Wellness Weekly 8: Dismantling The Banana Potassium Marketing Campaign

By Idy Perl

Myth Buster:
Myth: Bananas are the best source of potassium.

Truth: There are actually other foods that have more potassium than bananas, but for some reason they don’t get the same potassium marketing campaign as bananas. For example, two kiwis have more potassium than one banana, and an avocado or sweet potato have even more!

 

Healthy Hacks:

Have some overripe bananas lying around? Don’t throw them out just yet! They may not have the most potassium, but bananas are still healthy, and delicious, and can be used in many delicious recipes, like this delicious banana bread!

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

¾ cup brown sugar

½ cup butter or oil

2 large eggs, beaten

2 large overripe bananas

Optional:

2 tsps ginger or 1 and ½ tsps cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x5 pan with cooking spray.

Combine flour, baking soda, salt and the ginger or cinnamon in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, beat brown sugar and butter or oil with an electric mixer until smooth. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended.

Stir banana mixture into flour mixture until combined. Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let it cool completely for around 30 minutes and take out of the pan. Enjoy!

 

Wellness Wisdom:

Ever wondered what exactly potassium is and why we need it? Potassium is a mineral that plays an important role in all our body functions. It ensures our nerves and muscles function properly and helps transport nutrients and waste.

Most people get enough potassium through their daily diet, as it is found in many vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, and dairy.

 

Mind and Body Exercise:

With all the recent snow we’ve been getting, it might be difficult to get to the gym to work out, but no need to go all the way there; the snow can be your workout! Pick up a shovel and start shoveling the snow and you might burn just as many calories, or even more, as you would in the gym. Health officials estimate that an hour of shoveling snow can burn around 500 calories. Those who shovel snow often would know how physically taxing it is; the snow isn’t as light and feathery as it first appears!

So ditch the gym and pull on some gloves!

 

Sharing is Caring:

How do you make use of overripe bananas? 

Photo Credit: Shutterstock