Summer is the perfect time to take a break from the heat with a cold treat. I know last summer my kids went through their fair share of popsicles, freezie pops, push-ups, and ice cream. Well you may have noticed that we are on day 11 of our 100 Days of Real Food and of course none of those treats will be allowed this summer…not that I really want my kids sucking down frozen nutrition-less high-fructose corn syrup anyway. So I had to get creative and come up with as many attractive alternatives as I could if I expect my kids to forget about the store-bought stuff!
Pictured is an array of surprisingly easy and (more) nutritious options than what you are probably used to seeing. Here is the breakdown starting from the left of the picture:
- Snow Cones– I recently bought an inexpensive snow cone machine and knew there somehow had be a way I could make these with something healthier than the typical syrups. And the solution is – frozen juice concentrate! If you mix one-part water with two-parts frozen juice concentrate it turns out to be the perfect consistency to be squirted on top of all that shaved ice. Just don’t forget to check the ingredients on the concentrate to make sure there are no additivies. At a recent neighborhood party I served the same grape juice and orange juice flavors that are pictured, and I don’t think a single kid
noticed the difference. - Freezie Pop/Ice Pop molds – Next to the snow cone at the top you will see one of these ice pop molds that I found on amazon. You can fill them with smoothies, juice, yogurt, applesauce (pictured above), and ice cream among other things. My kids love them!
- Popsicle molds – To the right of the Ice Pop mold and also at the bottom are some popsicle molds that you have probably seen and even used before. The blue mold at the top was filled with apple juice and the green mold at the bottom was filled with grape juice. The pink one was filled with some leftover smoothie. One thing we have learned about these molds is that it is best to find ones that have little holes in the stick. Otherwise the frozen treat doesn’t always come out with the stick.
- Push-up Mold – Chances are you have had store-bought push ups, but haven’t seen push up molds like the green one on the right-hand side of the picture near the top (and pictured to the right) which I also found on amazon. My 5-year-old happens to love push-ups, but from what I have seen the store-bought variety pretty much comes in bright orange or bright red.
image courtesy of amazon.com Instead of having such limited options you can make your own by using these molds with whatever ice cream you see fit. If your child has their heart set on the traditional orange color then try adding some peach sorbet. The one in the picture is filled with some homemade pecan maple ice cream (that we made without sugar). I have to say myself that it was pretty tasty.
I hope you (and your kids) are able to enjoy some of these guilt-free cold treats this summer! If you have any other ideas please feel free to share by leaving a comment.
Have you found that homemade popsicles made with juices loose some of their sweetness to the point that they are not very good? I’ve made a few with store bought fruit/veggies blend and they just taste like barely sweetened ice.
Where can I find the recipe for the ice cream in with the pink/red holder form the first picture?
Hi. Here it is: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/04/26/recipe-strawberry-ice-cream/. :) ~Amy
Love to read your ideas, now if I can only put practice into the equation, we’ll have some healthy eating little Swiss-American kids running around on these hills!
I love the snow cone maker, but really don’t have room for something only used part of the year. My food processor has a cheese grater blade so I push the ice down through there to give us shaved ice. It saved me precious kitchen space and money.
I was just trying to come up with a snowcone solution, and my husband didn’t think my ideas would work ;) They probably wouldn’t have, so I”m glad to try yours instead!!!!!
I bought the colored silicone freeze pops for smoothies. Everytime I send them to school, my son says they burst all over and make a mess. How do you keep yours from melting and being messy?
Hi Kay. Make sure the lids are on very tight. I then put them in a plastic baggie and seal them just in case they burst open, that way it does not get onto everything else. Jill
Well, you should have a relationship with the Freezie Pop Mold company, because I just bought a box because of you!
Any ideas for a real-food alternative to ice cream sandwiches??? I can come up with something for the filling….it is the sandwich part that I am struggling with….Thanks!
Hi Jenifer. You could always make it more like a Chipwich and use chocolate chip cookies (https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/07/15/recipe-whole-wheat-chocolate-chip-cookies-with-sugar/). Good luck. Jill
Thank you so much! I really appreciate the reply. I’m assuming that since it’s a “naturally occurring organic” compound that it doesn’t go againt “real food” rules?
Hi Tiffany. There is such a thing as synthetic ascorbic acid and I’m not sure whether or not you can tell which one is in the product you are using so I’m not sure I can give you an answer. Jill
I feel really stupid asking this but I was looking at the ingredients in some of the juice concentrates. What is ascorbic acid and is it ok for it to be pasturized? I’m totally new to this and haven’t read everything 100% yet but I love these ideas!
Hi Tiffany. According to wikipedia, ascorbic acid is a naturally occurring organic compound with antioxidant properties. It is one form of Vitamin C. There are some juices out there that do not contain this, but, you really have to spend time looking at the ingredients as they are not as common. Hope that helps. Jill
*tasted
Just curious what you used for the orange flavored snow cone juice. I tried orange juice concentrate but they just stated like orange juice snow cones. . . . not orange ones. I’d love to hear any suggestions you have as orange popsicles and orange snow cones are my favorite and I quit eating the store bought kind because of the ingredients. I did make orange popsicles with orange flavoring from Whole Foods. They tasted great but it’s fairly expensive.
I was browsing through the lunch and snack options when I spotted this post. My daughter LIVES for frozen treats. As soon as she had enough teeth for it, her favourite thing to do was sit in front of a bowl of plain crushed ice and just eat it…weird I know, but it kept her happy! In any case, I wanted to mention a treat that I used to eat as a kid, and my daughter loves it still to this day. You take some regular apple juice, and some spices, like making hot apple cider, but you freeze it in the popsicle holders afterward. There was a company that manufactured them when I was living in Nova Scotia, but i cant find any information on them at all. Try it out :D
What snow cone maker did you get? Did it come with silicone snow cone cups or did you get those somewhere else? (At least I think that orangey-peach colored cup in the first picture is a snow cone style cup….) :)
I bought the snow cone maker and cups (which are silicone) from Target. I got the cups last year so I am not sure if they still have them. I’ve also seen snow cone supplies at World Market and Party City. I hope that helps!
Thanks, I’m going to go to Target later to check it out. I think you’ve given us a little inspiration for our daughter’s 2nd birthday party. :)
Today I made some peanut butter banana yogurt pops. They were so easy and yummy! Just combine in a blender 2 very ripe bananas, 1 cup plain yogurt, 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter, and 2 T honey. Then pour into molds and freeze.
I was thinking about ordering these molds, but became completely convinced once I saw Julie’s “Peanut Butter Banana Yogurt” recipe! Looks wonderful – ordering two sets. Thanks!
Just whipped up your recipe in the blender for the kids later today. I can’t say what they’ll taste like frozen but the mix straight out of the blender — divine! I almost hope the kids don’t like them! hehe
I made a similar version as well…yum!
We enjoy our favorite yogurt in our popsicle molds.
AWESOME POST…Let’s all promote healthy eating and join JAIME OLIVER in the FOOD REVOLUTION! These popsicle ideas are an amazing way to get fruit and veggies into your kids – make smoothies out of both and pour in – YUM!
I was looking at snow cone makers the other day thinking how fun that would be. Love the frozen juice concentrate idea…think I must return to Target! Thanks for this, Lisa!
What a wonderful post! I can’t wait to make some popsicle and store it in my freezer.