Popsicle Time of Year

We all know kids and grown ups love popsicles and ice cream, especially during the hot summer months. But, reading the ingredients list from some brands is straight up scary. Most of these popsicles have corn syrup, cane sugar; ingredients we don’t know how to even pronounce the word, food coloring that is made out of chemicals that you would never want your child to be eating. Remember, if a 7-year-old cannot pronounce it, it probably shouldn’t be something you eat.

The good news is that making popsicles is super easy. It is something a 7-year-old can do, easily, and is one of the best ways to get fruits and vegetables into your children’s diets.  What child – or even grown-up child - does not like getting their hands on one.  Making your own popsicles are ridiculously easy.  All you need is a mold, your freezer, and a little creativity.

My favorite brand for molds is “Zoku”. The main reason is that they have fun mold designs your kids will love and you can build layers with their forms. Another great thing about them is that it makes a pop in 7 minutes and it does not take hours for the popsicles to be ready.  But every other simple mold works just fine. In my recipe, below I use a simple silicone ice cube tray and a paper straw cut in half for the stick.

FRUIT OR VEGGIES?

I always start my popsicle out with fresh or frozen fruit, anything goes just look what is in season and has the most flavor.

If you are like me, and want to always get more veggies into your child, just add them to your popsicles, fresh vegetable juice taste great. Make your own or pick some up.

WANT IT SWEET?

As a sweetener, I like to add 2 pitted dates. But you can also use Honey, Agave, pure maple syrup, stevia or if your fruit is already sweet enough, then you can just skip that added natural sweetener.

LIKE IT CREAMY?

You can always make your Popsicle creamier by adding coconut milk, nut milks, full-fat Greek yogurt or of cause full-fat cows milk.

FAT?

If you are trying to add more healthy fats into your child’s diet, this is your chance. Add fish oil, flex seed oil, coconut oil or for very creamy popsicles I like to add avocado, believe me, your child will not even taste that its there.

Just have fun with making your own popsicles, start by making simple combinations and you will start dreaming up your own wild creations. Have your kids help and they will never want to buy store-bought brands again.

Here is one of my personal winners: 

Berry and coconut popsicles

You will need:

• 1 cup cleaned Strawberries
• 1 cup cleaned blueberries
• 1 cup full fat coconut  milk
• ¼ cup hemp seeds
• 2 pitted dates (optional)
• ½ Avocado

Add all ingredients into a high-speed blender and blend until smooth.

Pour into Popsicle molds or I like to use big sized silicone trays and cut a paper straw in half and use as the stick. It’s easy to peel the Popsicle out of the silicone molds and it’s the perfect sized Popsicle for your Child.