GO BANANAS!

It's not about acting crazy the way apes and monkeys often do. 

It’s about getting the most benefits out of bananas - not only from the fruit but other parts of the plant as well - for health, gardening and waste reduction purposes.

Banana - the Super Fruit

Banana is one of the fruits that will never go missing from the dining table. Aside from its immediate availability anytime of the year and its affordability for the ordinary man, its proven high potassium content and other health benefits have earned it the reputation of a “super fruit.”

Potassium is important in maintaining balance in our body fluids. It also helps in the functioning of our nerves and contraction of our muscles.¹ 

Lack of the required potassium level may cause constipation, weakening of the muscles and tingling or numbness among others.

Bananas and Your Poops

After three childbirths by Caesarian Section, my doctors could not find any cause  for irregular bowel movement other than the possibility of adhesions. 

Then one day, I discovered that no more than one piece of ripe Lakatan banana and a cup of brewed coffee for breakfast can quickly send me to the super bowl every morning. Coupled with a busy daily schedule in my garden and achieving the goal of 10,000 steps a day, I have lost around 8 pounds in the last 8 months. 

The Saba and Latundan varieties however can get me constipated for days. When I was small, my mother grilled ripe, unpeeled Latundan over charcoal  whenever I had LBM, even if medical remedy was available in my father’s clinic.

Some quarters say that bananas can help address insomnia. Others say bananas can keep you awake and alert. 

There is also a suggestion going around that if you want to avoid or get rid of pimples, try eating lots of bananas. After all, monkeys have no pimples. But of course that was meant to be a joke!

Bananas in Our Diet

Bananas have become an essential ingredient in Filipino cuisine - from salads to desserts, snacks to main dishes and shakes to beverages. 

In our family, Christmas is never complete without my mother's signature Estofado con Fried Saba. The secret lies in letting fried Saba boil with the sauce in low fire until the bananas have released its sweet flavor and absorbed the sauce. Dried banana flowers add aroma to it. 

Back in high school, I would lock up my room to review for major examinations with a cluster of bananas on hand, and then come out after an hour or two with only the peelings remaining. 

In those days, we had a constant supply of different banana varieties hanging from the kitchen ceiling which came as tokens from Mangyan natives whenever my father and his team visited malaria-infested mountains of mainland Mindoro to administer malaria eradication efforts.  

The Banana Cue at the UP Shopping Center in Diliman Campus kept my husband patiently waiting for me from my post-graduate classes at UP-SOLAIR. Thanks to the bananas - I successfully completed the course in five years attending only Saturday classes (I worked full-time Monday to Friday) and graduated with a Masters degree in Industrial Relations. 

Truly unforgettable is the salivating scent of freshly baked Banana Cake coming from that old Sagada bakery which dominated the pine-scented air as we alighted from a Dangwa bus at dawn in the early 1980’s. Incidentally, this type of bus might be ideal in Covid times as it has only one side covered!

In the Philippines, the best bananas I have tasted so far are the ones grown in Davao which are sticky and chewy. The bananas that are sold in Vienna supermarkets are very creamy and sweet and the meat remain fresh and unblemished even when their thin skin have turned brownish and appear rotten. My daughter makes delicious banana cakes out of these.

🍌Try this Old-time Boiled Banana Recipe:  

• Boil Saba or Ternate bananas. 
• While still hot, remove the skin and spread butter or margarine. 
• Slice into small, circular pieces. 
• Top with freshly grated coconut meat. 
• Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon powder. 
• Serve for breakfast or snacks with brewed coffee or thick chocolate.

The Banana Peel or Skin

While potassium content has been found to be concentrated in the inner meat part of the banana², large amounts of potassium can also be found in the banana skin. 

Some have discovered the inside part of the skin to be  effective in addressing insect bites by rubbing it on the affected part.

Don’t just throw them away into your garbage can.

🍌Try this Banana Juice for Your Plants:  

• Chop the banana peel into small pieces.
• Soak in water in a covered container for at least 48 hours using a one-to-one proportion.
• Mash the banana peel to release the juice.
• Use the water in the soaked banana peel on plants that need flowering or fruiting.
• Bury the banana peel in your composting bin or under the ground in your garden.
• You can also dry them under the sun in a  container with holes underneath, then incorporate them into the soil. This however may invite flies and other insects during the drying process.
• Alternatively, you can include them with the chopped banana stalks in your composting bin.

The Banana Mid-Rib Or Stem

The rib of the banana leaf also contains potassium and can be used as fertilizer. On stormy days, I watch out for fallen banana trees in our village and use them for composting.

 🍌 Try This Banana Ribs Compost:

• Remove the leaf from the rib with a knife.
• While still fresh and crispy, chop the rib in a slanting position.
• Get a composting bin and fill the bottom with 1-inch garden soil.
• Gather the chopped ribs and put into a composting bin.
• Cover again with 1-inch soil.
• Repeat until the bin is full with soil as the topmost layer.
• Water the bin until it drips slightly at the bottom.
• Cover and put in a brightly lighted area.

• When the contents shrink to half of the bin, check if everything has decomposed and is ready for use.
• You can also put the freshly chopped ribs directly around your plants but be sure to cover them with soil for faster decomposition.

🍌Try This Artwork with the Kids: 

• Cut a banana rib diagonally about 4 inches long. 
• Paint one end with water color. 
• Hold the other end of the rib and lightly dab the painted end on white paper. Create flower designs of your choice. 
• You can also use paint and create other designs to decorate your pots.

The Banana Leaf

The taste of rice cakes will not be complete without the banana leaf wrapping which adds flavor and aroma to it. 

The Bibingkang Galapong and Suman sa Lihiya of Lubang Island topped with grated coconut roasted in white sugar continues to be the island's most sought-after merienda by vacationers.  

My mother used the leaf to wrap small fishes like Dilis (Anchovy) or Dulong (Silverfish) to hold them together and keep the flavor and juices. We also wrap Rellenong Bangus (Stuffed Milkfish) with the leaf before broiling over charcoal to give it some aroma and protect the fish from burning before it gets cooked. 

Remember that a Kamayan (Boodle Fight) meal will never be complete without the  banana leaf laid on the table both as serving dish and plate to eat on with bare hands. 

Before laundry shops and  ‘Downy’ era came and supply of electricity was not regularly available in the provinces, we used charcoal-fired flat iron to press our starched school uniforms and beddings, rubbing the bottom of the flat iron on banana leaf so it will be slippery and smooth. How I love the scent of crisp, freshly ironed pillow case and bedsheet that my mother used to prepare for me and my siblings when we were little!

When my father was hospitalized, a doctor-relative advised us to put banana leaves under his bedsheet or directly under his back to prevent bedsores from developing. While she spoke based on experience with her own father, we assumed it has something to do with the natural cold feel of the leaf that prevents the skin from heating up for bedridden patients. On further research, there are already medical literature concluding that the application of banana leaves on pressure sores helps, up to a certain stage or condition, in their prevention and treatment³; that banana leaves are an excellent wound dressing alternative for developing countries while using steam sterilization to remove pathogens on it so as not to affect its beneficial properties.⁴

Banana leaves (and trunk layers) can be used to protect newly planted seeds or seedlings from the heat of the sun in the same way it can provide you emergency cover from a sudden downpour. 

Because of its fibrous properties, it takes a longer time to decompose banana leaves. 

The Banana Trunk

The trunk has potassium as well and can be used as a composting material. It is best to chop the trunk into smaller pieces while still fresh as it can be tensile once it starts to dry.

The outer part of the trunk can be used as a rope to tie boxes, sacks and other portable items. I still remember how the cargadores of Tilik Bay adeptly tied and secured boxes and baskets of Lubang Island's very sweet mangoes for shipment to Manila using banana strings. 

When we were kids, we had fun inserting a banana string bait into tiny crab holes on the beach. As soon as we sensed a pull from inside, we twisted the string and quickly pulled it out with a captured little crab called "Ayangka."

Remember the story of The Monkey and The Turtle? The next time you see a fallen banana tree, make sure you bring home the part with the roots so you can grow your own and have a constant supply of bananas.

Keep Calm, Stay Healthy and Green Up 

It’s still epidemic time. The original Covid19 virus has mutated into the more dangerous Delta variant not to mention Alpha, Beta and Lambda. With these new health threats and so many other matters to think about, things can go crazy. 

Nevertheless, we all need to keep calm and stay healthy at all times while maintaining a prolific garden and helping reduce waste in our environment.

GO BANANAS!

You may email me at greencraftivist@gmail.com for any questions or inquiries.

Apple Bleza-Morales

References:

1 https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/what-does-potassium-do, "What does potassium do for your body?"

2 https://csef.usc.edu/History/2009/Projects/S2014.pdf, "The correlation between the part of a banana and the amount of potassium it contains"

3 https://www.herdin.ph/index.php/component/herdin/?view=research&cid=21371, "The Use of Banana Leaf in the prevention and treatment of pressure sores" by Edwin C. de Leon

4 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23387359/, "Banana leaves as an alternative wound dressing" by Emmanuella Guenova

----------------------

About the Author:

Apple is passionately interested in community greening and beautification, organic and ornamental gardening, environment protection and preservation as well as related arts and crafts. She shares her professional, personal and travel experiences to spread knowledge and information in these areas which may not be accessible to all who are similarly interested and aims to inspire others to develop and create new ideas from her blogs.

Apple holds a Master's degree in Industrial Relations from the University of the Philippines. She held leadership roles in Human Resources during her employment with the private sector, developing and implementing HR and Organizational systems that help employees to grow their careers and employers to achieve a mutually beneficial engagement.

Photos by: Maybelle B. Morales