What Are They and Where Do They Come From?
Plantains look like bananas but are not. They are usually found along side the bananas, but will be, in most cases larger in length and thicker.
Plantains are native to Southeast Asia and Australia. They grow in large amounts in Central America, the Caribbean Islands and coastal South America and Africa where they are considered to be a dietary staple. In these regions they are often served fried into chips or in thick slices, boiled to use as a side dish in place of rice or potatoes or they are added in stews.
What Do Plantains Taste Like?
The greener the plantain, the starchier they are, meaning they also have less sugar. As they ripen over a two week period to yellow they form more sugars while releasing the starch, so they can become sweet. Generally they are not as sweet as bananas. Green to yellow plantains should be cooked to be eaten, while very ripe yellow with darken black skin and peach coloured flesh can be eaten raw.
Health Benefits?
The starch in plantains is called ‘resistant starch’. Resistant starch, acts like fibre and is considered a prebiotic food for our gut bacteria. This is good news for our colon and the health of the microbiome and cell walls! Resistant starch is highest the greener the plantain. As they ripen they begin to lose the starch benefits.
Some other foods that contain resistant starch include:
Plantains and green bananas (as a banana ripens the starch changes to a regular starch)
Beans, peas, and lentils (white beans and lentils are the highest in resistant starch)
Whole grains including oats and barley
Cooked and cooled rice
Plantains contain healthy amounts of B6, Vitamin C and Potassium. Studies found that deep-frying of plantain preserved most of the micronutrient contents, but broke down some of the resistant starch. Also several studies were done on eating the flour of plantain, mixed with other high protein flours ( in other words, using a plantain-based dough for meals) like soy or cassava have potential to be used for the prevention and management of diabetes mellitus. If blood sugar management is an issue, know that greener the plantain, the less the impact on blood sugar levels, as it ripens the sugar content increases from 4 gram approximately to 22 grams of sugar in one cup of cut plantain, fried.
Plantains also freeze well. Just peel them and place them in air tight bag for future use.
Overall, this dessert is a natural, no additive, whole food, plant based dessert that has healthful nutrients and fibre benefits!
Caramelized Cinnamon Coconut Plantain
I enjoy this recipe not only for it’s wonderfully rich taste, but because I don’t need to prepare a lot of ingredients and it comes together in 10 minutes! I don’t have set measurements with the ingredients since skillet or plantain size may be different for each person. Just let your eyes and taste buds dictate! Also, this recipe works best when choosing plantains that are yellow.
Ingredients:
4 plantains, for the serving size of 4-6
1- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2- 3/4 cup of coconut milk, canned (not Lite)
1- 2 tbsp coconut oil, avocado oil or ghee
Preparation:
to prepare the plantains, when the peel is yellow with blackened areas cut off the ends, slit the banana skin down the centre and peel normally as you would a banana.
you can slice the banana in half and cut vertical slices or you can slice banana in small disks; ensure the width is at least 2 cm to make it easier to handle while cooking.
prepare a skillet with oil on medium high
add your slices and allow to lightly fry on both sides, about 1 minute each side ; you will see a golden color to a browning (carmelization)
add your coconut milk, ensure you have given it a good shake to mix the water with coconut. Allow to simmer 2-3 minutes till it reduces, flip plantain gently once.
remove from skillet, place in serving dish, sprinkle with cinnamon, add optional whip or ice cream
serve immediately
Meal Tips/Preparation:
top with coconut whip (see annaznutrition.com for recipe) or vanilla ice cream
select plantains that are greenish or yellow with no mold, indents or other spoils and allow to ripen to yellow ( with black areas) for a sweeter dessert that caramelizes when lightly fried.
also top with chopped roasted pecans or almonds for crunch and taste!
References:
Glucose impact: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28035142
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