How to Make Frozen Popsicles and Fruit Treats for Summer - Kids Cook Monday

When I was a kid, I loved coming inside from playing out in the summer heat and grabbing a homemade frozen popsicle out of the freezer. We kept them simple, just using Kool-aid and lemonade to freeze in our plastic Tupperware popsicle molds.

These tasty treats were so easy to put together, too, that my older brother and I could make them. I made the Kool-aid myself quite often, filled the containers, freezing another batch for my brothers and me, so that they would be ready when we wanted them again.

Besides a traditional kids' Kool-aid and lemonade mix to pour into the popsicle molds, there are many more choices. Keep the kids excited with variety all summer long. Here are some options:

• Juices, such as grape, orange, apple, pineapple, any blend, or other flavor
• Soft Drinks: grape, orange, Root Beer, Ginger Ale, Mountain Dew, or other
• Gelatin (Jell-o or other) of choice: lime, orange, banana, strawberry, and more
• Pudding: chocolate, vanilla, pistachio, butterscotch, your choice!
• Yogurt, any flavor, for a healthier choice of popsicle treat

Be creative. Think of any liquid type sweet treat for a child that could be made into a freezer pop. Making varied pospsicles could be a fun experiment for the kids all summer long. The fun experiment for Mom is to see how healthy she can make these sweet treats. There are some healthier options other than just sweet drinks and pudding.

If you don't have popsicle molds, you can look for them at your local department stores or buy them from eBay. If you would like to try an alternative method, just freeze any of the mentioned choices in ice trays.

After the mixture has partially frozen (check every half hour) in the tray, at least enough to hold up a toothpick, place one toothpick in each "ice cube" and finish freezing.

Many fruits freeze well, such as grapes, oranges, bananas, and strawberries. Save children from sugary snacks, and instead freeze cut-up pieces of your kids' favorite fruits. You might find that fruits they didn't know was a favorite becomes so, as frozen fruits offer a different kind of surprise for the taste buds!

Give the kids skewers (not too sharp!) to help put the fruit on to have a fun stick full of a variety of fruit. See this article on how to freeze fruit on a skewer.

It's easy to freeze grapes for a fun, healthy snack, too. Move over, kids! The adults won't be able to stay out of these! There is something about freezing grapes that makes them even sweeter!

Try freezing leftover watermelon, chopping it up for another hydrating summer treat. Watermelon can also be blended and put into popsicle molds for a true fruit popsicle! Try blending up a variety of fruits to create healthy, tasty popsicle treats for summer!

Get the kids excited about cool, summer treats! If you use Kool-aid and lemonade, or soft drinks and juice, consider using the lighter versions if you're worried about too much sugar.

Mix it up with gelatin and pudding popsicles. For the most nutritious cool snacks, blend fruit for your popsicles, or freeze fruit for a handy snack the kids can grab out of the freezer.

These are great snacks for a hot summer. And they're easy to make, so that even the kids can help keep the freezer stocked with the next batch that they will need when they are looking for a cool treat. Rest assured that the adults will be in and out of the freezer, too!