Frozen Bananas

I like to buy organic bananas even though they don't grow locally. I feel good about supporting chemical-free agriculture in tropical countries.

I don't buy non-organic bananas because I choose not to support agriculture that poisons the workers. Conventional bananas are grown with pesticides categorized by the World Health Organization in the first and second most dangerous categories. Typical banana plantations in Central America apply 30 kilograms of pesticides per hectare each year. That is 10 times more than the amount used in intensive agriculture in developed nations.

Fortunately, organic bananas are becoming easier to find at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's. Even my local grocery store carries them pretty regularly.

Since they tend to go brown faster than we can eat them, I throw the extras in a zip-loc bag in the freezer and get ready to enjoy my favorite frozen treat.

On hot days like today, I pull a banana from the freezer, peel it, slice it, and enjoy a treat that is better than ice cream. And healthier too.

Bananas are a good source of fructooligosaccharide, a compound that nourishes probiotic (good) bacteria in the colon. These beneficial bacteria produce enzymes that increase digestive ability and protect against unhealthy bacterial infections. Similar to eating yogurt or taking probiotic pills.

Frozen bananas might also make you happy. They're a good source of tryptophan, an amino acid converted by your body into the mood-booster serotonin.

Frozen Banana
1 ripe banana

Put the banana with peel in a bag in the freezer. Let it freeze at least a few hours until it is solid, but you can leave it there for up to 6 months.

Take the banana from the freezer just before you want to eat it. Let it sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes until the peel has defrosted enough for you to remove it.

Peel then slice the banana. Eat while it's still hard. If it defrosts too much it gets mushy - great for banana bread, but not so good for dessert.

Serves 1.