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Banana chips vs. fresh fruit?

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
40,931
13,129
Portland, OR
I like bananas, but I don't eat it every day and it seems I should. My wife found chips in the bulk section, so she got me some to snack on at work. I tried some google searches, bt found nothing.

Does anyone know if there is anything lost in the dehydration process? I know how good bananas are in fresh form, are they as good for you in chip form?
 

laura

DH_Laura
Jul 16, 2002
6,259
15
Glitter Gulch
ask the store for their nutrition info on the chips. TN bought us some for vacation and after reading the label I found out that they are fried, sweetened and had artificial banana flavor in them. ACK! These were low end banana chips and may be a different quality that those bought in bulk at more health food oriented groceries. Most that come on bulk are labeled sweetened/unsweetened.

As far as nutritional content goes, you will get more sugar with less bulk because its condensed in the dehydration process. As far as potassium and all that great stuff goes, I haven't the foggiest. I do know that for fruits like apples, apricots and the like, the content stay relatively the same, so I don't see why it would be different for bananas.

Dried fruit is like the step between fresh fruit and juice. It still has the fiber you need to make fruit more a food and less a source of sugar, but the sugar is condensed so its sweeter than fresh. I am interested to know what others have to say.

Really, fresh fruit is the way to go if you can. Now is the perfect time to get in the habit too, some really good fruits are in season. Berries are rocking right now. Peaches are starting to shape up too and pretty soon melons will be perfect. (sorry, I realize we are focussed on bananas).
 

laura

DH_Laura
Jul 16, 2002
6,259
15
Glitter Gulch
Nutritional info on one Large banana (4.4 oz)


Calories 112 ( Kilojoules 469 )

Total Fat 0.4 g 1%
Saturated Fat 0.1 g 1%

Cholesterol 0 mg 0%
Sodium 1 mg 0%

Total Carbohydrates 28.8 g 10%
Dietary Fiber 3.3 g 13%
Sugars 15.4 g

Protein 1.4 g
Calcium 6.3 mg
Potassium 451.1 mg

Nutritional info for 4.4 oz of banana chips (about 4 or five fresh bananas)


Calories 649 ( Kilojoules 2711 )
Total Fat 42 g 65%
Saturated Fat 36.2 g 181%

Cholesterol 0 mg 0%
Sodium 7 mg 0%

Total Carbohydrates 73 g 24%
Dietary Fiber 9.6 g 38%
Sugars 44.2 g

Protein 2.9 g
Calcium 22.5 mg
Potassium 669.8 mg

The site that I got this info from says that the chips are just dried, but the fat content is way up. The potassium content in the chips is lower than a fresh banana, the calcium stays about the same protein drops some. The sugar goes way up. So if you can snack lightly, the chips are an ok snack, but they certainly don't seem to replace the nutritional value of a fresh banana.

I would still recommend getting the nutritional info from the store because all of these things vary so much brand to brand.
 

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
40,931
13,129
Portland, OR
Thanks Laura! I don't think these are fried based on the fact they aren't overly sweet and the majority of the bulk section has good stuff (my daughter goes through papaya sticks like crazy!). What I did last night was took about a 1/4 cup and broke them up to add to the trail mix my wife got me. It needed little more crunch.

Trail Mix:
Spanish Peanuts
Almonds
Walnuts
Dried Coconut
Dried Mango
Dried Papaya
Raisins
Dried Dates
and now Banana Chips

I think it's a good mix and sure tastes great. I needed something to snack on at work before lunch and just before I leave the office, otherwise I end up real hungry at lunch and dinner.

Thanks again for the info! Even though it's not as good, it is a lot easier to bring to work than fresh fruit.
 

Boomer-61

Chimp
Jul 17, 2002
51
0
Atlanta, GA
Chips are ok for off bike nutrition but for on bike go with the real deal. The problem with the chips are that they are fried. They then coat them is sugar to get them sweet again. It takes water for your body to metabolize them and the amount of nutrition you reap from them is minimal. So, save them for in front of the TV. For on the trail/road use the real deal or one of the many gel packs which are laoded with electrolytes. Ride on!
 

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
40,931
13,129
Portland, OR
I'm just using them in moderation as a snack at work. It beats the candy dish they have next to the printer, I'm sure.

They are great mixed with my trail mix, it adds a nice crunch that is different than the various nuts.
 

Tenchiro

Attention K Mart Shoppers
Jul 19, 2002
5,407
0
New England
I bet you could make your own pretty easily. I saw Alton Brown make beef jerky with like 4 air filters and a box fan, I bet you could get away with the same thing for just about any kind of fruit, although bananas may be a bit too sticky.