Bananas are a wonderful, tasty fruit that we love to add to our smoothies etc, but how does one keep them firm and just the right “ripeness”?

First off … I put my less than ripe bananas in the refrigerator and they stay nice and firm for way over a week!

Secondly … I buy a bunch of bananas, cut them up and  put them in a plastic bag, pour in lemon juice — coating the bananas.  I then organize the banana chunks in one layer in the plastic bag before freezing them. By doing this they stay separated and ready to be added to our Shaklee Protein Smoothie drinks!  The lemon juice prevents them from browning and it adds a great flavor to the drinks. By adding various fruit to our drinks we get wonderful flavors making milk or juice an unnecessary ingredient … saving those precious “calories”!

Note:  I buy the Italian Volcano 100% Organic Lemon Juice (from Costco) in 2 big bottles and then refill my smaller lemon container for easier use.  I store both containers in the refrigerator.