Banana flour isn’t something that’s well known in America, at least not just yet, but it is definitely something to be excited about – especially if you’re gluten-free, Paleo, trying to lose weight or simply want to enjoy optimal health.
While you probably never imagined that someone would make flour from pulverized underripe bananas, that’s just what happened. This “magical” flour is made from green bananas – and that’s it, no other ingredients at all. Unlike their more sugary yellow counterparts, green bananas are loaded with resistant starch, which is a type of fiber that can’t be digested in the body – that means that it offers bulk with fewer calories.
Banana flour has been around for quite some time in parts of Africa and in Jamaica, where it’s been used as a cheaper alternative to higher-priced wheat flours. In the last couple of years, it just began making its way into the U.S. through the company WEDO Gluten Free, which markets it as a gluten-free alternative.
1. The taste and texture…
You might think that banana flour would at least have the subtle taste of bananas, which could really throw a recipe off, but the reality is that it tastes nothing like bananas, and has a somewhat sour flavor. But when the flour is added to a recipe, that sourness becomes something that’s almost like chocolatey goodness, while the finished product looks just like it was made from a popular flour like whole wheat. The result is much less dense than foods made with coconut or almond flour too. Instead of being gritty and grainy, the texture is lighter and fluffier.
2. Excellent value…
Due to the high starch content in banana flour, you can use less flour than required in everyday recipes, which means that banana flour can be excellent value. The rule of thumb is to use 30% less banana flour than whatever amount of flour is suggested in a particular recipe.
3. Cuts waste…
Banana flour is made from bananas that aren’t suitable for commercial sale, because they have slight blemishes or an odd shape, for example, but are otherwise fine. They usually end up as rejects as consumers won’t buy them, so the bananas are simply tossed out, going to waste. WEDO is able to prevent that waste as well as help farmers make a better living by purchasing part of the crop that commercial customers won’t.
4. Fewer calories…
At just 100 calories per ¼ cup, banana flour is lower in calories than all-purpose flour and many wheat flour alternatives like brown rice, almond, and oat flour. And, as you don’t need to use as much either, you save even more calories, ultimately reducing overall calorie count without sacrificing taste or texture.
5. More nutrition…
Banana flour contains 330 milligrams of potassium per ¼ cup serving – and, as it’s all natural, it retains many other vitamins and minerals from bananas like calcium too. It also contains RS2, which according to WEDO, is an important form of resistant starch that’s found in few foods, along with a good dose of healthy dietary fiber.
As a great source of RS2, this also helps to provide health benefits that include decreasing the risk of diabetes, obesity and colon cancer. It’s even been found scientifically to be an effective treatment for inflammatory bowel disease. Researchers who conducted a 2012 study on rats out of Brazil’s Institute of Biosciences, Universidade Estadual Paulista, concluded that the dietary use of banana flour “constituted an important dietary supplement and complementary medicine product to prevention and treatment of human inflammatory bowel disease.”
And, as RS2 are resistant to digestion, and not completely broken down and absorbed while traveling through the digestive tract, they go untouched through the stomach and small intestines. Once in the large intestines, they’re able to help feed healthy gut bacteria, and ultimately produce short-chain fatty acids that aid in increasing the body’s ability to absorb nutrients. They’ve also been found to help reduce blood sugar levels and increase satiety levels – further benefiting weight loss efforts.
6. A variety of uses…
Banana flour is an excellent gluten-free alternative for a replacement to traditional wheat flours as well as other alternative flours. As it’s gluten-free and grain-free, it’s an outstanding flour for those who have a gluten intolerance, celiac disease or for those who are simply following a grain-free or gluten-free diet for any other reason. It has a wide variety of uses, not just for baking, but it can also be used to thicken soups and sauces, bread making or added to smoothies and other foods to enjoy the many nutritional benefits.
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