The weather’s really warming up around here, and summer is just around the corner. During the summer I’m always looking for ways to cool off without running the air conditioner or loading up on calories. So far, 2 out of the last 4 summers I was pregnant and eating way too much ice cream. This summer I’m working on getting back to my old ‘thin’ self, so the ice cream has got to go. As a healthier alternative to some dessert popsicles, I started experimenting with my own version of homemade fruit popsicles.
These are super easy to make and, after the initial investment of the molds to freeze them in, they cost little more than a bag of fresh or frozen fruit and some yogurt.
Another motive behind homemade fruit popsicles is these 3 cuties.
They are pretty good eaters but there are still a handful of fruits and vegetables that they’ll turn up their noses at. Strawberries, oranges, bananas, grapes, pears, apples and peaches are on the “yes” list. However, mangoes and all other berries are an emphatic “no”. This drives me nuts too, because who doesn’t like blueberries? Sheesh. In the end, the homemade fruit popsicle idea was partly to introduce healthier summer treats and also to sneak a greater variety of fruit into my kids’ diets.
You’ll need some freezer pop molds. I tried some cheap-o ones I got at the local market but ended up liking these BPA-free ones better.
I also found these itty bitty popsicle molds for the twins and Baby John at Buy Buy Baby. Both are also available on Amazon.
Ingredients for Homemade Fruit Popsicles:
1 cup frozen fruit, thawed and drained of juices
¾ cup fruit juice (I use apple because it’s what we always have on hand)
1 small (6 oz.) container Greek yogurt-plain is the healthier option but we sometimes use vanilla flavored and omit adding honey
2 Tbsp. honey
Place all the ingredients into a blender and hit puree. Pour the fruity juice mixture into popsicle molds, or just use a paper cup with a wooden popsicle stick in it! Put the pops into the freezer until they are solid, about 2-3 hours.
Because I used half of each recipe for one batch of homemade fruit popsicles, I had some leftovers. Bonus: this recipe also makes for a tasty fruit smoothie!
There are endless variations you could take with this recipe. Just imagine all the possibilities! Because we’re using real fruit, the popsicles can be a bit chunky. Yogurt helps to create a smoother, creamier texture but you may still find tiny bits of real fruit in homemade fruit popsicles. I think the real-fruit taste is what makes them so delicious!
We experimented with mixed fruit popsicles and strawberry popsicles. The baby loved his itty bitty pop. The girls also wanted one of his because, siblings. I think I’ve even persuaded the teen to trade in the sugary sweet processed fruit popsicles for one of mom’s homemade fruit popsicles, but we’ll see… 😉
So tell me: what would your favorite popsicle flavor be?
