Carrot Cake Smoothies

By Molly Burke, FoodCorps service member

Photo from thegreenforks.com

This month, the Mass Farm to School harvest of the month is dairy. As dedicated plant lovers, Kelly and I did not let this get in the way of serving kids fresh veggies. Time and again in lessons and taste tests, our students have proven smoothies to be the perfect vessel for getting in the all-important 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day--they’ll drink spinach spinach, beets, or a combination of the two so long as they’re blended into liquid form. Following that logic, we decided to test out a carrot-infused smoothie for the March taste tests. As much an homage to the cute fuzzy cows at McCray’s Farm in South Hadley where we source our local milk, this cheery, bright orange beverage is a nutrient-filled toast to the oncoming spring season. Lachanophobes rejoice: the warm spices and creamy yogurt in this recipe make the smoothie taste less like vegetable juice and more like a frozen bakery treat. The resounding cafeteria chorus of “this is good!” from Bowe kids last Wednesday is as good a testament as any to how effective smoothies are at converting veggie skeptics.

This recipe also uses high-protein yogurt and anti-inflammatory cinnamon. It’s as good for snacks as it is for a healthy breakfast. You can make it vegan by using non-dairy milk and omitting the yogurt or substituting vegan yogurt or nut butter. Try it at home!

Carrot Cake Smoothies
Serves 2
Ingredients:

• 1 banana, frozen
• ½ cup carrot, shredded or chopped matchstick-size
• ½-1 cup milk (to desired thickness)
• ½ cup plain or vanilla yogurt
• ¼ tsp cinnamon
• Pinch ginger
• Pinch nutmeg

Directions:
Add all ingredients to a blender and mix until smooth. Add more milk to thin as needed.