My daughter recently came home from school with her weekly reading assignment and read me a wonderful article on bananas. I was intrigued enough to investigate bananas a little further and thought it would be fun to share some information with you on this fabulous fruit.

Did you know bananas don’t actually grow on trees? This tropical plant might look like a tree, but it is actually a gigantic herb. The banana plant trunk is made of overlapping leaves, tightly wrapped around each other like celery stalks. These banana plants can become very tall and reach their full height of 15 to 30 feet in about one year. This fruit is actually considered a berry and develops from flowers on the herb.
Bananas have really received a bad wrap. Many fad diets discourage people from eating bananas. However, they are actually a very nutritious food with no fat, cholesterol or sodium. Bananas are a good source of vitamin C, potassium and fiber. They do contain three natural sugars — sucrose, fructose and glucose, which can give you an instant boost of energy. Bananas are a complex carbohydrate, which is needed for a healthful diet.

In contrast to simple sugars, like those found in cookies and other desserts, bananas offer the body good nutrition as well as available energy. A medium-sized banana has about

120 calories and is a wonderful part of a nutritious diet. Enjoy a delicious banana today.

Banana Blueberry Muffins

2 cups whole-wheat flour

1-1/2 cups mashed bananas

1/3 cup brown sugar

4 egg whites

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup fresh blueberries

1 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin pan.

In a mixing bowl, mix the whole-wheat flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda. In a separate bowl, mix the bananas, egg whites and vanilla.

Mix the banana mixture into the flour mixture until smooth. Fold in the blueberries. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan.

Bake 16 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Nutrition content per muffin: 122 calories, 0.5 grams fat, 0 milligrams cholesterol, 169 milligrams sodium, 26.9 grams total carbohydrate, 3.3 grams dietary fiber, 4.2 grams protein.

Source: www.allrecipes.com

Sara Ashbeck is a registered dietitian at Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center. The 500 Club is a healthy-eating program coordinated by Gundersen Lutheran registered dietitians, and its members include restaurants, grocery stores, delis and vending companies.

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