What To Do With Overripe Fruit

Whether you are a cook at a fancy restaurant or just a happy home cook doing what you can do best for your family, you must know that you can save some money if you know what to do with overripe fruit and spoiled vegetables.

Here are a few delicious ways to use overripe fruits and save them a trip to the waste bin.

1. Bread

Berries, bananas, nectarines, and peaches are ideal for bread making. Next time, instead of serving the usual banana bread to your visitors, have them have a taste of your own brand of nectarine, strawberry, or blueberry bread. And if you happen to like the bread making process, think about experimenting with other fruits as well and who knows your bread may become the next big hit.

2. Smoothies

Overripe fruits are great in smoothies to make them sweeter and mask the strong green flavor of some greens like dandelions, carrot or beet tops, kale, parsley, cilantro, etc.

If you haven’t done so yet, don’t forget to download my FREE green smoothie eBook here for some smoothie inspiration.

3. Jam

Fruit jam products in supermarkets are too boring and packed with added sugars — actually you are buying the same thing with the same taste all the time. For a change and perhaps, to give your breakfast and snack a little creative twist, you can try making your own berry or apple jam.

All you need to do is blend overripe fruits in their own juice, add a few tablespoons of chia seeds, and give it extra flavor with cinnamon or vanilla extract. Not sweet enough for you… add a few dates or raw honey. Let the jam set in the fridge until the chia seeds are gel-ified, and you’re ready to make a good and healthy change in your family’s meals.

ALSO READ: Chia Seeds Health Benefits: 10 Reasons To Add Chia Seeds To Your Diet

4. Sauce

It is time to get over your worries regarding preservatives, added sugars, and harmful coloring ingredients. One of the best ways to do that is to create your own fruit sauce to top and sweeten yogurt bowls, pancakes, ice creams, chia puddings, and breakfast muffins.

Peel your overripe bananas, apples, plums, peaches, berries, or pears and put them all in a pan and add a little amount of water and lemon juice. Simmer until fruit has softened and liquid has thickened. If you like it chunky, leave it as it is or use a blender to puree it into a smooth sauce.

Sweeten things up with cinnamon, vanilla extract, or raw honey. Or add coconut sugar or pitted dates while cooking.

5. Ice Cream

Melons, bananas, berries, pineapple, mangoes, kiwis, and avocados are great for making ice cream. Aside from the fact that your children are not getting unnaturally processed ingredients in exchange for the cool, refreshing feeling, you can be sure that what they are having are nature-provided antioxidants and anti-inflammatory substances.

Click here to get 5 delicious, dairy-free, healthy ice cream recipes to give you some inspiration.

6. Frozen Fruit Chunks

Overripe fruits need not always have to be cooked or smashed just for them to be useful. As an alternative method, you may just peel them and cut them into chunks. Put the chunks in freezer storage bags, tuck them into a corner of the freezer, and get them out for smoothies, chia seed jams, or muffin- or pancake-making.

ALSO READ: Easy Steps To Make A Week Of Green Smoothies

Although we don’t have much fruit that has the chance to get overripe, we love these recipes… so we often buy a bit more fruit than we are planning to eat to make a few of these….