Homemade Ice Pops

The May long-weekend is the official kick-off of summer.

There are many summer foods that I love. Spot prawn festival, fresh berries, and the resurgence of homemade ice pops (also called popsicles or paletas). Growing up in the suburbs n the late 1970s and 1980s, I remember these being made from re-constituted concentrated orange juice. So part of me loves how far these have come and part of me laughs at how lucky kids are these days.

But hey, don’t just feed these to kids, they are delicious snacks for adults too!

You can find ice-pop molds everywhere - from cheap plastic molds at the local dollar store to stainless steel mold at kitchen supply and environmentally friendly shops. But don’t delay shopping, stores have been running out of them the last few years.

Feel free to experiment with all of your favourite fruits and veggies. Here are a few recipes to get you started.

Directions:

All the steps are the same:

1. Combine ingredients in a blender.
2. Blend until smooth.
3. Pour into the ice-pop molds.
4. Freeze.
5. ENJOY!   

Blueberry-Kale

Inspired by: Oh My Veggies

Ingredients:

1 cup frozen blueberries

1 cup kale leaves (ideally baby kale leaves)

2 cups purple grape juice or coconut water

Directions:

You really need to blend this recipe well, otherwise the kale pieces are quite big which I found unpleasant (and I love kale). The kale is never truly hidden in these, but when well-blended, it’s an enjoyable part of their texture. When made with the purple grape juice they have a more intense, sweeter flavor.  

Kristen Yarker, MSc, RD

Speaker. Writer. Dietitian.

Experience the pleasure (and ENERGY) of healthy eating!

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