"Waste not, want not" is a popular aphorism. Another popular saying is, "Never pass up an opportunity to buy 30 pounds of bananas for super cheap." And one Redditor managed to combine both of those bits of wisdom when they bought 30 pounds of bananas and managed to use them all up before they went bad.
In the original post, the Redditor, having just purchased what looks to be around 14 bunches of bananas, turned to fellow Redditors on the r/Frugal subreddit for advice. "Bought 30 pounds of bananas for super cheap," they write. "What should I make?"
Later in the thread, they clarify that 30 pounds of bananas cost only $6, presumably during some kind of massive banana clearance sale.
Luckily, the other posters on the r/Frugal forum were full of ideas, ranging from smoothies to banana bread to pudding to dehydrated bananas and more.
And a mere 24 hours later, they returned with an update: "Alright y'all. The bananas have all been used."
"Yesterday I spent 7 hours baking and cooking up the bananas and let me tell you, it was a really fun experience and I feel like I learned a lot," they write.
They go on to detail the haul, resulting in:
- 6 large loaves of banana bread (40 servings)
- 16 mini loaves (32 servings)
- 48 banana rolls
- A giant bag of frozen whole banana (about 12)
- A large bag with sliced banana portioned into 2 banana portions (12 bananas)
- 6 chocolate covered bananas
"And I experimented with dehydrating 4 bananas and they kinda worked, not perfectly but they will be eaten," they said. "Lastly, we ended up with 3 stuffed bags of banana peels that I will be using in my raised garden beds we are building next week. No waste here!!"
The commitment of this Redditor to stick to zero-waste principles is super admirable. Food waste is a huge problem for the environment, especially in the United States, where between 30% to 40% of the food purchased ends up sitting in a landfill. There, it releases harmful gases that contribute to the overheating of our planet.
So, by saving these 70 or so bananas from the trash by buying them and then using them all up in under one day, this Redditor didn't just stock the freezer with treats for months to come (for about $27 all in) — they did the planet a favor.
And, of course, the other Redditors were very impressed.
"I could say that you went ~bananas~," writes one commenter.
Another chimes in, "I'd say this post is... A peel-ing."
"I didn't think it could be done. But it was done," another added.
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