Popsicles

Popsicles are a seasonal favorite at our house. My little one feels no warm spring or summer day is complete without an afternoon sickle traditionally eaten on the front stoop. While I too love a good Popsicle, I am overly aware of how much sugar and how little nutritional value is in this treat. My step-son loves to make his own popsicles. Typically, he uses Kool-Aid or Gatorade. As I looked at all the fruit flavored names and thought about my favorite pops – Dole Fruit pops – it occurred to me that there is no reason you can’t have great fruit pops with all the nutrition of real fruit and less sugar. What surprised me what how much less sugar.

I bought some fun shaped Popsicle molds off of Amazon and looked up a basic recipe. So basic, it is 4 cups of fruit and 2 tablespoons of sugar – puree and freeze. As I mentioned in the entry on preserves, my family has serious texture issues, so I used the food processor. With strawberries, it was super easy; just wash berries add to food processor with sugar, puree, pour into molds and freeze. I also made peach. These took a little more time, as the fruit had to be de-seeded and peeled.

This morning my little one had a homemade strawberry pop with her breakfast. It was raining outside, so we were in the den. I had one too. They’re good. The texture is understandably a little thicker, but not unpleasant. Not only did we get all the flavor, but we got the real fruit fiber and vitamins too. The best part was saying yes to such a decadent request on a rainy day and not even feeling guilty.