Summer Fun: Popsicles

After three days of rain it is HOT and sunny here today!  

T came up with the perfect after-church treat:  popsicles!

I am somewhat ashamed to say that this was our children's first encounter with popsicles.  

G-Bear had no idea what I was talking about when I said we would get to have popsicles for a treat:
G-Bear: "What are popsicles, mommy?"  
Me: "Well, they are sort of like lollypops but frozen like ice cream."  
G-Bear: "ICE cream?"
E-Bear: "EYE ceeeem!"
Me (concerned I might be building up false expectations): "Well, sort of like ice cream, but they are different."
E-Bear: "EYE ceeeeem!"
T: "B, you had better stop saying that word."

Anyway, they were a huge hit.

Such a hit that I am thinking this would be a fun treat to repeat more often in our house. But, how about homemade?  A store-bought popsicle here and there is not going to kill anyone.  But, even more fun and healthy to make them ourselves, with fresh ingredients & *sigh* organic fruit while avoiding the *GASP* high fructose corn syrup and *TISK* genetically modified ingredients.  Right? [This is the point at which T says to me, "don't make us sound like food nuts, B."]  Ok, just more fun and healthier.  I will leave it at that.

There are gazillions of homemade popsicle recipes to discover.  Here are two great postings with a total of 82 different recipe ideas, something for everyone!

Tipnut.com: 50+ Homemade Popsicles

Blisstree.com: 32 Homemade Popsicles

Grab your blender, a few sticks & paper cups and have these ready for your next front-step snack time!  Or, if you want super cute and feel splurgy, consider these cute silicon molds from OKRA (you can buy them on Amazon):

....and your popsicles will look like this:

(super cute idea from Take Back Your Table)

Do good this summer, and have fun too.