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Day one of Zero Waste Week went well. The only leftover food we had was 3 banana peels and some green tea leaves. My plan was to simply compost them both but then I thought I’d do a bit of research to see if there was anything else you could do with them.
Surprisingly there are quite a few things that you can do with banana peels so I thought I’d share my findings with you today.
12 Ways to Reuse Banana Peels
Compost
Obviously, the easiest thing to do with leftover banana peels is to pop it in your compost. The peels add phosphorus and potassium to your compost which will help with plant growth once the compost is mature.
Feed for Tomato Plants
Apparently, if you wrap a banana peel around the base of a tomato plant it will aid its growth.
Fertiliser for Plants
You can dry out the skins, grind them up and use as a fertiliser for plants. Simply sprinkle the grinds over your soil and mix in.
Cleaning House Plants
To clean your houseplants simply rub the fleshy side of the peel onto your plant leaves. This will clear off dirt, dust and make your plants nice and shiny.
Shoe Polish
Believe it or not, you can use banana peels to shine your shoes.
Silver Polish
It also works a treat on silver.
Use as a Skin Ointment
You can use the fleshy part of the peel to rub onto skin irritations such as insect bites and stings. It helps to soothe the pain and stop the itching.
Use on your Face
Some people use the fleshy parts of the banana on their faces, simply run the fleshy part onto your face every few days.
Whiten Teeth
Apparently, banana peels make a great teeth whitener. Simply run the fleshy part onto your teeth every morning for two weeks to remove stains and make your teeth nice and shiny.
Remove Warts
Rub a piece of fleshy banana onto the wart every night before you go to bed and it should slowly fade.
Make Vinegar
You can use banana peels to make a vinegar that you can use in salads and other vegetable dishes. It creates quite a sour taste but with sweet undertones. Check out this recipe on the LiveStrong website.
Another Interesting Read: How To Make Apple Cider Vinegar in 7 Steps (and 3 Mistakes to Avoid)
Tenderize Meat
Add a ripe banana peel to a roasting pan to keep meats from toughening up or drying out whilst cooking.
If you have any other uses I’d love to hear about them.
You may also like: 10 Uses for Leftover Green Tea Leaves + 10 Uses for Leftover Hummus
And I’ve heard you can make curry too. Go on, I dare you!
Hi Rae,
ooo I’ll have to find a recipe for that, sounds good
The things I learn on the internet! I had no idea, so thanks for the post.
Glad you found it helpful
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There is no end to the health and skin care benefits of banana. It works great for many skin problems. I used banana peel to treat warts on my foot and within a few days I was able to remove them.
That’s a great tip thanks Harvey!
You didn’t mention that they are edibles. I made delicious tacos one day.
Hi Natalie,
That sounds good, do you have a recipe?
BBQ pulled banana skins…apparently taste like pulled pork…I’m trying it tonight
Oh wow, that sounds good. I’m going to try that one night. Let me know if you find a good recipe for it.
Banana peels are good for gardens because they contain 42 percent potassium. In fact, banana peels have the highest organic sources of potassium.
I tried all the tips and they worked wonders, especially for skin. Thanks a lot