Recommended for you
In Southeast Asian countries, banana peels are dehydrated and steamed for a tasty treat. In India, they are made into chutneys and curry. Our culture, however, is slower to think of a banana peel as anything but a prop used in an easy April Fool’s Day prank. Sure, we use bananas for banana bread and ice cream, but the peel? Hardly ever. Does the rest of the world know something we don’t? Turns out, the skin of our favorite portable snack is highly dense in nutrients, making the lowly banana peel a verified superfood. These four essential elements found hidden in the yellow casing may be enough to convince you to hold on to your peels.
1. Tryptophan: Banana peels are brimming with the essential amino acid that raises our serotonin (aka happiness and well-being) levels and aids us in diving into a deeper sleep. Previous research has shown that eating banana peels (two per day, for three days) can increase brain levels of serotonin by 15 percent.
<em> how </em>
recipe, or spread some banana peel chutney on your sandwiches. Banana peel tea is a soothing way to wind down in the evenings. You can also throw the whole banana into the blender, tips cut off, to power-up your smoothies. The Eat Clean cooks have found fun ways to use the peel with dishes like banana skins with black-eyed peas and green banana curry.
