I like to have a supply of cold treats for the kids and their friends.
The ice cream truck is starting to drain our spare change jar. It's a lot more economical to make
your own popsicles. Not to mention healthier!
Don't let me fool you, we love some good old kool-aid pops too.
My kids like smoothies, and smoothie pops are an easy way to get them to eat some fruit.
Today I grabbed whatever I had on hand that would be good in a smoothie.
We used a banana, a handful of blackberries, juice from two oranges, some vanilla yogurt and a can of fruit/veggie juice. Sometimes I add cottage cheese, but decided not to this time.
1. Drop your smoothie ingredients into the blender and blend well. I added some of the orange pulp because it was getting all mixed together. If you have a favorite smoothie recipe, use that!
2. Line up small plastic bathroom cups in a cake pan. I fit 26 cups into my pan, and filled them about half full with 5 cups of smoothie. They will expand a little when they freeze. I like the plastic cups better than the paper cups. They slide off easier.
3. Cover you cups and pan with press and seal wrap, or cling wrap. Make sure it's really tight.
4. Use a sharp knife to cut a really small slit, in the plastic, to insert your popsicle sticks. I like to use the small popsicle sticks, but only had the normal size on hand.
Your edible masterpiece is ready for it's place in the freezer.
5. Clear a space in your freezer and set your pan in. This is when it is really nice to have the shorter sticks. You can see on the right side of the picture I bonked the stick and tore some of my wrap.
Wah wah! :(
6. They will be ready in a couple of hours. Roll the frozen cup between your hands a few times to warm up the sides of the pop. Pull on the stick and it should slide out.
Enjoy your smoothie pop!
