Ever since the warmer weather has hit us, cool treats have been abundant at our home, usually after dinner as a sweet treat. The hot weather combined with teething has really been a winning combination for my daughter. She absolutely loves popsicles and freeze pops, and looks forward to them after she eats her dinner. I don't mind giving them to her, but in the back of my mind I knew there had to be a less sugary, healthier (and cheaper!) option out there. They do have real fruit bars, which I could have easily purchased, but I decided to try and make my own. That way, I knew exactly what was going into her sweet treats :)
A couple of weeks ago while at Ikea, I spotted these and decided to pick them up. They cost $1.99 which is extremely pocket friendly, and I like that they are the perfect size for my 18 month old. Also, they come with a little tray which makes it easy to pop them in the freezer while your homemade pops are freezing.
I googled a few recipes, but ultimately decided to come up with my own. We buy strawberries a lot, but they don't always get eaten before they start to ripen, so I will cut them up and store them in our freezer to use later for things like smoothies, or in this case, popsicles. I also had some bananas that needed to be used, so I quickly decided on some strawberry banana fruit pops. I also added in a layer of nonfat plain yogurt for an added boost of calcium :)
If you're interested in making your own homemade popsicles for your little ones, or even yourself..read on!
The obligatory "ingredient" photo. I used:
- 1 cup ripe strawberries
- 2 bananas
- 2 tbsp honey
- 6 tsp yogurt (you can use any kind, I happened to have some plain in my fridge)
- 1/2 cup juice (I used orange strawberry banana from TJ's)
- blender or food processor
First you'll start making the purees. While I was doing this step, it totally took me back to my days of making homemade baby food. Oh how I miss those days. I was one of those weird ones that took joy and excitement in making my own baby food!
Anyway, I digress. So you'll start by putting your strawberries in your blender. Add 1 tbsp and about 1/4 cup of juice (I kinda eye balled the juice portion) blend until a nice puree consistency. Set the strawberry puree aside in a separate bowl, and rinse your blender out.
Next, you'll do the same with your bananas. Slice your bananas into coin sized circles, add 1 tbsp of honey and about 1/4 cup of juice. Blend until smooth.
Now comes the fun part...layering it all up! I started by adding 1 tsp of each and went in layers. So, 1 tsp strawberries, 1 tsp yogurt and 1 tsp bananas..rinse and repeat until you reach (almost) the top of the container. Don't layer to the very top because when you put the stick in, the puree's WILL squeeze out and make a mess. I know from experience ;) Once you've completed this step, put all the sticks in as far as they can go and pop the tray right in the freezer to get nice and...frozen.
I let them freeze about 3-ish hours and they were done! Just run the plastic part under hot water for a few seconds and it should slide right off.
Toddler tested, and mother approved ;)
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