Very orange (and nutritious) drink for a very orange evening

On Halloween night, Hubby was pacing . . . no trick-or-treaters yet. I reminded him that most of the neighborhood

Halloween parties had occurred the previous night (Sunday) . . . that it was Monday night, a school night, and that kids go door-to-door later in the evening here than in other places we’ve lived (45 minutes after I mentioned this fact, we had quite a few callers). So while he waited, he decided to fix himself one of his famous smoothies from a recipe suggestion I had placed on his desk. Hubby hates nothing worse than having little pieces of paper on his desk; he’s always eager to get things cleared away.

Power Gold Smoothie was a good choice for Halloween night because (despite the name) it was very orange—and with good reason. Its main element included two cups of chopped or grated carrots (this amounts to about two large carrots, grated), combined with unsweetened pineapple juice, honey, ice cubes, and yogurt. The power

part of the title pertains to the fact that carrots are fat- and cholesterol-free, a good source of fiber, and high in beta-carotene and vitamin A. In other words, it’s pretty power-packed.

Incidentally all this information, including the recipe, was furnished by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension program. The printout on Power Smoothies included this interesting factoid: in Roman times carrots were purple or white, but in the 16th century Dutch growers bred the vegetable to grow in the colors of the House of Orange. Well, who knew that?

Onto Hubby’s smoothie, which he was sipping when our first candy-seekers finally arrived. He pronounced it quite excellent, though with a chunky texture, since it contained the grated-up carrots. The recipe noted that if you want a smoother texture, microwave the grated carrot with 1 tablespoon water in a covered microwave-safe dish on high for 2 to 3 minutes. Drain water and proceed with the recipe.

Now, with the smoothie made, Hubby has one less stray piece of paper on his desk and a lot more power-ful nutrition in his tummy.

Power Gold Smoothie

2 cups carrots, chopped or grated or cooked in microwave. (This amounted to

about 2 large carrots, grated.)

1 1/2 cups pineapple juice (I used unsweetened)

3 tablespoons honey

3-4 ice cubes

1/2 cup vanilla non-fat yogurt

In blender combine all ingredients. Blend until smooth. Makes 4 servings.