuminata and and Musa balbisiana) much smaller in size and have hard stony seeds inside. They grow natively in the Southeast Asia region of the world (mainly Indonesia stretching to the Philippines). These wild bananas are edible, but only after the seeds are removed from the meat of the fruit and prepared a certain way since their taste and texture differ compared to our everyday domesticated, Cavendish bananas.

Since banana leaves are edible, they are often times used in many cultural recipes as a wrap to hold the ingredients together

Banana fiber is used to weave rope, baskets, rugs and even fabric which date back to 13th Century Japan before silk and cotton were introduced to make Kimonos.

In Korea “Haru Hana Banana”, directly translated “One a day Banana” is packed with a banana of different ripeness to eat over several days and not worry about it becoming overripe.

Banana peels make excellent addition to the garden. Make fertilizer and/or compost tea with it to boost the health of plants safely and naturally. It's no surprise since bananas contain many important vitamins and minerals.

Banana trees are technically not a tree. They are stalks and scientifically categorized as a pernial herb plant. These plants can be used as landscaping decoration since they grow tall and give good shade and privacy. Not to mention a tropical feel to your outdoor livingspace and possibly fruit!

Bananas can be dehydrated and be eaten like chips! The flavors become concentrated and so do the nutrients when the water is removed from the fruit by oven-drying or freeze-drying.

Four companies — Chiquita, Fyffes, Dole and Del Monto — control more than 80 percent of the world's banana sales. In the year 2014, Chiquita and Fyffes almost merged together to become the biggest banana supplier in the world.

The top banana producing nation is inarguably India which has a year-long production of the fruit.

Plantains are a type of banana that needs to be cooked before consumption. Both green and yellow plantains are used in popular Latin-American and Caribbean cuisines.

The flower blooms of the banana plant are edible!

Banana peels are also edible! Have you heard of banana peel bacon?

To make banana alcohol, dissolve some sugar in water, mash your ripe bananas (or other fruits) into the sugar water, add wine yeast, keep it in a fermentation jug sealed with an airlock for a few weeks, strain out the fruit, and drink. Banana rum and banana liqueur are used to make delicious shots and cocktail drinks.

Banana paper market has been expanding due to it's environmentally friendly nature. Banana paper uses less energy to produce compared to traditional paper-making and also uses less synthetic materials and chemicals. The demand is increasing as we see the usage for it in various stationary items like business cards, greeting cards, notebooks, etc.

Banana peels have a lot of vitamins, minerals, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. It's no wonder it's good for skin care! Rubbing a banana peel on your face can help moisturize and brighten your skin. Rumors say that it may also reduce wrinkles and help with skin discoloration from acne by evening out your skin tone. Placing a banana peel on your closed eyes like you do with a slice of cucumber can reduce puffiness.

Use over ripe bananas to make banana bread or banana pancakes!

You can creatively write a message in your loved one's lunch box... on a banana! Using a toothpick, write your message in the morning when packing your loved one's lunch. They may not see it right then, but when lunch time rolls around, the message should be darker and be easier to read.