Summer treats - homemade popsicles

It might be September, but summer is not officially over yet. Some of my favorite things about summer is berry picking, going on daytrips and spending a relaxing day at home having a popsicle with my son on the front steps. I have a thing for fruity flavors. I love devouring fresh peaches in the summer when they are ripe, making homemade popsicles that don’t stay in the freezer for long at all and I would always chose a fruity cocktail over beer or wine. I still remember Rocket popsicles when I was little, with their red, blue and white colors and the sweetness of enjoying one outside on a summer afternoon. Popsicles can actually be a healthy treat if you make them yourself and you aim for putting good ingredients in and steering clear of added sweeteners (or adding very little). Here are some of our favorites:

Green tropical Popsicle

Ingredients:

1-2 handfuls of spinach

1 cup of hands frozen mangos

½ cup of frozen pineapple

1 ½ - 2 cups of water

Directions:

Put all ingredients in a blender and mix. Pour in individual popsicle molds and freeze for a few hours before serving.

Chocolate cherry Popsicle

Ingredients:

One can of coconut milk

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa

1 tbsp of pure maple syrup

1 tsp of vanilla extract

A few pinches of sea salt

1 cup of cherries, pitted and chopped

Directions:

Put all ingredients in a blender and mix. Pour in individual popsicle molds and freeze for a few hours before serving.

Adapted from the cookbook “Little bites” by Christine Chitnis and Sarah Waldman

Peach-sicle

Ingredients:

1 banana

1 cup of fresh peaches, cut up

1 cup of coconut milk or ½ cup of plain Greek yogurt (add another ½ cup of water if you decide to go with the yogurt)

Directions:

Put all ingredients in a blender and mix. Pour in individual popsicle molds and freeze for a few hours before serving.

Vanilla yogurt with sprinkles (an extra special treat for birthdays!)

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups of Vanilla Greek Yogurt

¼ cup of rainbow sprinkles

Directions:

Use a spoon to put the Vanilla Greek Yogurt in your popsicle molds. You can either mix in the sprinkles with the yogurt or fill up your popsicle mold and then divide the sprinkles between the molds, spreading it on top once the mold is full (which is actually going to be the bottom of your popsicle.