Re-using old bananas

Bananas are the best selling fruit in the UK.  We eat tonnes of them every year, but sadly we also bin tonnes too!  Its tragic that people throw bananas away just because they are going a bit black.  They can still be eaten and that should always be our first priority to use up edible food for what it was intended for - eating!  Our top tip then is to use over ripe bananas for making banana bread, banana cake or smoothies.  Here is our favourite such recipe from those nice folk at Love Food Hate Waste
http://england.lovefoodhatewaste.com/recipes/banana-and-walnut-bread  If you cannot eat them however - here are some querky ideas to try to keep them out of landfill.


1. Teeth whitener: Rub your teeth for two minutes with a banana peel every time you brush and they will be pearly white.

2. Medicine: Rubbing some banana peel on the area of an insect bite can help alleviate the itch.

3. Bird feeder: If you enjoy watching birds and want to help them through the winter you dont need to buy in special bird food, they really like banana skins.

4. Conditioner: One of the best conditioners money can buy has just one single ingredient - simply – ripe bananas!

5. Anti-wrinkle mask: Avoid buying expensive and chemical laden face masks just rub blacken old bananas on your face three times a week and you’ll soon see the results in younger looking skin.

6. Shoe polish: no need to buy chemical cleaners, simply rub banana peels on the surface and then buff off when a soft cloth.

7. Compost!  Of course you can add bananas and banana peel to your compost heap and it breaks down really well and adds Nitrogen to the compost.

All these are great tips to use up banana peel but remember its important not to waste food in the first place, so visit www.lovefoodhatewaste.com for tips to ensure food doesnt get wasted in the first place.