Ah, summertime. The best time and favorite time of the year for many people. As summer begins and the weather continues to warm up, there is a lot more buzz going on online with beauty treatments to achieve your best looking self for summer. When I hear summertime I think of tropical settings, whether it be the beach, the hot and humid habitat that forms, being eaten alive by huge bugs that come from the humidity, and tropical fruits.

Today, I am focusing on a very common tropical fruit, the banana. While some may argue the banana is not tropical, let it be known that bananas originated from Southeast Asia and the South Pacific, which have tropical climates. Now that everyone is educated, the next question to ask is why bananas? Well, bananas are the bomb. They are very tasty and very useful.

Also, bananas aren’t very expensive so if some of these experiments work, you are saving money that can be used for summer time fun. Or more food.

Here’s a few ways how you can use bananas to help you this summer, tried and tested by me.

I rated each use on a scale from 1 to 10 with 10 being the most amazing thing ever. So for those who are only skimming this article instead of actually reading, you get the bare numerical score.

For the hungry gal looking for some healthier options without losing flavor:

Pancakes (with only two ingredients!)

To be honest, I’ve already tried this recipe, and it is delicious. This recipe is vegan and does not contain any added sugar while still getting tasty pancakes. These pancakes only require two ingredients: Oats (I used Quaker Oats Quick Oats because that’s what was in my house at the time) and ripened bananas. I took my trusty NutriBullet blender and blended it for a few seconds until it became a batter consistency. After that, you just make pancakes like normal and in no time you’ll have delicious pancakes! I added pure maple syrup on top of mine, but feel free to add whatever you prefer.

Rating: 9/10 – They’re delicious and for how easy and how healthy it is to make, you can’t beat it.

Ice cream (vegan and delicious!)

This recipe requires only one ingredient, frozen bananas. This is great for those ice cream cravings you get during the hot summer months, but unlike normal ice cream there is no dairy and no sugar, so you’re body won’t suffer. Just throw your frozen bananas into a blender, and blend until you get a creamy consistency. You may need to scrape the sides a few times before you get the right texture.

You can also add other ingredients in order to get the flavor and taste you want. For example, I added a little bit of cocoa powder to get a little more sweetness and it was delicious.

Rating: 10/10 – It’s great because it’s one ingredient as a base and it’s so incredibly easy. It won’t completely replace your ice cream, but it will serve as a replacement before you absolutely “need” an ice cream fix.

Banana cookies

I found this recipe from a YouTuber who I follow, and she happens to be vegan. This recipe requires more than a few ingredients, but all are easy to find in stores and preparation is not hard at all.

First you’ll need to mash a few over ripe bananas in a bowl. Next, melt some coconut oil and then add to you’re banana mash. After, add some oats and mix until you get a dough consistency. Next, you can add any ingredients that you want in the cookie. I chose to add almonds and strawberries because that is what I had in my house (also strawberry almond cookies sound delicious in my opinion). I also added some vanilla extract for extra flavor and sweetness.

Now since you have your dough all ready, scoop into balls and place on a baking sheet. Put it inside the oven and after a while you will get wonderful, sugar free and good for you cookies.

The bananas are sweet so extra sugar isn’t necessary, and with the lack of flour, those with gluten allergies or celiac disease do not need to worry. It’s really the best for any one.

Rating: 9/10 – This doesn’t get a perfect rating because I don’t think I like waiting long enough for my bananas to get over ripe. They weren’t as sweet as I expected but they were still very good. Definitely would be a must try, especially if making chocolate chip cookies.

For the beauty conscious gal who wants to find natural and cheap ways to improve her already beautiful features:

Hair mask

Apparently, according to the internet, using mashed bananas as a hair mask helps your hair. So I put banana puree on my hair and left it on for 15 minute before rinsing it off.

Rating: 0/10 – The verdict is… well bad. It was really really messy, and trying to rinse it off in the shower was a nightmare. I might be finding bits of banana in my hair for the rest of today. Definitely do not recommend to anyone because this did not turn out well.

Exfoliator

There’s been a craze on the internet with sugar scrubs for lips and for body, and here is another recipe for a body scrub, but the twist is that you’re using a banana! This is easy and only requires two ingredients, a ripe banana and granulated sugar. Mash the banana and add sugar, mix and apply to areas you want to exfoliate, then rinse.

Rating: 1/10 – I didn’t really see any difference in my skin. To be honest, I much rather prefer my coconut sugar scrub (coconut oil and sugar mixed).

The final verdict? Bananas are pretty freaking awesome, and you should use bananas more in your life to make delicious and healthy treats. But for beauty… maybe not the best option.

Also, was I the only one who learned how to spell bananas from Gwen Stefani?

This sh*t is bananas, b-an-an-as!