Bananas

Bananas originate from the region of Malaysia from where they were to first start their journey around the world starting with India. Alexander the Great relished his first taste of the banana during his campaign in India in 327 BCE.

From there banana’s made there way steadily west through the ages and it wasn’t until 1502 that the first banana’s arrived here in the UK where it was named “Cavendish” after the Duke of Devonshire’s family. It is said that the Duke fell in love with banana’s he would eat nothing but banana’s virtually all day. The bananas that were growing in Africa as well as Southeast Asia were not the eight-to-twelve-inch giants that have become familiar in the UK today. They were small, about as long as a man's finger.

One large banana, about 9 inches in length, packs 602 mg of potassium and only carries 140 calories. That same large banana even has 2 grams of protein and 4 grams of fibre. For the carbohydrate counters there are 36 grams of carbs in a large banana. Vitamins and minerals are abundant in the banana.  Interestingly the banana plant is not a tree. It is actually the world’s largest herb!