Strawberry-Watermelon Yogurt Ice Pops

I'm having the toughest time finding ice-pop molds. I have shopped at countless stores, looked through I don't know how many websites, I can't find the one I want at an affordable price that wouldn't cost me more in shipping and taxes than the actual price of the mold! It doesn't help that I want the Norpro Popsicle Maker. No other one will do. I love the shape and design of it. There's still one store I want to go see and if I don't find it there, I'm giving up.

Of course, lack of an ice pop mold hasn't stopped me from making some anyway. The latest issue of Ricardo Magazine is chock full of ice pop recipes and ideas on how to shape them. My favorite way is to use a loaf pan and wooden popsicle sticks. I lined my pan with plastic wrap to make sure I could unmold my pops easily and voilà! ice pops! I adapted a recipe from Coup de Pouce Magazine and used the fruit I had on hand to make wonderful yogurt pops. They are delicious! I can't wait to try many other variations. I've even served these for breakfast to the kids, they couldn't believe they were having popsicles for breakfast! Hey, it's no worse than a bowl of yogurt with some fruit, right? ;) Bring on the heat!

EDIT: It was brought to my attention by a commenter that I had omitted to explain how to get the popsicle sticks to stand up straight in the loaf pan. I guess I was so excited to share this recipe with you guys, I forgot about that part! I've edited the recipe with the proper explanations, I'm sorry for any inconvenience this slip-up may have caused.

EDIT #2: For those of you wondering where to get food-safe popsicle sticks, I get mine at a craft store. As long as they're plain and not colored, they should be food safe. Here's a link on the subject.


Strawberry-Watermelon Yogurt Ice Pops
2 cups vanilla yogurt (not non-fat)
2 cups strawberries, sliced (fresh or frozen)
Juice and zest of 1 lime
Watermelon cubes (about 20 cubes, 1/2-inch each)
8 to 10 wooden popsicle sticks

Prepare a loaf pan by lining it with plastic wrap. Have your popsicle sticks on hand.

In a blender combine the yogurt, strawberries, lime juice and zest. Puree until well combined. Pour the yogurt blend into your prepared pan. Drop the watermelon cubes into the mixture, making sure there are a few cubes in each pop. Cover the pan with 2 or 3 layers of plastic wrap, making sure the plastic touches the top of the yogurt mixture. With the tip of a sharp knife, make incisions where you want your popsicle sticks to go, spacing them evenly. Place the popsicle sticks into the holes, standing them up straight. Freeze for about 6 hours, until the pops are completely frozen.

When you want to serve your pops, take the pan and run warm water over it to loosen the edges. Take the plastic wrap and lift the frozen "loaf" out of the pan. Use a sharp knife to cut in between the popsicle sticks. There you have it, Strawberry-Watermelon Yogurt Ice Pops!

Note: If you use a yogurt with a low-fat content the popsicles will be a bit icy and have a tendency to break easily. They're just as good, just a bit fragile.

Warm Days Ahead

Living in Québec means that in the winter we get extremely cold temperatures and a lot (a LOT) of snow. So much so that I sometimes wonder if the snow will ever melt. Well, the snow has indeed melted and gone with it are the days of craving warm soups and cup after cup of hot chocolate. Instead I’ve been making sandwiches and craving lemonade.

To me lemonade has to have the perfect balance of tartness and sweetness. Once again using the trusty Food Blog Search widget, I found the Perfect Lemonade courtesy of Elise at Simply Recipes. Making lemonade couldn’t be simpler and really, I don’t know why I’d never tried it before! The kids totally loved it and they were so impressed that lemonade was something we could make ourselves.

I think its important to show them that a lot of things we find ready made at the grocery store can be made right here in our kitchen. And that homemade beats store bought any day! Summer is only just starting and I can’t wait to try a few lemonade variations. Something to make the warm days ahead a little cooler.

CLICK: The photo at the top is my entry for this month's CLICK event hosted by jugalbandi. CLICK Yellow for Bri is a special edition of the event and you can find out more about it here and here.