summer smoothie pops.

…and now for the continuation of my, it’s summer, it’s hot as heck, and my bananas are ripening faster than I know what to do with them, posts.  My last post was inspired by my kids’ ravenous appetite and the fact that I had ripe bananas, yogurt and strawberries hanging around the kitchen and begging to be put to use.  Well how’s this for utter laziness?  The only difference here is I’ve swapped juice for bread and strawberries and replaced the toaster with the freezer!

Here’s the deal – sure enough whenever we go to the store my kids always beg for popsicles.  And I’m just too cheap and too neurotic about artifical colors and flavors and whatever else might be lurking in that long ingredient list to fork over the cash for the cheapo pops at Target so…we’ve made our own!

Taking my queues from my daughter’s Sesame Street cookbook, we used ice cube trays for molds and cut up straws to serve as our sticks.  Genius!

Talk about a delicious, easy, refreshing and nutritious summer treat!  Your kids won’t miss the added sugars, and they’re sure to have fun making (and eating) these tasty pops!

Summer Smoothie Pops

(Inspired by C is for Cooking by Sesame Street – makes 20 pops)

1 ripe banana

2 cups pineapple or tropical fruit juice

1 cup plain greek yogurt

Instructions:

Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor.  Blend to desired thickness (if you prefer your pops chunky blend a little less, or for smooth pops blend longer).

Pour into ice cube trays and place in the freezer for 2 hours.  Remove and place straws in the middle of each pop.  Freeze for another 4 hours, or until frozen solid.

You might also like this combination of flavors as a blended smoothie instead of frozen pops.  Enjoy!

TOTAL:  $3.19 or $.16 per serving.

Wondering how on earth I arrived at these costs?  Take a look at my shopping guide to show see what I pay for items, per serving, etc.

Nutrition:

31 calories per serving

1 gram of fat

5 carbs

1 gram protein

Mosey on over to Facebook and let me know what you think, or send me a pic if you tried it!