These vegan banana milkshakes (Ela Vegan) are made with frozen bananas to give an ice-cream texture, then blended with plant milk, organic peanut butter and natural vanilla.
If you make a lot of mylkshakes, buy a good glass blender so the motor won’t burn out. It’s UK law that whoever you buy from, must recycle your old appliance.
Check medication if you have potassium issues (including kidney failure, high blood pressure or heart failure (you’d likely have to eating bunches of them to take you over recommended limits). Read more on food safety for people & pets.
For baking recipes, keep fresh dough away from young children and pets.
Bananas are obviously not local, but they are without doubt one of the favourite fruits in England. Often because they are portable and easy to eat, filling and full of fibre and potassium (why athletes eat them, to prevent cramp).
Although they don’t ‘look watery’ (say like watermelons), bananas are in fact 75% water, so very hydrating too.
Unlike most fruits, they don’t grow on trees. But are the fourth most valuable agricultural crop on earth. Leftover crops from harvesting are used to make everything from paper to banana leaf coffins.
Did you know you can use banana skin as shoe polish? Just rub the inside peel on your shoes, then wipe off with a cloth.
How to Buy & Store Bananas
Most supermarkets have a confusing option. You can buy Fair Trade bananas (not in plastic packaging). Or organic bananas (but in plastic packaging).
This is because stores that sell both types need to legally cover the organic produce, so it’s not contaminated. So the easiest option is to find a farm shop that sells all-organic produce, then you’ll find bananas that are both fair trade and organic.
Failing that, buy organic and leave the plastic packaging at the store. Or deposit it in the supermarket bag bins (not always recycled, but at least it prevents littering).
Most farm shops also sea-freight bananas, to save on carbon emissions. Recently the major supermarkets ‘ran out of bananas’ due to tropical storms (and air strikes can affect supermarkets that fly in their bananas, instead of importing by ship).
Many supermarket bananas are also sell not-ripe, so they are either impossible to eat, or go off quickly.
Some companies like Abel & Cole sell Fair Trade organic bananas (without plastic) that support farmers in the Dominican Republic. Unlike air-freighted bananas, these take four or five weeks to travel by boat after picking. So they should be ripe, by the time they arrive!
Store bananas in a cool dry place. Do not refrigerate.
Due to tryptophan (an amino acid that produces serotonin) they are good for depression and insomnia (try eating half a banana before bed, as a ‘sleeping pill’).
How to Prepare & Cook Bananas
At the risk of treating you like an idiot, just peel and eat!
Many recipes (like smoothies) call for frozen bananas. To do this, peel and slice them before you freeze, so they are easy to add to recipes. Freeze the discs on a tray, then transfer to a labelled reusable silicone freezer bag (use within 6 months).
How to Bake Bananas
Baked bananas are a lovely simple dessert, that does not require a recipe. Just slice bananas lengthways, toss in a mix of brown sugar, maple syrup and optional rum, then bake for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with nuts and serve with vegan vanilla ice cream.
How to Make Vegan Banana Split
This is a very similar recipe, simply no cooking involved. Again slice the bananas, then top with vegan glace cherries, roasted nuts, toasted coconut, whipped vegan cream and dark chocolate sauce, and serve with vegan vanilla ice cream.
A Homemade Banana Bread Recipe
Quickbreads are one of the world’s best snack ideas. So it’s surprising that not more are eaten in England, as many use traditional flavours. This banana tea bread (Rainbow Nourishments) only needs 7 ingredients.
Made without yeast, they are far simpler to make than real bread, and delicious alone or slathered with vegan butter (Flora has no palm oil). Serve with a nice cup of tea!
Homemade Vegan Banana Pancakes
These maple pecan banana pancakes (The Veg Space) are simple to make. Or make with sliced banana, and drizzle melted dark chocolate on top. Or turn them into fruity pancakes with fresh berries and a splurge of vegan vanilla ice-cream.
The secret to good pancakes is not to over-mix the batter. Don’t worry about a few lumps, otherwise if you over-whisk, you’ll end up with rubbery pancakes.
Keep fresh dough away from children and pets.
Vegan Banoffee Pie (from Sussex)
Banoffee pie is one of England’s favourite desserts (very rich, so only for those with a very sweet tooth). Made from bananas and toffee, it uses condensed milk in a pastry shell.
This banoffee pie (Rainbow Nourishments) is super-simple to make, with heaps of fresh banana, vegan biscuits and melted vegan butter (Flora has no palm oil). To avoid palm oil, make your own pastry.
Banoffee Pie is thought to have been invented in a small restaurant in East Sussex, although others lay claim to inventing the recipe too. But it’s been around since the early 1970s, that’s for sure.
It’s kind of turned into a mini-war! When supermarkets began to sell the dessert as an American pie, the Sussex inventor offered a £10,000 prize for any grocery who could prove that he didn’t invent it!
There is a story that the restaurant was so popular due to this dessert, that celebrities would arrive after performing at a nearby theatre.
One arrived and it had closed, and apparently asked ‘But don’t you know who I am?’ The restaurant politely said ‘Yes, but we close at 10!’
It is said that (along with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches), banoffee pie was the favourite dessert of Elvis Presley.
So in this new plant-based world, how do we make a vegan version? Thankfully it’s easy, as you can now buy vegan condensed milk (or make your own).
Cats lapping bowls of milk and cream? In fact, cats are lactose-intolerant and should not be fed dairy products of any kind.
This recipe for vegan banoffee pies (The Veg Space) recreates one of England’s most popular desserts, apparently invented in a Sussex restaurant. This very sweet recipe consists of a banana toffee filling, topped with cream.
Again made with vegan biscuits, it uses Flora vegan block vegan butter, served with custard or coconut yoghurt. You can even add a little coffee powder to vegan whipped cream, as this dessert is sweet enough to take it.
