Any other popsicle lovers out there?
Confession… When I was a kid I LOVED push-pops. Bonus points if they were the orange Flinstone push-pops. Gosh, those were good.
Someday I will make those, but I think it will demand a lot of self control on my part to not eat twenty of them, so I’m holding off on that one for now.
For now, I am working on coming up with simple but delicious recipes to give my sweet baby once she starts taking solids. I’ve heard lots of mamas say that when their babies have started eating solids, and then go through a teething stage, that giving them something frozen to suck on is a lifesaver.
So obviously popsicles, right?
I’m sure that’s not what they meant, but why not?
If it’s a totally delicious food that they would be eating anyways, but in frozen form, it can’t hurt!
The one requirement I have when it comes to giving my baby a popsicle is that it is entirely clean and free of added sugars and food coloring. If I wouldn’t eat it myself, I don’t want to give it to my baby.
Plus, when my baby doesn’t finish it, I want to finish it for her.
BECAUSE I LOVE POPSICLES.
I’ve never made popsicles before, however, when I lived in Rwanda I would slice bananas into little chunks and freeze them for a refreshing snack. Every time I ate one of those delicious little chunks I would think to myself, “this tastes just like a popsicle.” So I figured for a first attempt at a popsicle with the perfect texture, bananas would be the perfect base.
And if my little banana chunks alone tasted just a little a popsicle, then really, I wouldn’t have to do that much to them in order to make a great popsicle.
So I took three very ripe, large bananas, and mashed them up in a bowl. (I used very ripe ones because they are sweeter, and they mash better that way). Since I wanted them to look pretty when they are frozen, and not turn brown from mashing them, I added one tablespoon of lemon juice. Then I mixed in 3/4 cup of mixed berries to add more flavor and texture… and if I am being honest, to make them look pretty. Then I simply divided them evenly among a popsicle mold—mine holds six.
Then I stuck those bad boys in the freezer and walked away.
And then I forgot about them.
No, seriously, I totally forgot about them until the next day when I went to grab some ground beef from the freezer and it was like Christmas right there in my kitchen.
Santa came and delivered the best little popsicles ever. In March. Isn’t that crazy?
