This article was written for Annabel & Grace, which is now part of Rest Less.
Check out these interesting homemade fruit ice lollies in time for the upcoming heatwave…
These are great for our little ones on hot sunny days like these. The added bonus is that they are healthy and count towards the fruit and veg quota for the day. My little men have decided that anything healthy is automatically ‘yuck’ so I have learnt to be creative with my 5 a day. My main saviour is the great smoothie, great for lunch boxes, and they also make a wonderful cooling treat when magically turned into ice lollies.
There are obviously two methods for this….the first is the cheats version i.e. a shop bought smoothie, lovingly poured into ice lolly moulds (widely available) and frozen for a few hours. Or, you can kill a bit of school holiday time and get creative in the kitchen. All kids like to be hands on and this is the perfect opportunity to make something refreshing and healthy. As a mum of two boys, I know only too well their enthusiasm for pulverising fruit in the food processor/smoothie maker!
A few of our favourites below…..
The queen of ‘fussy eater’ recipes is Annabel Karmel. She has been an inspiration to my conniving fruit and veg inducing ways! We made her Mandarin and Peach Ice Lollies (we substituted the mandarin for apricot!) – not an additive in sight!
- 400g can of sliced peaches in juice
- 200g tub of Mandarin/Peach or Apricot yogurt
- 2 tbsp icing sugar
Simply drain the juice from the can and then blend all the ingredients together! Pour into lolly moulds and freeze until solid! Hey Presto… fresh, healthy and delicious lollies!
Fresh Strawberry Lollies
If there is one fruit most kids will eat it’s strawberries…This is another easy but delicious treat.
- 300ml of Plain or Fruit Yogurt
- 125g Hulled Strawberries
- 50g Caster Sugar
Let the kids/grandkids loose with a masher or throw everything into a food processor and blend until smooth. Freeze for a few hours or overnight.
For a Dairy Free alternative just use soya yogurts. Ice lollies like these are just so simple to make, and you can use any fruit your kids will eat, so let them get creative! If you are feeling adventurous you can even dip them in melted chocolate to coat them – but, of course, that becomes less healthy!
Other treats include Fromage Frais Ice Pops. Merely buy the long tubes such as Yoplait Frubes and pop in the freezer rather than the fridge for instant ice pops. Alternatively buy the little pots of fromage frais and freeze with a wooden ice lolly stick in the centre of each one.
Another fun but not quite so healthy treat are Angel Delight Lollies. Choose which ever flavour is your favourite (or your kids’ if feeling generous!) and follow the instructions as on the packet, but rather than spoon into bowls, use to fill the lolly moulds. Naughty but so nice!!!
One last tip. In warm summer weather I ensure the boys always have their water bottles whenever we leave the house. To ensure they have gloriously cold water I do the following:
Put a jug or bottle of water in the fridge overnight. Fill their water bottles to about 2/3rds full and place in the freezer overnight. Try to avoid lying them down as the neck and opening/closing mechanism will freeze too! Next day when needed, remove the water bottles from the freezer and top up the ice with a touch of the cold water from the fridge – heavenly ice cold water to keep them cool and hydrated!
Keep enjoying the sunshine, long may it last!