5 Surprisingly Ingenious Banana Peel Uses You Never Knew

Bananas, besides being healthy for you, are quite versatile. For instance, did you know that a banana peel can be utilized in a variety of beneficial ways? Most of us simply eat the banana and discard the peel right away. But the next time you are about to do so, you should keep it. Because you would be surprised to know the different uses a banana peel can offer. Apart from being quite healthy, you can also use it to polish your shoes, tenderize your meat, and more. Let’s take a look at some of the unusual and surprising banana peel uses that you hadn’t thought of yet.

1. Polish silver

If the silverware around your house is beginning to lose its shine, then, before going to a professional, try rubbing some banana peels on them. The skins of these fruits contain oils and other substances like potassium that can be useful in cleaning various metal products. 

 

All you have to do is toss some banana peels in a blender, add some water, and make a thick paste. Then, rub the paste on your silver for a few minutes with the help of a soft cloth. Next, simply wash the silverware with warm water, and voila! Your silver will be shining bright again. 

 

2. Add them to a smoothie  

There are plenty of wonderful nutritional benefits of banana peels. They are a great source of fiber, potassium, antioxidants, and many other vital nutrients. They are also rich in vitamin A and lutein. Hence, rather than throwing them away, you can add banana peels to your favorite smoothie for extra nutrients. 

 

However, make sure that before tossing it into the blender with the smoothie, you first chop off the stem and nub at each side and wash the peels thoroughly. Alternatively, you can also boil and strain a few peels to make a nutritious banana peel juice that can be added to your regular smoothie.

 

3. Strengthen your compost pile

Your leftover banana peels can also be added to your garden’s compost pile as they provide a nutrient-rich supplement to the soil. Furthermore, they will definitely give the plants more calcium, potassium, magnesium, phosphates, sodium, and sulfur. Generally, a full-sized banana peel will take three to four weeks to decompose. 

 

Just cut the banana peels into smaller pieces and add them to the compost pile. Next, add some produce and yard based plant matter to the compost pile to strengthen it. If the pile is a little too dry, then add a little water to it to make sure it remains damp. Also, airflow is essential to banana breakdown and the composting process, so keep turning the compost from time to time.

 

4. Tenderize meat

Banana peels act as a great meat tenderizer. If you are cooking something tender and juicy, just place a few peels on the top or bottom of the roasting pan before you start cooking and leave it like that for about half an hour. A banana peel will also work as a blanket for a meat dish that’s more prone to drying out in the oven (like chicken breast or turkey) and doesn’t let the moisture from it vaporize. 

 

The meat will absorb the oils and moisture from the banana peel as they will steam, helping it remain juicy and tender.

5. Polish Your Shoes

It may have happened many a time that while leaving home, you realized that your shoes aren’t polished. Unfortunately, you don’t have the time to sit and polish them as you are in a hurry. Next time, instead of going out with dirty boots, just grab a pair of banana peels and rub them gently over your shoes. Yes, these peels are a terrific natural way to keep your leather or faux-leather shoes shiny. The potassium and waxy quality of the peel help get rid of the scuff marks from the shoes and make them shiny again. Once you are done rubbing the banana peel on the shoes, wipe off any remaining residue with a soft cloth and get ready to wear your shiny pair.

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15 food scraps everyone throws out — but are actually super useful

It's human nature- by the time a recipe is finished, we can't wait to toss the leftover mess into the garbage.

Things like pumpkin guts, coffee grounds, and pickle juice are usually throwaways , as a result.

But coffee grounds can actually be used to fertilize plants and carrot tops can add flavour to tons of different  recipes. Even though they seems " gross", there are ways in which we can use our scraps for good- and ways in which we can recycle them to create even more great meals.

1) Chop up those leafy green carrot tops to add flavour to many recipes. We often forget about vegetable stems- but they're actually filled with valuable nutrients and flavour.

The same is true for carrot tops. Making the most of your carrot is as simple as chopping the leafy part into fine pieces, which you can then add to a bunch of recipes- rice pilaf/ pulao, pesto sauce, salad etc for added flavour.

2) Cook your peeled potato skins and turn them into chips
It's not required to peel the skins of potatoes- in fact, they're included in a lot of great recipes.
But if you're making something like mashed potatoes, you're going to have a lot of leftover peels, which you can roast to make delicious chips, and season with your favourite spices.

3) Use unwanted bread ends to make croutons.
The ends of a loaf of bread are the parts people typically toss into the garbage.
But if you save and freeze them, you can make croutons or breadcrumbs. When you're ready to cook them, just let them thaw a bit- then, after they're out of the oven, season them however you want.

4) Orange peels can be made into a vinegar-based cleaner.
Citrus fruits have a naturally crisp smell- and this can be put to amazing use when cleaning your home.

After you're done peeling an orange, throw the skin into a jar of vinegar. If you let it sit for about a week, you'll have a great vinegar-based cleaner without that terrible vinegar smell.

You can dilute the mixture with water to clean your floors, or put it into a spray bottle to make an all-purpose cleaner. Swap it with vinegar in a cooking recipe, too, for a sweeter taste.

5) Toss leftover coffee grounds into the soil of your plants- they make a great fertilizer.
Caffeine is how many humans survive. But plants can benefit from coffee, too- their soil gets a boost in nitrogen from coffee grounds.
It's as easy as placing the grounds right into the soil of any plotted plant. Doing so adds organic material to the soil, which improves water retention, drainage and airflow.
The coffee grounds will also attract earthworms and other microorganisms, and these little guys are beneficial to growth.

6) Steam leftover beets greens and eat them on their own.
Like other vegetable stems, beet greens are good for you and able to be incorporated into the recipes, like salad and pasta.
But they're also good enough to eat on their own- steamed with a little butter, salt, pepper powder, they make a great side dish to any main course.

7) There are few things you can do with your leftover pumpkin this Halloween.
After you're done carving a face into your pumpkin this fall, don't throw away any leftovers.
Pumpkin guts can be blended into a yummy puree- which in turn, can be used for pumpkin pies, bagels, pancakes, oatmeal, soup etc.
You can also bake the seeds in the oven to make a healthy snack.

8) The seeds from some of your favourite fruits and vegetables can be used to grow your own.
Many of your favourite fruits and vegetables can be grown in your own backyard- so the next time you're chopping be sure to check  before you throw away your seeds.
Pits of plums, peaches and avocados can be planted . You can also grow from lemon seeds and surprisingly- the tops of pineapple, though they might take a while to rear a full fruit.

9) A lot of fruit peels can be used to make flavoured  water.
Skip the Vitamin water- make your own healthy infusion at home with leftover fruit and vegetable peels.
If you've a hankering for some refreshing cucumber or lemon drink ( or any kind of fruit, really) just drop the peels into a bottle of plain water. The longer it sits, the stronger the flavour will be.

10) Mushy brown bananas can be used to make banana bread and other baked goods.
No one likes overly ripe, overly sweet bananas, but they make excellent baked goods. Mash them before mixing them into batter for recipes like banana bread.

11) The tough outer greens from kale can be ground into a healthy powder- and you can add it to your shakes.
Kale, though nutritious, is not always delicious- but you can use the tough bits of it in other recipes.
Dehydrate the leaves you don't want and grind them into a powder. You can add a dash of that to your protein shake in the morning- or whenever you want a little boost of nutrients.

12) Down to the last pickle in the jar? Don't pour the juice out- pickle other vegetables with it.
If you're not one of those people who likes to drink the pickle juice, or add it to cocktails, save it and use it to become a pickling master.
You can throw canned green beans into the leftover brine or even onions, artichokes and cucumbers for more pickles.

13) Old wine can be used for cooking months after being opened.
When your bottle of wine gets a little too foul-smelling to drink, you can still use it to cook.
Recipes that call for wine reductions or braised for instance, can be great ways to use every last but of the bottle- and add that delicious wine flavour to the dish.
Just make sure you cook it, unless you're doing DIY vinegar or marinating fruit.

14) Banana peels can be used to shine on shoes and tenderize meat.
Bananas really are the wonder fruit- in addition to being a great source of potassium, their peels are extremely versatile.
Are your leather shoes looking dull? Simply rub the inside of a banana peel onto your shoe, and it'll be shiny in no time. You can also place a ripe banana peel on the bottom of a roasting pan to moisten whatever meat you're cooking.

15) The options for leftover tea bags are endless.
In addition to recycling tea bags to make more tea, you can use them as DIY deodorizers for your home and carpets, as fertilizer for plants or as hand and foot scrubs.

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