Recipe: Make your body sing with this banana caramel oat slice from Australian Bananas

Filled with antioxidants which are good for body and brain health, a medium banana contains 15 per cent of an adult's daily requirement of B6 and 10 per cent of the recommended daily intake of both folate and calcium. They also contain vitamin C, fibre, have a low GI and have no salt.

Bananas also taste great and thanks to our hard working banana farmers around the country, they are in the shops all year round.

Did you know all fresh bananas available in Australia are locally grown? There are no imports because of the threat of pests.

Here's some interesting facts about the banana courtesy of Australian Bananas.

The tropical banana-growing regions of northern Queensland, mainly around Tully and Innisfail, produce more than 90 per cent of Australia's bananas while other tropical areas include the Northern Territory and northern Western Australia. Subtropical bananas are grown from just south of Coffs Harbour in northern New South Wales and Bundaberg in southern Queensland, and in Carnarvon in Western Australia.

Bananas were first introduced to Australia in the 1850s by Chinese migrants.

Australians eat more around five million bananas a day in total - enough that end to end they would stretch from Sydney to Melbourne.

The popular Cavendish banana was named after Englishman William Spencer Cavendish, the 6th Duke of Devonshire who cultivated them in his garden. The Lady Finger banana does not go brown when cut making it great for fresh dishes like a fruit salad.

Banana plants are actually giant herbs of the same family as lilies, orchids and palms. There are more than 500 varieties of banana plants in the world

However, bananas are not just a great snack food they are also great in dozens of delicious recipes. Here's one courtesy of Australian Bananas.

Healthy and delectable, it's the perfect morning or afternoon treat.

Serves: 16 / Prep time: 20 mins / Cook time: 40 mins

Ingredients

Method

Preheat oven 180°C fan forced. Line base and sides of a 5cm deep, 18cm x 28cm (base) slice pan allowing a 2cm overhang at both long ends.

For the base; Combine flour, brown sugar and coconut in a bowl. Add the butter, mix well. Press mixture over the base of the prepared pan. Bake 15 minutes or until light golden around the edges.

Combine sweetened condensed milk, 60g of the butter and 2 tablespoons of the golden syrup in a microwave safe, heatproof bowl. Microwave, uncovered, for 3-4 minutes on High/100% power, whisking every minute until light golden. Peel and slice the bananas, fold into the warm caramel then carefully spread over the warm base.

Melt the remaining 60g butter and 1 tablespoon golden syrup in a small saucepan. Stir in the coconut and oats. Spoon over the banana caramel mixture. Bake a further 18-20 minutes until golden. Set aside to cool completely before cutting into pieces to serve.

More great recipes for banana sweets, savouries, snacks and drinks here