Me a recycle junkie!!

I am recycle junkie!!! I have realised. And I intend to pass on the tradition to my child as well. I am very happy to see streaks of it already present in her, from the seed that has been sown by doing art and craft with biscuit cartons, wrappers, unused side of a printed paper, straws, tissue roll....name it - we have tried it, used it and enjoyed it.

Got some lovely orange carrots the other day. My instant reaction was to make some yummy carrot milkshake. One of my favourite drinks growing up. It is one of the 'firsts' I learned to make all by myself. Now I make it for Sia. She enjoys it too. Thank god for that!

The recycle story begins as I start to make the carrot milkshake. As I peeled the carrots, I realised the peels went into a separate bin - where we collect our "daily wet waste" for our community organic compost. I kept aside the carrot heads to reuse and sow. Perhaps I can harvest some home-balcony-grown-carrots. I am sure Sia would love to recreate the Hundred Acre Wood in her own home. I recycled yogurt cups to sow the carrot heads and some spinach. It feels wonderful to be giving back an ounce to nature, which is just a speck in the magnitude of what she has always been giving us.

Going back to the carrot milkshake...I have always believed in the essentials of breaking the monotonous diet routine of my child. Imagine having plain milk or milk stirred with Bournvita, Complan, Boost or even sugar all the time. Why don't parents "have-a-go" with such mindless routines? Try simple variations. Here is what is cooking in our kitchen today.

For carrot milkshake you will need,
6 medium sized carrots
Sugar as per taste
1/2 litre milk
2 pods of cardamom
Some scoops of Vanilla ice-cream (do-able even if not available. I have some in the freezer. Ideal compliment for my recycling mood)

To make,
Peel carrots. Cut into thick round slices.
Pressure cook with 2 pods of cardamom and little water to slightly immerse the carrot slices. Cook to make the carrots soft.
Once cooled, put it in a blender. Add sugar, milk and give it a nice mix, till all the carrot pieces have blended with the milk.
Add Vanilla ice-cream and give it another mix to give it a thickness.
Serve chilled.

Try even other alternates with banana, papaya and mango of course!!