The Surprising Hero of 2020 Kitchens: Banana Bread (and how to store it!)

In the early onset of shutdown I came across an article (or two) about banana bread’s surprising rise to popularity during the COVID-19 outbreak. Why? Because (*Spoiler alert*) America loves bananas and it’s the best/easiest thing to do with bananas too brown to eat by themselves.

Bananas can be added to a multitude of things to bulk them up and they add crazy amounts of potassium (PSA: you need to eat more if you drink licorice root tea), fiber, and vitamins. There are a ton of websites singing praises to the banana, so I don’t need to spend any time here trying to convince you eat more. Just EAT MORE. Please acquaint yourself if you’re unfamiliar with Major Musa’s power.

The saying should really be: A BANANA a day keeps the doctor away.

My job here is to share their metaphysical properties with you and teach how you can incorporate them into your life for magickal purposes. And make scrumptious banana bread.

Few foods are as joyfully aggressive, virile, and evocatively phallic as the Mars-ruled Banana, nor is any fruit as devisive as the Big Yellow Nana. Everyone I’ve met has a absolute preference on texture, color, method of eating and nothing will sway them otherwise. Not too soft, not too hard, not too sweet. Not to mention the social impropriety for some of eating a banana in public! There are as many tastes and opinions for bananas as there seem to be for banana bread. But one thing is for sure, humans, primates, birds, insects, bacteria, not a living thing among us is immune to their sweet and creamy flesh.

Bananas date back to at least 2,000 BCE India, and they arrived in Africa about 500 BC, Pacific Southeast in about 1,000 CE, and only arrived in the Americas in the 15th centuries. That fact has always shocked me, as I think bananas are synonymous with the Carribbean, American rainforests, monkeys, the whole tropical-vibe.

But it wasn’t until 1876 at the Philadeplphia Exposition did North America finally taste bananas (along with root beer, ketchup, and popcorn). No one really knows for sure where banana bread was invented, but it has been suggested by many food historians that if it was not invented by the Greeks (no record has been found, but we know they made fruit breads and were aware of the existence of bananas), all signs point to it being invented in the Northeast US immediately after its unveiling at the Exposition. It was a fortunate coincidence of discovering baking soda as a leavening agent around the same time. So it’s a fairly new bread invention (150 years old) from a world-renown ancient fruit.

In terms of folklore, there’s not much I could find online except the Phillipine ghost story of Nang-Tani, but as that is not my culture and I do not resonate with it, I don’t want to appropriate for the sake of a blog post. What I do understand is that as the plants grow against gravity, heavy towards the sun, it’s a great food for spirituality, more specifically giving one the strength to turn any heavy masculine aspects of oneself towards lightness and healing.

What I love about banana bread is that it’s impossible to mess up. As long as you have bananas, sweetener, flour, and combiner, something wonderful will turn out. This is what makes banana bread such an excellent carrier for magical intention. As a bread, it has grounding properties (the flour denotes whether it’s Venusian or Earth-based), the bananas add an extra passion charge and the sweetener can lend a solar, lunar, or earthly quality.

So if there’s no wrong way to make banana bread, and an infinite number of combinations, let’s just start with the most basic of banana bread recipes and then we’ll talk about substitutions at the end.

One of my favorite base banana bread recipes is by Cookie + Kate. I’ve copied it below for your easy perusal.

Options for your Bread

What I love about this healthy banana bread is that you can easily make them your own with fun add-ins. Here are a few suggestions:

• Walnuts & chocolate chips: 1/2 cup chopped walnuts + 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• Blueberry banana: 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
• Pecan coconut: 1/2 cup chopped pecans + 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• Espresso dark chocolate: 1 teaspoon espresso powder + 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Allergens and Aversions:

You can easily make this healthy banana bread dairy free or gluten free! Just use a dairy free yogurt and vegan butter or coconut oil and change the flour with any of your favorite non-gluten options.

Banana Bread MUFFINS?

Spray a 12 cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray, use muffin liners, or a silicone muffin tray; they pop right out and wipe clean after a 10-minute soak. Prepare the batter as directed, then divide evenly between liners. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees F or until tester comes out clean.

How to store banana bread

Banana bread should be kept well-covered in foil or plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 3 days, then transfer to the fridge or freezer. If you’re freezing, slice up the banana bread first so you can ul them out one at a time instead of having to heat up and eat the entire loaf!

How to freeze banana bread

This healthy banana bread bread freezes well! Simply wrap tightly in foil and finally place in a reusable bag or freezer friendly container for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature/throw in the toaster oven for 2 minutes once you are ready to eat.