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Fried green bananas. Sounds yuk but really yum.

uart

Well-Known Member
Messages
424
Location
Australia
Type of diabetes
Type 1.5
Treatment type
Insulin
Has anyone one here tried fried green bananas. I just tried them for the first time today and they were quite amazing. When raw they are some type of totally inedible starch that tastes absolutely awful, I mean horrible to even touch a tiny bit on your tongue, but when sliced and fried they were almost exactly like potato chips!

The reason I tried them is that I've heard they are really high in resistant starch, a form which is actually good for diabetics. I've tested and they really don't spike my BGLs at all! I ate them with fried eggs for breakfast btw.

Also, these weren't the "plantain" type that apparently are sold like this for cooking, these were just normal green (unripe) bananas from the banana plants in my back yard.

Whoops, they were so nice that I ate them too quickly to even think to take a photo, so here is one I've lifted from the net. Mine weren't quite as nice and regularly shaped as these ones, but roughly similar looking, and I'm sure they tasted just as good.
 
well I have heard that bananas are about the worst fruit for diabetics, especially because of the starch....

it sounds delicious though.. resistance starch... hmmm. ?

how do you prepare them ?

starch is high spiking
 
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Freema said:
well I have heard that bananas are about the worst fruit for diabetics, especially because of the starch....
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Yes I thought the same thing Freema. However they are like a completely different food when green compared to ripe.

As they ripen the (initially inedible) starch is converted into easily digested sugars and they become sweet and delicious, but bad for diabetics.

When they are green however they contain no sugar. Yes they do still contain starch, but apparently much of it is a type called resistant starch that doesn't easily turn to sugar after it's eaten

The high fibre and high resistant starch content may actually make this a good food for diabetics. I've only tested it the one time, but so far so good for me - definitely no BGL spike at all today. I'm hoping to find more info on this food and see if any others here incorporate it in their diet.
 
Freema said:
how do you prepare them ?
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1. Peel them
2. Slice diagonally into 1-2 cm slices.
3. Fry in butter or ghee or coconut oil. About 4 to 5 minutes a side.
4. Remove from the pan and squish them flat. (Not sure why this is needed but all of the authentic recipes seem to do it this way)
5. Return to the pan and fry them a bit more until they're golden brown, with the edges nice and crispy.

This is not a sweet food. It is salted and eaten savory. The taste is very much like potato chips or wedges.

starch is high spiking
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Google "resistant starch", it is a completely different thing. Normal starches like you'd find in bread and pasta turn into simple sugars almost immediately after you eat them. Resistant starch however doesn't do this! It's digested rather more like the soluble fibre in vegetables is. That is, it isn't broken down until it makes it to the large intestine, and then not so much into sugars but more into short chain fatty acids.
 

maybe they are sqeezed flat because one can not do that with them before they have been fried a bit first.. maybe they are quite hard untill fried
 
Are you using normal bananas for this before they are ripe or are they plantains. Sorry just seen they were normal unripe bananas. I think then you could use plantains as well
 
Freema said:
maybe they are sqeezed flat because one can not do that with them before they have been fried a bit first.. maybe they are quite hard untill fried
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Yes I think that's the reason. They soften up as you cook them, then by squashing them flat it spreads them out and allows them to crisp up better.

They definitely need to be well cooked, as they are totally inedible when raw. The cooking really transforms them.
 
Pinkorchid said:
Are you using normal bananas for this before they are ripe or are they plantains. Sorry just seen they were normal unripe bananas. I think then you could use plantains as well
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Yes normal bananas, but totally green.

I know that this is usually done with plantains, but I've got bananas growing in the backyard (planted them before I knew I was diabetic), and I have loads of green ones right now.

I don't know much about plantains, but from what I can tell they are really nothing more than a variety of banana that is normally grown specifically for cooking. Normal green bananas do seem to work much the same when cooked and used in recipes.
 
pooh - there were loads of green bananas going cheap in Tesco today
 
Thanks! That's a good tip: well worth trying. If my BG tests well afterwards, then green bananas would be a useful addition to my diet options. I used to like pisang goreng before I got sick- that's a kind of sweet fried banana.
 
We had Lady Finger Bananas growing in our back yard at our old place,

We use to pick the when they were unripe, peel and cut them in half length wise and cook them on the barbecue.

Plenty of salt and pepper made them really tasty with steak and sausages.
 
Even better barbecued in the skin, (not necessary unripe), really yummy with some ice cream.
 
I'm not sure if people like me (thyroid disease sufferers) won't be affected by the raw fruit/veg.
Are you sure this form of starch is safe?
 
ickihun said:
I'm not sure if people like me (thyroid disease sufferers) won't be affected by the raw fruit/veg.
Are you sure this form of starch is safe?
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It should be safe. It is basically a staple food in many places around the world, particularly in the Central American / Caribbean region, several West African countries and also Southern India.

And also very much a staple with many Pacific Islander peoples: http://www.thecoconet.tv/coco-cookbook/pacific-recipes-and-food-tips/im:827/
 
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ickihun said:
Are you sure this form of starch is safe?
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Oh I think I misunderstood your question.I thought you meant safe to eat but you probably meant safe for a diabetic. I think with any new food that each person probably should test for themselves if it spikes their BSL.

I'll have to repeat the experiment in case it was just a fluke, but on the morning that I ate the fried green bananas my BGL was very stable all day. I was really pleased.
 
Let us know how you get on. I'm interested. Maybe because new to your gut it has accepted without a fuss. Maybe too much will give a different reaction. Don't over do for my curiosity. Introduce slowly.
 
I also love fried green bananas. One way also on how to make a yummy dish out from a green banana or unripe banana is to cut it thinly then let it dry under the heat of the sun for how many hours and then fry it together with oil and a spoonful of sugar. Its like a banana chips, healthy and delicious.
 
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