Plantains, known as the cooking bananas, are a good source of potassium and vitamins C, B-6 and A, but they also have disadvantages. Though plantains are a type of banana, the American Diabetes Association considers them starchy vegetables that must be added into your mealtime carb count.

Plantains resemble bananas and are part of the same family. These fruits are starchy and rather bland, with a low sugar content. And like bananas, they get sweeter as they ripen. Boiled, sweet plantains are nutritional powerhouses, filled with vitamins A and C, minerals such as potassium and a healthy helping of fiber.