Finally Popsicle time….

I think it is safe to say that summer has officially hit the Island. Today was a wonderfully warm and sunny day that involved sprinklers, eating meals outside and of course popsicles. I actually made the popsicles last week hoping it would entice the sun out of hiding.

There are about a bigillion recipes online for home-made popsicles. I browsed a few but most didn’t catch my eye. A lot of them called for juice. I have a bit of a beef with juice and children, even 100% juice.  In my humble opinion there is no good reason for young children to drink juice. First off, not good for their teeth. Second, not a lot of health benefits. It is basically sugar water with a little vitamin C (if you’re lucky). Third, it replaces room for food that actually has some benefits. Water is the perfect drink and real fruit provides all the vitamins and fiber that juice can’t. That’s my dietitian rant, I will now move on.
 
When I found this recipe for Strawberry Raspberry Yogurt Popsicles I was sold.

1 cup plain yogurt (for children under 4 use full fat, for the rest of us 1% or non-fat works great too)
1/2 cup strawberries
1/2 cup raspberries
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp lemon juice

Blend in your blender, pour into popsicle molds and freeze. If you don’t have molds use any small container that will stand upright, freeze for half and hour then insert popsicle sticks so they stay in the middle.  (Adapted from The Perfect Scoop)

Of course you can use any mix of fruit you would like (I might try pineapple strawberry next time). I like that the yogurt provides creaminess and gives the popsicles less of an icy texture, plus added calcium. Because I used plain yogurt I can control the amount of sugar. I tasted it with no sugar and found it pretty tart. If you use flavoured yogurt there would be no need to add any sugar. These were very quick and easy and far better than the store bought variety. 

My cousin and her daughter came to enjoy the afternoon. The popsicles were a huge hit with the two little ones…and their Mom’s. I heard a few “more please”. Ahhh summer welcome back, feel free to stay a while.

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