Jugo de Zanahorria y Naranja (Honduras)

A couple months ago my son came home from school with a chart to keep track of the fruits and vegetables he ate each day for a week. At the end of the week, he gave it back to the teacher, and if he had eaten all his fruits and veggies, he got a prize. This assignment was repeated for four weeks, and at the end of those four weeks, Ian received three little notebooks in the shapes of various fruits as his reward for healthy eating. I'm not sure which week we fell short, but I thought three outta four ain't bad!

This was really an assignment for us the parents. I pride myself on providing healthy meals and snacks for the family, and as my parents did for my brothers and me, there is always a veg and fruit on the table at dinner each night. There is a menagerie of fruits out on the counter for breakfast and snacks, and when I make lunch it usually comes with a side of carrots or cucumbers. But I will be honest, the recommended six servings of fruits and veggies a day maxed out my culinary creativity, especially when I am not always the one to provide the meals to my children, whether they are at school or daycare.

So today when I mixed together a pitcher of Jugo de Zanahorria y Naranja, carrot orange juice, I felt somewhat vindicated for all the days when the fifth and sixth selection eluded me. This recipe was pretty simple and perfect for a hot summer day. The main components are blended carrots and orange juice. The carrots themselves are supposed to be juiced, but I steamed and pureed them with water before mixing in the OJ, which resulted in an extra thick and yummy juice that counted for not one, but two servings for the day.

To say there are a lot of demands and pressures on parents is an understatement given that they are pretty endless, and providing a healthy diet is one of the main pressures. I actually do okay in the "mother's guilt" department, mainly because my children are healthy and well-adjusted and that doesn't just happen on its own. I know, because I see those kids who grew up surviving on their own stumbling through my classroom. My husband and I do our best, consider our parenting choices, and try not to beat ourselves up when we need to recalculate. And we do remember to give ourselves the occasional high-five when we see our boys happily slurping down a cool glass of Jugo de Zanahorria y Naranja.