Awesome Summer Recipe

This is from Wendy at http://www.themooressix.blogspot.com/

Popsicles with a little green secret…

My kids are all still very young (a four year old and almost 2 year old twins), so I try to keep all the food they eat very healthy (while I can still get away with it), all while trying to keep it kid friendly and fun. I have been making homemade fruit and yogurt popsicles for a couple years for my four year old who absolutely thinks they are the bomb. So, when I came across a new popsicle recipe with a twist…spinach… I was all over it. Oh yea, you heard me right, fresh spinach… in a popsicle! Here it is:

Berry popsicles

1 pint of blackberries
1 pint of raspberries
1 qt of strawberries
1 cup of fresh squeezed orange juice (I usually just squeeze two oranges but you can do it to your taste)
2-3 cups of fresh spinach (or other leafy greens – I use baby spinach)
1-2 tbsp of raw agave nectar (for natural sweetener – if you want)

Mix everything in a food processor or blender until smooth (I mix the berries first, then add spinach and mix – mostly due to space in my processor). Pour into popsicle molds and freeze.

I have used blueberries in place of the blackberries. Really you can use any berries you want – even just one kind of berry - whatever you think your kids will like. You can also use as much or as little of any of these ingredients - it’s pretty fail proof. I mess with it all the time. I add yogurt sometimes for a creamier popsicle.

They turn out a really nice purple color and mask the little tiny pieces of spinach leaves well. You honestly cannot taste the spinach at all. They are fresh, cool and best of all a healthy treat!

Here is another recipe I tried. My kids did not like it as much, but they really like berries, so no surprise there.

Electric Green Popsicles

2 ripe bananas
1 medium pineapple
2-3 cups spinach (or other leafy green)
Water

Blend until smooth and pour into molds and freeze.
Note: since the fruit is lighter in color the little tiny pieces of spinach are more evident. If your kids are older, they may wonder what those are, thus not such a secret ingredient.

Tovolo makes really cool BPA free popsicle molds, in case you are concerned with that. They are a little on the large side, so I use the molds I bought at Kohl’s more often (which I verified with the company to be BPA free as well). Also, sometimes I make half popsicles which are easier for my not quite two year old to hold.

Enjoy! Our little secret though… okay??