Green Banana Flour: A More Healthful Substitute For Wheat?

It's a little more expensive than wheat flour, but green banana flour might be a more healthful ingredient for baking bread and cakes. Banana flour is made from unripened fruit and does not taste like ripe bananas. But it contains resistant starch that behaves like fiber, helping to control sugar levels and prolong satiety. As a starch that is not absorbable, it contains fewer calories, though it is rich in potassium and magnesium, both healthful minerals. British company Nutryttiva sources green bananas from Brazil, and so far its flour is selling well. “We only started selling it last month, but so far sales are doubling each week,” a representative says. The company notes that green banana flour costs more than wheat flour, but about 25 percent less is used in baking.