Fruit Pops!

I have been in a popsicle mood all summer long so far...probably because it's been so stinkin' hot! But as we've been making our way through the ice pops FROM OUR WEDDING, I wasn't feeling too hot about basically drinking kool-aid all day...if I'm going to be consuming large quantities of white sugar, there had better be chocolate involved!  When we were little, we used to make orange juice and grape juice pops.  That was a step in the right direction.  But when my friend told me you could use the whole fruit, well, I've been hooked ever since...and I get to put our popsicle molds to use, guilt-free!  (Not to mention, desserting on fruit is sooooo nice, and gets our diet a little healthier!)

Our strawberry banana pops...sorry, the color is so weird!

All you need for these little wonders are fresh or frozen fruit (thawed), peeled.  You CAN use canned fruit, but (a) make sure you really drain the liquids from it first or you'll have a weird separation in your popsicle, and (b) you'll sacrifice a bit of flavor.  Mash/puree them in a blender or food processor until it's like a babyfood texture.  Then pour them in your popsicle molds and freeze for a few hours, and enjoy!  I've found that the easiest way to get them out of the molds is to turn the molds upside down and run hot water all over the bottom for about 20-30 seconds--then just gently pull the stick down and it should pop right out!

I have to admit, with the berries I add a spoonful of sugar, because they are super tart.  Otherwise, though, these are plenty sweet on their own.  We've tried a few of our favorite fruits so far--strawberries, strawberry-banana, mango, mango-banana, peach, and watermelon...I'm hoping to make a kiwi blend sometime soon, and blueberry pommegranate, as well as figure something magical out for plums.  The bananas really stick out and make the whole thing more...smoothie-textured, so just add a few slices (I had one banana for two large mangoes).  AND, if you want to make more of a smoothie FLAVOR, you can add vanilla yogurt to the blender before freezing...I'm thinking a natural orange creamsicle flavor would be DELISH. 

Mango Banana pops!

YUMMY, healthy, and cheap dessert that will keep you cool all summer long!  I think it's our new summer tradition!

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