Background Color
Add to favorites
~ raw, vegan, gluten-free, nut-free ~
For those of you have been following me throughout the years, you have come to learn that I love learning how foods grow and how they are harvested. There really isn’t a better way to be connected to the foods that we love and eat.
I while back I watch a documentary on T.V. that was all about bananas. After the show, I wanted to run right out and plant a few banana trees in our orchard… but darn, we are not zoned for them. Hehe, I am sure that you have all seen pictures of banana trees and how they grow in clusters. Just one large cluster on a banana tree can weigh over 100 pounds, with up to 400 individual bananas per cluster! Now come on, just that just give you the chills? :)
Crazy huh? Bananas “trees” are actually the world’s tallest herbaceous plant. They can reach 20 feet in height. “Herbaceous” means there is no woody stem and all the plant matter above the ground dies at the end of a yearly cycle.
Banana trees grow from an underground root system called a corm, which can last for many years. Each corm sends up one or more shoots, which develop large leaves. The thick stalks of these leaves wrap around each other and thicken into the trunk of the banana “tree.” A central stem comes up through the leaf stalks and develops the banana “heart,” which is a structure that includes multiple small flowers, each of which has an ovary that develops into a banana.
Once the bananas have ripened, the entire plant dies back to the ground, and the corm sends up a new shoot. Even though a banana plant can get to be over 7.5 meters tall (25 feet), it only lasts about a year or so. And the interior of it is not a structure of dead cells as with wood. So a banana “tree” is not technically a woody tree. (source)
It’s no wonder that I love bananas. I enjoy them fresh, dehydrated into banana chips, frozen for smoothies and also in the form of banana wraps crepes. Crepes sound so much more… sophisticated.
Banana crepes are so darn easy and last forever. These crepes can appeal to all ages… from kiddos who love to eat them like a fruit leather to adults who can stuff them full of excellent ingredients. Personally, I love slathering peanut butter on them and then rolling them into a tube. Oh so delicious.For this dessert, I started off by spreading a thick layer of peanut butter on the crepe. I followed it with a hefty dose of Coconut Whipped Cream and then layered in sliced strawberries. Umm, umm, good.
I originally created this recipe post on Nov. 2010 at 1:32 pm to be exact lol… but today I gave it a “face lift” since I had to make them for dessert tonight. Enjoy the simple things in life! amie sue
Ingredients:Crepes:
Filling:
Yummy! I just made up a batch of these, which are dehydrating now. I hope to have crapes ready for breakfast tomorrow. This is a test run for Mother’s Day brunch. Thank you! And your blog is excellent.
Good evening Shani…. Thank you. :) I hope you enjoy them as much as I do! They are great for making desserts or just to snack on. Spread some almond butter on them, roll them up….oh man double yummy! What are you going to fill them with? Please let me know how they turn out for you. amie sue
Another winner! My little ones Solomon and Kamryn, and I are having a blast with the new Excalibur 9-tray dehydrator that arrived at our doorstep a few days ago! As the three of us go through a rack of bananas every other day or so in smoothies, desserts, and straight-up, this crepe will satisfy our love of variety and add to our fun in the kitchen! I’m thinking these crepes will be great rolled up as a school lunch with Almond Butter and Strawberry Date Jam or Chocolate Chia Sauce. No matter how you roll it up…yum!
I love it when we have a winner! :) Your further creative ideas are perfect! Your right Rebecca, a person could do so many things with these. Even making ANY of the raw cookie recipes could work all rolled up in the a banana crepe. I have done that numerous times. Gosh darn you, you are making me hungry and it’s time for bed. haha Thank you so much for sharing with me. Roll’m up…roll’m out…raw-hide! haha Yep, I need sleep. Night night :)
Hi!
It s the third time i m doing these pancakes…. And they tend to stick to the non stick sheets, and i found them a little chewy…. Could it be the banana itself? Or could this be avoided adding some flaxmeal into the batter?
Hello Caroline,
You called these pancakes, are you spreading the batter thick? The banana crepes / wraps will be a little chewy, its the nature of the banana alone. As far as sticking, were they dry enough when you removed them? Mine have always just peeled off without an issue. Adding flax meal will give it more body if that is what you are aiming for. Let me know… amie sue :)
Hi Amie-Sue,
What temperature setting did you use for these?
Thanks!
Hi Wendy…115 degrees (F)… I added that to the recipe. Thank you for asking so I could fix that. I wrote that post back in 2008, I hope my recipe writing skills have improved. hehe Blessings, amie sue
Wondering if these need to be refrigerated and what the shelf life is. Thank you
No they don’t need to be Tammy. I store mine in plastic wrap, making sure an extra piece is in between each crepe so they don’t stick together. Shelf life… well I have kept some for up to a month. They may even last longer. Enjoy, amie sue
Hello Amie,
This recipe is right on time. I just purchased a box of day old bananas for 5 dollars (about) 10 – 15 bunches)!
I will certainly be trying the crepe along with all the other healthy treats bananas can be used to make.
Would you please share about how much of the batter you used to make the crepes in the picture above? They seem perfectly shaped. I hope I can create crepes as lovely.
Also, I would like to make the Coconut Whipped Cream. Do you mind sharing the recipe? I am so excited to make and share this recipe.
Again, thank you very much and I look forward to receiving your response.
Blessing
Good afternoon Rhondy,
I used, roughly, 1/2 cup of batter for each wrap. It is very very easy and you will make gorgeous ones. Take a 1/2 cup measure cup and scoop up some batter. Hold it over the tray and let it pour out, don’t move around, just let it puddle within itself. Then lightly tap and tilt the tray in a circular motion to help the batter spread out a bit. That’s it!
Oh the Coconut Whip! I don’t think I have shared that recipe before. Let me do a recipe post on it… expect it within a few days.
Keep me posted how it goes. Blessings and joy, amie sue