Long before I was a mom, or even pregnant, I was visiting a dear friend, mentor, and fellow Kveller writer, Dasee Berkowitz. As we chatted over coffee at her kitchen table, my husband and I were intrigued as she grabbed a homemade ice pop from the freezer for her (adorable) toddler-aged son.
“It’s spinach and fresh fruit,” she explained to us.
“Does he ever ask for ice cream instead?” I naively asked.
She explained he had never had ice cream so he didn’t know the difference. I stored that nugget away, thinking what a great idea it was to pack kids’ ice pops with fruit and veggies without them ever knowing they were eating something healthy.
READ: Top Five Reasons Ice Cream Trucks Are Evil
Fast forward, and the first summer my daughter was eating fruits and veggies, we started making our own version of ice pops packed with them. I have been making them for the past two years, and she still loves them–though she also eats ice cream at least once a week.
My daughter also enjoys helping making the ice pops with me, which really just involves making a smoothie and then pouring it into ice pop molds. No cooking, no baking, just pressing a button on the blender and filling some molds.
Speaking of which, I like this mini ice pop mold which makes the perfect toddler-sized snack. If you have older kids or want to make larger pops, just buy bigger molds, which will only change the quantity of pops in this recipe.
This is also a great way to use up some of that leftover fruit you may have at the end of the week–bananas, berries, even melon. Throw the fruit into a bag in the freezer until you are ready to whip up a new batch of pops. A healthy snack for kids that is delicious, easy to make, and also helps use up leftovers? You can’t beat that.
Want some slightly more grown-up ice pop ideas? Try one of the delicious recipes on this list I put together last summer including root beer float pops, strawberry lemonade pops, and even halva ice pops.
INSTRUCTIONS
2 cups mixed berries, frozen or fresh
½ cup Greek yogurt
1 Tbsp ground flax seed
¼ – ½ cup carrot or orange juice
Generous handful of fresh spinach or baby kale leaves (about 1 cup)
DIRECTIONS
1. Place all ingredients into a blender or food processor fitted with blade attachment.
2. Spoon into ice pop molds and place stick on top.
3. Place in freezer for 3-4 hours or until ready to serve. Makes around 18 mini ice pops.
