Category: Food Allergy Tips

Cooking Invention Week: Banana Peel??? (3/7)

Friends from World Over,

What??? Banana peel? You heard it right my friends. Banana peel is a good thing to eat! Peels often contain a lot of nutrients and fiber, and can often be eaten! So, while the peel of a durian may be regretfully relegated to the compost pile, you can (and should!) eat peels of bananas, potatoes, apples, kiwis, etc. In fact, often the parts closest to the peel contain the highest nutrients, e.g. the layers of onion closest to the peel contain the highest amount of prebiotic fibre – excellent for your gut health! So when using fruit and veggies, either include the peel, or cut as closely as you can to the peel!

Big But: as long as they are organic or low in pesticides! 

Quick note: I understand that it is difficult and expensive to buy organic all the time. So what I do is… give it my best shot based on information that I have! “Best effort basis!” For a quick guide on what foods you must absolutely buy organic and which ones are naturally not grown with a lot of pesticides, check out the Environmental Working Group’s Clean 15 and Dirty Dozen. This list is updated annually.

Okay, back to banana peels! You can do your own research on the internet about this, but here’s just one tidbit:

“The flesh is high in vitamins B-6 and B-12, magnesium and potassium, but also contains some protein and fiber. In general, the peels of fruits contain additional nutrients and fiber that complement the inside flesh. The peels of apples, oranges and kiwis are good examples and more commonly eaten in Western countries, although banana peels seem to be better appreciated in India and Southeast Asia.”

Source: Livestrong Website

So, what are you waiting for? Try this super simple Baked Sweet Potato and Squash recipe with banana peel. So start off, cut the peel really small, so that you give yourself some time to get used to the texture and taste.

Washed and chopped banana peel...
Washed and chopped banana peel…
Put 'em all together in a baking tray...
Put ’em all together in a baking tray…

 

Baked in the oven... dripping with flavour!!!
Baked in the oven… dripping with flavour!!!

Ingredients

  • 1 medium leek, chopped up (you can probably use more than you think!)
  • 1 medium sweet potato, chopped small
  • 1 medium butternut squash (or any squash that cooks similarly), chopped in the same size as the sweet potato
  • The peel of 1 banana, chopped small
  • A drizzle of olive oil (use a high quality one)
  • Salt and rosemary, for taste

Method

  •  Put all chopped veggies in a baking tray
  • Heat oven to 200 degree Celcius
  • Drizzle some olive oil over all of them, and toss!
  • Sprinkle some salt and rosemary on top
  • Bake for approximately 20 minutes!
  • You done!!!

Open up your taste buds, my loves!

Peace,

Daisy

 

All about Jackfruit!

Hello Lieblings!

Today I want to write about a new trend in health food – the jackfruit! Now, growing up in Malaysia, I knew it as sweet, yellow, sticky-but-waxy “inner fruit” from a large fruit with tough skin… like the durian but without the thorny exterior! The inner fruit had large seeds, which you could boil and eat as a healthy snack, by the way!.

Jackfruit: Truly a one-of-a-kind produce. Native to the tropics.
Jackfruit: Truly a one-of-a-kind produce. Native to the tropics.

 

The jackfruit tree bore very large fruit!
The jackfruit tree bears very large fruit!
The sweet, addictive "inner fruit" of the jackfruit...
The sweet, addictive “inner fruit” of the jackfruit…
What I loved eating growing up - and the boilable seed!
What I loved eating growing up – and the boilable seed!

However, recently (and especially in the West), there’s been a trend of cooking the outer flesh of the massive jackfruit, as a meat alternative!

The new trend seems to be to eat the other fleshy parts of the fruit (beige areas in photo. Also, this is precisely NOT how to cut a jackfruit! :)
The new trend seems to be to eat the other fleshy parts of the fruit (beige areas in photo. Also, this is precisely NOT how to cut a jackfruit! 🙂

It doesn’t quite taste like much on its own, but it has an interesting “meat-like” texture which chefs are enjoying experimenting with. It’s been used in curries, as a fried food, and in burgers! Best of all, it has been found to contain many nutrients!

To demonstrate, may I call your attention to my recent finding… Behold: the jackfruit burger – more or less a meatless “pulled pork” cooked in a tangy barbeque sauce!

Shredded jackfruit flesh, cooked in a barbeque sauce as though it were pulled pork!
Shredded jackfruit flesh, cooked in a barbeque sauce as though it were pulled pork!
Ta-daaaa! The jackfruit burger!
Ta-daaaa! The jackfruit burger!

Jackfruit meat is all health-conscious land! You can even buy it pre-packaged for cooking at home.

Example of pre-packaged jackfruit "meat"
Example of pre-packaged jackfruit “meat”

 

However, I’d strongly suggest you get the fresh version, if you’re in parts of the world that grow jackfruit. Don’t get me wrong though! I’m digging what some chefs are doing with this new material, and as always, I’m always up for a good meat alternative!

This particular burger was found at Eugen’s in Konstanz (read my post on it here). I pretty much could eat this every. single. day. No joke. Till next time… 

 

Peace,

Daisy

N.B.: Many thanks to Google Images for the photos of the jackfruit!