Fruit Pops

We are swimming in gorgeous fruit, with backyard harvests of raspberries and sour cherries, plus pretty little strawberries from our CSA. Unfortunately, summer fruits like that don't keep very well, so fruit popsicles (or ice lollies - don't you love that term?) have been my go-to way to use up little bits of leftover fruit.

Ben quickly figured out where I kept the popsicles. Our freezer is below our fridge, so easy access for the little guy! This afternoon, after finishing one off while sitting on the back porch, he ran right back in to the freezer for another. And another. Since I knew there was good stuff in them with real fruit, I didn't mind. Even Dad got in on the popsicle action.

Homemade popsicles don't have to be complicated. You can just freeze some grape juice and ta-da! Grape popsicles. Take stock of your juices, fruits, ice creams, syrups, see what you want to use up and have fun with it. I happened to have some vanilla ice cream, hence the recipes you see below, but yogurt would've been a more nutritious choice. I hope you think of these recipes more as guidelines. If you want more popsicle ideas, just click here.

Creamsicle Pops
Vanilla ice cream, softened
Frozen orange juice concentrate

Mix 2 parts ice cream for every 1 part orange juice concentrate. Freeze in popsicle mold of choice and enjoy!


Berry Pops
Leftover berries
Sugar to taste (optional)
Vanilla ice cream, softened

In a saucepan, make a berry liquid by mixing berries and the optional sugar. Cook it down to a liquid over medium high heat, gently squishing the berries and stirring constantly so you get a pot of berry juice. At this point, you can strain out the seeds through a cheesecloth if you want. Mix berry juice with softened ice cream, pour into popsicle molds, freeze and enjoy!