Morning Moo's Sweetened Banana Slices - Product Review

It has come to my attention recently that there are people out there who want to get started on their food storage, but don't want to waste their money on products that they will never use.
I thought it would be helpful to post my research on the products that I have purchased; thus giving you the opportunity to decide if it's worth it or not.

So, here is the first of several Food Product Tests!

Again, this is just my evaluation of products, to help you determine if they are worth purchasing.

Today's topic:

Sweetened Banana Slices

The Basics: (text taken directly from can)
Directions: Eat as a snack, add to cereals or desserts
Ingredients: Sweetened banana slices, turbinado sugar, coconut oil, banana flavoring.
No preservatives added.
Store in a cool dry place.

Here is what they look like:

Now for the Quality Check:

Smell - Indescribable; not good or bad, but they don't really smell like bananas to me.

Taste - Nothing like a banana in my opinion, except for the hint of banana flavoring sprinkled on each chip.  Not good enough (for me) to just eat plain, and my kids don't enjoy them either.

Texture - extremely crunchy; much more so than a potato chip - almost like peanut brittle.  Too hard for my kids to eat - and it doesn't help if they slobber them to death either... they stay pretty crunchy.

Looks - Perfect representation, item didn't shrink or shrivel during processing.

Color - Pale yellow; good representation

How much do you get?
#10 size can hold 2 lbs. 4oz.
Container holds 36 cups

Price?
#10 can runs anywhere from $10-$15

Shelf Life
I haven't been able to find out how long the shelf life is.  Most Blue Chip products have the shelf life written on the container, but this one doesn't.  That leads me to believe that it isn't very long.
However, I have had my particular can for over 2 years now, and they are still edible.  And, my can has been opened for that long.  Sealed cans last much longer under proper storage conditions than those that are opened.  There has been some settling over the past two years (they settle to the bottom and start to stick together).  I am assuming they also get harder over time, but we don't eat ours enough for me to notice.
If I had to guess, shelf life would be 5-10 years (sealed can) under good storage conditions.

Brand Differences
I haven't noticed any other brands, so I have only tried Morning Moo's (Blue Chip)

Is it worth it?
Uhhh... I've been stewing over this question...
They are not my favorite, as I mentioned before, so I would have to say that they would be a good idea for a long term storage item.  I mean that I don't use mine enough to go out and buy more, but they would be great to have for emergency situations.
Just a side note: when I say 'short term' food storage, I mean anything that you eat on a regular basis.
And when I say 'long term' food storage I mean items that are stored primarily for emergencies (but that doesn't mean you should buy things you will never eat).
Uses:
Realistically, I am a freak, and I can't throw anything away.  When I bought these, I wasn't super satisfied, so they were seldom used.  I didn't want to waste them, so I figured out the best (in my opinion) use for them...

Banana Bread (Emergency Preparedness Style)

Start by chopping up your banana chips
(like I mentioned earlier, they are really crispy and don't get soggy, even in liquid.  For a smooth consistency, put them in a food processor - the more powder the better.  For bread that has 'nut' like banana chips, leave them coarsely chopped, like the picture shows).
Use 2 cups of banana chips (before chopping)
in place of 3 regular mashed bananas

Put the banana chips in a bowl and add half the amount of boiling water
(so if using 2 cups of banana chips, use 1 cup boiling water)

Set aside for about 5 minutes

Use your beaters to blend it all together

You may need to add up to 1/4 c. more water to reach the desired consistency.

Then, just add it to your banana bread recipe in place of regular bananas.

The taste is slightly different, but still delicious.  I have had several people try them without knowing I used dried bananas and they couldn't tell.  The color of the bread will also be lighter than normal.

Well, I don't know if that was helpful or not, but there you have it!

**UPDATED 11/11/13
I just wanted to update this post to provide an alternative to sweetened banana slices.  I have transitioned over to Freeze Dried Bananas, and use this product exclusively instead of the slices.  These are far superior in quality, taste and nutrition.  They cost more than the sweetened slices, but are worth it in my opinion.  You can view more about the product, the 25 year shelf life, read reviews, etc. at the link below:
Thrive Freeze Dried Banana Slices