A medium banana has about 105 calories, making it a satisfying, ready-serve snack you can eat on the road. You don't have to worry about packaging the banana, just keep it in the peel until you're ready to eat it. Bananas are also an excellent source of potassium, with 400 mg per 1/2 cup of sliced banana. But if you're adding the banana to cereal, baking recipes or making banana chips, slicing this slightly squishy fruit can be an exercise in patience.
Cutting for Banana Chips
Step 1
Peel the banana and lay it on a cutting board.
Step 2
Slice straight down through the banana with a sharp knife, cutting off slices of equal thickness. Maintaining the same thickness for all slices is important because thinner slices will burn before thicker slices are done baking or dehydrating.
Step 3
Cut the ends of equal thickness as the middle slices, even though the slightly narrowed ends of the banana yield slices that are smaller in diameter.
Cutting for Cereal or Fruit Salad
Step 1
Pull the banana's peel halfway down.
Step 2
Slice down through the banana lengthwise, until your knife meets the peel.
Step 3
Rotating the banana 90 degrees and make another lengthwise slice, so you've cut it into quarters along the long axis. You can skip this step if you only want half slices.
Step 4
Hold the banana over the bowl you're adding the banana pieces to. Slice through the banana, letting the pieces fall into the bowl. You can also do this on a cutting board, then scrape the pieces into the bowl or set them aside for later use in a recipe.
Tips and Warnings
- A half-cup of sliced banana also has 9 g of fiber, and 10 percent of your recommended daily Vitamin C intake for a 2,000 calorie diet. Like apples, bananas will oxidize and turn brown if left exposed to air. Forestall this by coating the banana slices lightly with lemon juice.
Things You'll Need
- Cutting board
- Knife
- Bowl
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