Are you thinking what I'm thinking? When it comes to bananas, what's your favourite recipe?

Bananas are a staple of Australian fruit bowls and lunchboxes, and while delicious on their own, they can also be used to create a range of tasty treats.

Ahead of National Banana Day on May 1, and amid a 20 per cent drop in sales, the industry has launched two marketing campaigns to encourage Australians to put bananas back on the menu.

But for some people, they never left. From not ripe to overripe bananas, they've got a recipe. 

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Overripe?

Country Women's Association (CWA) Pioneer Division secretary Lyn Hackett shares her three-ingredient banana bread.

Something sweeter?

There's nothing like banana cake. Ms Hackett ices hers with lemon-flavoured butter icing. 

Not quite ripe yet?

The Fatnowna family in North Queensland makes a South Sea Islander dish called green banana and coconut. 

Eileen and Veronica Fatnowna say it is traditionally eaten with tinned tuna. 

Something different?

Banana cassava is a traditional South Sea Islander dish.

It is traditionally cooked over a fire, but it takes 30 minutes in an air fryer. 

The Fatnowna family says to peel the cassava so the skin and the first layer of flesh comes off, otherwise it can be poisonous.

However, you can also buy cassava already peeled and grated from some speciality food outlets. 

Fruit salad and lunchboxes

And, of course, bananas can also be enjoyed just as they are.

Paul Inderbitzin, who grew up on a farm on Queensland's Atherton Tablelands, and whose family has been part of the industry for close to 30 years, says there are hundreds — maybe thousands — of banana varieties out in the wild.

He has some tips for picking the best banana for a fruit salad or lunchbox, but it's a tough choice to nominate a favourite.

"The humble Cavendish does me just fine," Mr Inderbitzin says.

"The good old sugar banana, they're nice and short and good for the lunchbox."