I did a quick internet search and found that they are edible and do have some nutritional value. I was super busy that day but quickly cut up a few trays of banana peels and dried them.
They contain Lutein which is good for the eyes. They contain high amounts of potassium. They contain an amino acid Tyrosine. They are high in antioxidants and the greener the peel, the more antioxidants they contain.
You can boil the peel and drink the tea or put the boiled peel in a juicer. You can eat the boiled peel. You can fry the peel which they do in some countries but they didn't suggest what I had in mind but I do feel like maybe I was inspired to look up that information as I do need help with my eyes as you know as they are yellow and I take Tyrosine in pill form so it was good to know it is in the peel. It helps with mood. Potassium helps regular heart function and we all know the benefits of antioxidants.
It wasn't until I was in bed at night when my mind had time to process information that I thought about the pesticides on the banana peels. I know that they spray bananas with lots of pesticides as they don't want to transport poisonous spiders in the banana boxes into the US.
What I didn't know before doing more research, was the amount of antifungal sprays to keep them from molding in transport. They have done testing on bananas in large amounts due to the high amount of sprays that they put on them. The test results say that due to the peel, when you eat the banana, there isn't much of the spray on the bananas but there is on the peel.
In searching for more information, I found that some worm farms won't use banana peels in their mulch for the worms because the amount of pesticides on the bananas have killed off the entire bins of worms.
That information made me laugh thinking maybe I should just eat a ton of banana peels to get rid of my parasites if it kills off earth worms, perhaps it would kill the parasite. Of course that was all in humor, but it did make me question how much pesticides and antifungal sprays I eat as I have at least one banana a day for the potassium as I don't do well if I don't. I was interested in how much poison we get in just holding the peel while we eat the banana.
I hadn't really thought about it much. I was sad that I didn't have the thought to dehydrate the banana peels when I had several boxes of organic bananas as that would have been interesting. It is reported that the peels are stringy and fibrous but my plan all along was to make them into a powder like I do the dried bananas and add a little of the powder to my protein shakes in the morning to get the vitamins that are in the peels. I am sure I probably wouldn't even taste it as they are flavored and I add bananas and other fruit daily anyway so a little peel powder wouldn't hurt.
I am throwing the container of dried peels into the mulch as I don't want to take any chances with the toxins on the skins but it has given me the idea and option to dry them if I get anymore organic bananas in the future.
Here is a post how I make banana flour and baby food from dried bananas.
Here is a post how I make banana flour and pancakes with that flour.
Have a Blessed and Healthy Day!
No comments:
Post a Comment