Fruit Popsicles

Fact: I love ice cream. I can eat it any time, any day, any place. It doesn't matter if it's 90 or -9 degrees outside. However, ice cream has all that fat from the heavy cream and whole milk. So when your craving strikes, why not try fruit popsicles? Pureed fruit, a little bit of water, sugar, and lemon juice. Sometimes you just want a healthy frozen treat. Or you want something cold for a sore throat, and all that dairy from ice cream doesn't help. Not to mention the vitamin boost from the fruit.

I don't buy popsicles from the store, but I imagine their ingredient list is probably ten times that. So far I've made strawberry and black raspberry. I'm sure you could do the same thing with blueberry. Or peach. Or pineapple. Use lime instead of lemon. Cut back on some of the sugar if the fruit is sweet. I've seen some recipes that add herbs, such as strawberry with cilantro. Yesterday I even saw a layered popsicle recipe.

I bought push pop molds awhile ago. However, if you don't have any containers, use Dixie cups and popsicle sticks. Or if you are in a really tight bind, you could probably use an ice cube tray. Since the push pops need to stand upright while freezing, I made a holder out of a box:



I adjusted the recipe so I only made six popsicles with my molds. Unless you have molds similar to mine, it's hard to say how many this recipe will make. At least the ingredient amounts are easy to double.

Berry Popsicles



12 oz (1 1/2 cups) strawberries or raspberries
6 Tbsp sugar
4 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup water

Puree everything in a blender. Set a strainer over a bowl (preferably one with a spout) and strain out the seeds. You'll really need to force the puree with a spoon to get most of it. Pour the mixture into molds. Freeze until firm (roughly few hours). If you are having trouble removing from the mold, dip the bottoms in hot water for 20-30 seconds to loosen.