Ever wondered what this longer, thicker, starchier cousin of the banana is? Yes, that’s right it’s a Plantain! They are considered the potato or the pasta of the caribbean. They are typically used in starchy or savoury dishes, however they are incredible when baked or used as a sweet version as well. Note that plantains (ideally) should be cooked before consuming.
When it comes to the nutritional benefits, you will be amazed to know that they are not only immune boosting, brain boosting but they don’t spike your blood sugar levels. They are also extremely potassium rich (sounds familiar right?) and quite easy to digest.
Recently plantains have become one of my favourite ingredients to work with. Since I have removed grains from my diet I have been looking for a wholesome and filling replacement. In addition, I am still including many of my favourite tubers and roots, such as sweet potatoes, tigernuts and cassava. Plantains – although you would think are a fruit, they often get classified as a starch because they are less sweet than a banana.
I have been on the hunt for weeks to find the most delicious plantain recipes. Lucky for me, there are so many so they keep coming up. So I am totally inspired all the time to create my own magic with them in the kitchen. They truly do have a purpose. They are filling, sustaining, nourishing and you can use them in both sweet and savoury recipes – and everything you make with them always seems so exotic and special.
I have been tantalizing my instagram followers with mouth watering plantain based recipes, so finally I am going to start to share the goodness of these golden gems. I will provide you with a few different ones over the weeks just to balance out the goodness. Some of them I need to keep recipe testing, but many are good to go.
One of my most recent cravings since being on a variation of the AIP diet, has been having a bread that I can sink my teeth into. I am not much of a bread eater these days, but sometimes I just want something “carby” and wholesome for breakfast or a snack. I was searching online to work with plantains as the base and came across this amazing recipe from Cook it Up Paleo. I pretty much made this as is. It was fantastic!
Honestly the addition of gelatin – made all the difference in the consistency. I really thought I would ever be saying this as a former vegetarian. Side note, since adding collagen and gelatin into my diet, my skin has never looked better and more youthful. More on this in a later post!
Of course I couldn’t eat this bread plain (even though it’s moist and delicious) so I paired it with this incredible carob spread that just made the whole experience that much better. Like banana and chocolate, carob and plantain are a match made in heaven!
Not to sure about what carob is, read more about the thing about carob !
Raw Carob Tella
1/2 cup dates, pitted and chopped (then soaked in enough water to cover)
1 tbsp carob powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp vanilla
water (use a much as needed to get desired consistency).
