Rich in Vitamin A,K,E,B6, and C-arrot

As promised I have a follow up on the baking activity put on with some of the students from the Chibulbut School.  A few girls grew and harvested one row of the garden, which included carrots.    Kamille decided to make carrot cakes with the students; she then went on to make them with the women of the Cooperative.  It was a unique way to incorporate healthy vegetables into a yummy snack; the cakes were extra healthy made of mostly carrots with a sprinkle of sugar- yet undeniably delicious.  It is widely unknown, but Guatemala has the highest rate of malnutrition in all of Latin America, even higher than Haiti (the region’s poorest country), and ranks sixth in the entire world for chronic malnutrition.  Over 1 million children under the age of five suffer from chronic malnutrition, of which nearly 70% are indigenous.  Diets consisting of little more than tortillas can cause permanent damage on development and growth.  Likewise, the recession has caused a significant decrease in the money being sent back from the U.S. to support families, as nearly 15% of Guatemala’s GDP comes from remittances.  As I have witnessed firsthand, many of the crops families do grow are believed to have better value as market-sale income than as nutritious supplements for family benefit. 

After a morning of rival soccer outings between Co-op schools, the girls who tended to the carrot row gathered to make baked carrot goods with the richest vegetable source of the pro-vitamin A carotenes, antioxidant compounds protecting against cardiovascular disease and cancer, and vision promoting nutrients—I mean, delicious CAKE.  I have attached the recipe in the local Mayan dialect, Q’eqchi.  Buen provecho.

PASTEL RE ZANAHOR

1              sek’  harin                                                    2            lekleb  Royal

½             lekleb  atz’am                                               1               lekleb canel

2/3         sek’  aceite                                                    1               sek’ azucr

2              b’ukuk li mol                                                2               zanahor k’ajinbil

1.   1.    Junaji li harin,  li Royal, li canel, ut li atz’am

2.   2.  Junaji li aceite, li azucr, ut eb li mol b’ukbil, ut k’e rikin li harin.

3.   3.   Kut  li zanahor sal i junaji, ut k’e sa jun molde engrasado.

4.   4  K’e sa li xam 1 ½ honal.

 

 Info Source: UNICEF