Well, summer is officially here.  It’s hot, it’s humid, and the perfect time for a summer treat, like popsicles.  Kids love popsicles!

Growing up, my mom would buy us popsicles as a treat in the summer.  Sometimes it was those red, white and blue rocket pops, sometimes it was fruit-flavored popsicles, and sometimes it was those brightly-colored liquid packets that you freeze.  As a kid, I could eat whole box in a sitting!  That was A LOT of sugar!

Now you might say, “what’s the harm? I grew up eating sugary popsicles and nothing bad happened to me!”  Today we are all bombarded with huge amounts of sugar and synthetic chemicals in our food.  Especially children.  Cereals, snack foods and many of the packaged foods we feed children are loaded with unhealthy additives.  Read this.

 

Now this is not said to make you feel guilty or feel like  you are a bad parent if you feed your kids these foods.  We all have times when life is crazy, the kids are picky, and the easiest choice is prepackaged convenience foods.  Yet, I do want to point out that even if you are not a super mom, (I certainly am not!) making your own food for babies and children can be much easier and more convenient than you think.  For more on this, read my post on simple homemade meals for babies and toddlers.

But, I digress.  According to my husband, I do that a lot!  Back to the popsicles.  Making popsicles for your kids, is much easier than you’d think.  All you really need is a blender, popsicle molds and some yummy ingredients.

Here are some recipes that my kids and I created together.  All of them are either fruit-sweetened, or have a small amount of maple syrup or honey in them.  However, feel free to do some of your own experimentation.  Throw some fruit into a blender, pour them into popsicle molds and freeze them.  (Psst!  You can even sneak in greens)

 

Watermelon-Lemonade Popsicles

About 15 mint leaves (optional)

2 cups of watermelon

Juice of 4 lemons

 

 

Blend, pour into molds and freeze.  Enjoy!

 

Mango Lassi Pops

2 C. plain yogurt, preferably *grass-fed with no added sugars.

2.5 C. Mangoes (fresh or frozen)

1 banana

1/2-1 tsp Cardamom (depending on your preference)

1 tsp of real vanilla

Blend, pour into molds and freeze.  Enjoy!

 

*Grass-fed yogurt is becoming more widely available now.  I have seen it in the organic section of our local Giant, and also at farm stands and health food stores.

Banana Blueberry Surprise

2 C. blueberries

1 banana

1 C. of greens of your choice

1/2 C. water

Blend, pour into molds and freeze.  Enjoy!

 

 

Optional add-ins:

High quality, kid-approved, greens powder, like this one: Amazing Grass

High quality probiotic powder (They are NOT all created equal), such as this MegaSporeBiotic

Well-sourced protein powder, such as an organic brown rice protein powder, collagen hydrolysate, or grass-fed whey protein powder.

 

Let me know what you and your kids think of these recipes if you try them, and feel free to share any Popsicle recipes you create in the comment section below!