We are a green banana household. If there is one brown spot on our bananas, or even if the skin is too yellow, neither Dave nor I will eat them. Usually we gobble them up before they reach that point, but occasionally we don’t get to them and I hate to see them go to waste. The temptation is to bake them into something that tastes great but is rotten for my hips—overripe bananas make the most fantastic breads and muffins. But when you’re adding massive amounts of butter, flour and sugar to bananas just so they don’t go to waste, you have serious problems (I do).

I think I’ve come up with a compromise: baked banana chips. Sweet, easy to make, easy on the hips and my toddler loves them. Take that, brown bananas.

They don’t require a ton of fattening ingredients. Just lemon juice (to prevent browning), cinnamon and salt (both optional, but I find they enhance the flavors nicely).

Slice the bananas very thinly. I’m talking about 1/8″— thick enough that you can still handle them but thin enough that the moisture will bake out easily.

Dilute the lemon juice with a little water…

…and brush across the banana slices.

Lightly sprinkle with cinnamon and kosher salt. Bake at 250F for about 2 hours, turning after 90 minutes. Let cool for a few hours (the longer you wait the crispier they will become).

A perfectly sweet treat. Not as crispy and crunchy as the banana chips in the bulk foods aisle, but more flavorful and less fattening.Lucy loves them plain or with a tiny smear of peanut butter sandwiched in between two slices.

If you’re a picky banana eater, give these a shot. Your guilty banana-wasting conscience (and your hips) will thank you.

-RDG

P.S. Still no baby. My cankles are epic.

Baked Banana Chips

Prep Time: 10 minutes Bake Time: 2 hours

• 2 overripe bananas
• Non-stick cooking spray
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp water
• Cinnamon
• Kosher salt

1. Preheat oven to 250F. Slice bananas very thin (roughly 1/8″) and place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper or Silpat and sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Stir together lemon juice and water and brush over banana slices. Lightly sprinkle with cinnamon and salt, then turn slices over and repeat.

2. Bake for 90 minutes, turn slices, and bake for 30 minutes more. Let cool completely (the longer you let them cool the crispier they will become). Store in an airtight container.