Homemade Popsicles

Oh summer. How lovely you are.

One thing that I love about summer is popsicles. When I was little my mom found a popsicle mold at the store and brought it home for us to try. That was one of the best summers ever!

Homemade popsicles are actually a great idea; they are usually cheaper and healthier than store bought versions. Making popsicles is a great way to teach a little science and have fun while doing it. Here are some simple, yet delicious popsicle recipes.

Fruit Salad Pops

1 peach, cut into 1/2-inch slices (1/2 cup)
2 kiwis, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
3/4 cup strawberries, finely chopped
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup raspberries
1 1/2 to 2 cups of fruit punch or 100 percent white-grape juice


1. Combine fruit in a mixing bowl and arrange the mixture into eight 3-ounce popsicle molds.
2. Pour enough juice into each mold to just cover fruit.
3. Insert popsicle sticks and freeze until solid (about six hours).

Pudding Pops

1 (3.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
1/3 cup sugar
3 cups milk

1. In a mixing bowl, combine pudding, sugar, and milk. Pour mixture into popsicle molds and freeze. When set, place a wooden craft sticks into them if you are using plastic cups. Serve when frozen.

Layered Fruit Juice Pops

1 pack of strawberry jello – regular
1 cups of apple juice
1 cup of orange juice
1 - 1.5 cups of strawberry puree*

Stir all liquids together in a blender with the jello and pour into popsicle trays or cups. Put into freezer, add popsicle sticks, & freeze until ready to enjoy!

Variations:
You can add real fresh fruit bits before freezing.
You can try a variety of fruit combos.
Try freezing 1 layer at a time with differnt fruit flavors to get a rainbow popsicle


*To make strawberry puree:
3 cups sliced fresh strawberries + 1/4 cup of honey.

Heathier popsicle recipes:





Strawberry Coconut Popsicle Recipe


1 cup strawberries
1 cup blueberries
1 can light coconut milk
1 cups water
1 cup apple juice
1/2 cup honey

Add strawberries, blueberries, coconut milk, water, apple juice and honey in a blender. Carefully pour mixture into your pop molds, filling 2/3 of the way.
Place in the freezer for 30 minutes (set your timer), insert your wooden sticks, and continue to freeze until the popsicles are completely frozen, about 6 hours.



Avocado Ice Pops


1 cup water
½ cup sugar
2 small ripe avocados
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

Combine the water and sugar in a small saucepan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until the mixture comes to a boil and the sugar has dissolved. Let cool to room temperature.

Cut the avocados in half lengthwise. Remove the pit and scoop the flesh into a bowl, along with the cooled syrup and salt. Mash and stir until smooth. (You can also do this in a blender, but we just stirred by hand.) Add the lime juice and stir just until combined.

Divide the mixture among your popsicle molds, snap on the lid and freeze until solid, about 5 hours.


Greek Yogurt Pops with Berries

1 lemon (you just need the peel)
½ cup water
½ cup sugar
1½ cups plain unsweetened Greek-style yogurt
2 tablespoons honey
2 cups fresh blackberries, or the berry of your choice

Rinse the lemon, then peel it. Combine the water and sugar in a small saucepan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until the mixture comes to a boil and the sugar has dissolved. Add the lemon peel, lower the heat, and simmer for 5 minutes. Let cool to room temperature. Strain the syrup through a fine-mesh sieve, then refrigerate until chilled.

Put the yogurt and honey in a bowl, add the chilled syrup and stir well. (You can also do this in a blender, but we just stirred by hand.) Pour a bit of the yogurt mixture into each of the popsicle molds, to a height of about ¾ inch.  Freeze until the mixture begins to set, about 40 minutes.

Next divide the blackberries among the popsicle molds, then pour in the remaining yogurt mixture, dividing it evenly among the molds. Snap on the lid of the molds and freeze until solid, 3 to 4 hours.


If you don't have popsicle molds, try these:

Plastic Easter eggs with sucker stick

Dixie cups with wooden popsicle sticks

Here are some tips to making great popsicles:

• The secret recipe to a crunchy, flakey popsicle is the jello. Freezing juice by itself will create a ice-hard popsicle that will be hard to eat. If the popsicle turns out too hard, try less water when making the jello.
• To insert the popsicle stick so that it doesn’t fall over, insert when popiscles are half way frozen so that the top layer (which will freeze first) can hold the sticks in place

Sources:
Best of Kids Sites 
A Cup of Jo
Lil Sugar
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