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The Local Flavor

Standholder getting juiced up for Valentine's Day THE NO. 6 ORIGINAL SMOOTHIE

Here's a recipe that's short and sweet and pretty enough for Valentine's Day.

It's also good for you.

For 22 years, Rod Gainer has run Lancaster Juice Co. at Lancaster Central Market. It's a place where you can pick up healthy smoothies, such as the Strawberry Double Banana, or this refreshing drink, unpretentiously titled The No. 6 Original Smoothie.

It features orange juice, strawberries and banana.

"This is going to be really easy for a Valentine's smoothie," said Gainer, 69, who lives in the city with his wife, Deb. Formerly employed in the clothes-buying trade, Gainer now enjoys an easy walking commute to market.

Gainer's idea to open a juice stand surfaced on a steamy summer day years ago.

"One day I wanted to go play golf," he recalled. Instead, he and his wife ended up spending the day in Lahaska, Bucks County.

"It was a hot July day," Gainer recalled, and he noticed a crowd of people lining up for juice.

"That kind of started the idea."

Gainer credits "myself and California" as inspirations for this smoothie. Ironically, he doesn't consider himself much of a cook.

"My family has kept me as far from the kitchen as possible!" he joked.

Though this recipe is orange juice-based, Gainer suggests using cranberry juice to add some romantic Valentine's Day color.

6 ounces orange or cranberry juice

2 whole strawberries

1 whole banana

¼ cup yogurt

1 cup ice

Pour orange juice into a blender. Add fruit, yogurt and ice. Blend until smooth.n