Fruit Frenzy:  Day 3 ~ Plantains.

Plantains

Today I made oven baked plantains.  I read up a little on them before attempting to make them–I knew that I couldn’t just eat them raw (as evidenced by how hard they are!).  I’ve heard of them before but never thought to actually buy them.  And it turns out they are really hard to peel.   I was struggling to get the peels off and Chloe, my little helper, kindly offered to help me.  I figured there was no harm in letting her try–but I also didn’t expect her to be able to get the peel off.  And wouldn’t you know, she got it off almost better than me!

My happy helper!

I then arranged them in slices on a pan (coated with non-sick spray) and popped them into the oven for 15-20 min flipping them every 5 min or so (and adding a little more non-stick spray).

Cut and ready for the oven

Having never had them before I wasn’t exactly sure when they were done but the recipe said “golden” brown and I think these are “golden.”

yummmy and warm

They were super easy to make and quite delicious.  I think they taste like banana bread–they have a very dense texture which makes it feel like you’re eating so much more than just a banana.  I made two plantains and I was full after only one.  Chloe even enjoyed them (and as a side note, so did Josiah, although that was because Chloe graciously offered him a bite of hers… needless to say I was not particularly happy about her decision to share her baked grown-up food with him… teeth would be helpful in chewing these up…  but, yes,  he did enjoy it too.)   I would definitely make them again.  In fact I bought a couple more at the store today because I want to try another recipe with them.

After eating them I was skeptical that they were very nutritious since they were so tasty so I went looking for the nutritional benefits and was very surprised at how good for you they are.  They are, however, definitely not a LOW calorie fruit like say, watermelon… but I find the trade off of a more dense fruit satisfying.

Oh, and then there’s the price:  $0.77 for 2.  Yup, I can get on board with that for sure!

Recap: Plantains

~~ same banana flavor we know and love

~~ thick texture that reminds me of “bread”

~~ $0.77 for 2

~~ definitely going to try more recipes with plantains!  🙂