Question about freezing bananas

story1267

story1267

Cathlete
OK, I feel a little silly asking this but......

For those who freeze bananas for smoothies, how do you do it?

I find that bananas are the only thing that makes my hemp protein palatable.

I've got a clutch of bananas about to go 'round the bend of over-ripe and I want to get them in the freezer but what's the best way?

Do you peel and cut them up first? Do you just toss them in there? What?

Thanks for your time. ;)
 
Peel the bananas, cut them into small chunks (makes it easier on the blender), throw them in a baggie or tupperware container, and pop them in the freezer. That's what I do and it works really well.
 
Sometimes I toss them in as-is - the peels come off real easy when they're frozen, but they're more difficult to cut into chunks. If I have time, I peel them, cut them up and put them in a freezer bag.
 
Thanks for the replies everyone! I just have a low-budget stick blender so I think I will cut them up and container-ize them. That'll help with portion sizing too.

Happy smoothies!
 
I peel and cut and then sprinkle on some ascorbic acid (Fresh Fruit) to keep them turning dark and put in a freezer bag. I don't like the looks of them dark even if they are going in a smoothie. Deb :)
 
>I peel and cut and then sprinkle on some ascorbic acid (Fresh
>Fruit) to keep them turning dark and put in a freezer bag. I
>don't like the looks of them dark even if they are going in a
>smoothie. Deb :)

That's EXACTLY what I was gonna say!! Fresh Fruit works great!
 
According to my Dad . . .

All you have to do is walk to school up hill (both ways, btw) 5 miles in the dead of winter carrying a sack lunch.

Sorry, I know I'm off-topic, but Pa always jokes he never had a yellow banana until he was 25:7
 
RE: According to my Dad . . .

I peel ripe bananas and then freeze them. I use my Vitamix to make banana ice cream, it is the best!

4 frozen bananas
1 cup frozen cherries
6 TBSP unsweetened soy milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 TBSP unsweetened cocoa

Blend ingredients in a Vitamix or powerful blender. I honestly cannot believe that it tastes every bit as good as real ice cream if not better!

Monica
 
RE: According to my Dad . . .

Amadeus, you forgot the barefoot in the snow part of that one! LOL I've heard it too from my Dad many, many, many times.

Wow, Monica, that sounds lovely. I may have to put a dead-serious blender on my wish list to make it. Mmmmmmmm. :9
 
Suzanne...a tip...when you cut them up into smaller pieces, put them in freezer on a plate to freeze separately before popping them all into a ziplock. This way, they won't all freeze together into a big clump that is hard to break apart. Then, you just reach into baggie and take out as many pieces as you need. I love smoothies.


http://www.PictureTrail.com/gid8692709


Your-Friend-In-Fitness, DebbieH (AKA "Den Mother Debbie") http://www.clicksmilies.com/s0105/aktion/action-smiley-066.gif[/img] If You Get The Choice To Sit It Out Or Dance, I Hope You DANCE!
 
Thanks Debbie, I was thinking about that. We wouldn't want to end up with a huge clump of frozen banana boulder!

I'm a little wondering if my cheesy stick blender can even handle them. Well, it does frozen berries ok so maybe it'll be fine. Worse case scenario is I'll break it and then be forced to upgrade. }(
 
Frozen Banana Boulders! :7 You MAY have trouble if your blender isn't strong. I have a Bullet (which I LOVE) and sometimes, they get stuck in the blades and I have to turn it off and shake the piece out and re-hit, blend. Frozen bananas are pretty hard and take a strong blender to break up. Should you decide you HAVE to upgrade, I love the Bullet and Kohl's puts them on sale quite often. ENJOY your smoothies!!!


http://www.PictureTrail.com/gid8692709


Your-Friend-In-Fitness, DebbieH (AKA "Den Mother Debbie") http://www.clicksmilies.com/s0105/aktion/action-smiley-066.gif[/img] If You Get The Choice To Sit It Out Or Dance, I Hope You DANCE!
 
I peel (I've tried putting them in whole, but the stringy stuff from the peels is hard to get off once they're frozen), break into 3-4 pieces, and put in a freezer bag.
 
Frozen bananas are a staple at my house. My son and I use them for our breakfast smoothies.

I find it is best to peel the bananas, but you don't really need to cut them up first before placing them in a ziptop bag and freezing. When they come out of the freezer, they are usually soft enough to cut into chunks to toss in the blender. If not, I put 'em on a plate and zap in the microwave for 10 secs.

Since I know I need 2 bananas to make a batch of smoothies to feed both of us, I just make sure I bag them in multiples of 2. I can often get 6 bananas into a quart size freezer bag, and since they are whole, it's easy to grab just the number I want. They separate pretty easily even when frozen.

HTH!

-Karen
 
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