Banana Salads

You do not have to be a monkey to enjoy banana salads.

Those sunny yellow bananas in your kitchen are for more than breads and cereal toppings. The creamy, sweet flavor of bananas adds a new dimension to salads. Before adding the banana slices to your salads, toss them with lemon juice to retain the color and prevent browning.

Frozen

Frozen fruit salads blur the line between salad and dessert. The creaminess of the bananas makes this dessert similar in texture to ice cream. Recipes for frozen cranberry-banana salads can be found on the Internet. Most involve combining crushed pineapple, sour cream, mashed bananas, frozen whipped topping, canned whole cranberries, sugar and optional nuts. This mixture is frozen into a loaf pan or cupcake liners until firm and served. Try this frozen salad with iced tea for a cooling, casual Southern version of high tea.

Citrus-Topped Salad

Turn any green salad into a fruity treat with the addition of citrus slices, shredded coconut and bananas. Add these fruits to the top of salad greens, and lightly dress with flavored honey or a citrus vinaigrette. This is a refreshing salad to serve any time of the year, especially during the winter when citrus fruits come into season. Save preparation time and opt for canned mandarin oranges or canned grapefruit slices to add to the salad instead of using fresh fruits, if desired. The citrus juice from the fruit slices will keep the banana from turning brown.

Peanut Butter Dressed Banana Salad

Peanut butter and banana sandwiches bring together the salty, savory flavor of peanut butter with the sweet creaminess of bananas, but peanut butter is for more than just sandwiches. Take the basics of the sandwich and turn it into a banana salad, using peanut butter as the base for the dressing. Combine sliced bananas, sliced strawberries, lemon juice and chopped peanuts together. Pile this on top of a romaine lettuce base and drizzle with a peanut butter and honey dressing, thinned with orange juice and yogurt.

Banana Waldorf Salad

Add a tropical touch to a traditional Waldorf salad with bananas. A traditional Waldorf salad contains apples, walnuts, celery and grapes in a creamy dressing. Instead of grapes, use bananas for a twist on the classic. The recipe from Campfire Marshmallows omits the celery and only calls for apples, walnuts, bananas and marshmallows to be mixed in a sweet, creamy dressing. Omit the marshmallows from your version if desired, or add the grapes in and call it a creamy fruit and nut salad instead of a Waldorf salad.

Tags: peanut butter, apples walnuts, creaminess bananas, creamy dressing, lemon juice, more than