Last weekend I wanted to make a treat. We like special treats on weekends. That’s part of what makes them so special, right?
As usual, I took a “normal” idea for a recipe and tweaked it to make it healthier. Mr. B. didn’t even realize there were some surprise ingredients in it. (He should have known better!)
It started out to be a creamy, chocolatey smoothie. Then I realized it would seem more like a treat if I made it into fudge pops and saved it for after dinner.
When I was a child, my mom kept fudge pops and those twin ice pops (sky blue!) in our freezer all summer long. The fudge pops were my favorite. She would send us outside into the hot, sunny, summer vacation days with them, and we would be refreshed. Sometimes frost would form on the outside of them and even make a little crunchy, icy coating.
I had discovered these Tovolo ice pop molds recently after searching for plastic molds that were BPA free, and this was my first chance to use them!
How refreshing they were in this afternoon’s heat! And you’d never guess you were eating blueberries and spinach! Yes, spinach! Shhh……
- 2 cups milk
- 2 cups yogurt
- 5 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 2 ripe bananas, cut into fourths
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoon peanut butter
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1 cup frozen chopped spinach
- Added sweetener to taste (I use ¼ teaspoon stevia, but you might prefer 1-2 T honey.)
- Put all ingredients into high speed blender and blend until smooth.
- Pour into ice pop molds and cover.
- Freeze until firm.
- Yield will vary according to size of ice pop molds.
- If preparing to drink as a smoothie, just add about a tray of ice cubes to the blender, blend until smooth, and enjoy!
Do you make frozen pops at home? What are your family’s favorites? Do you ever try making healthier versions of desserts you had as a child? Feel free to share…
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