5 Quick & Fruity Frozen Treats For Summer!

As the weather gets hotter, frozen treats become a staple in just about every family’s freezer.  I believe we reach for the cold snacks because we genuinely want something that will be refreshing.  The same is true for our kids.  Unfortunately, most of the frozen treats found in the stores today can leave some nasty unwanted side effects with their loads of sugar and artificial ingredients.

With a tiny bit of forward thinking, you can create some tasty homemade frozen treats that are full of fresh ingredients and yummy fruit!  This list is sure to please your kids’ palates and are super quick to make.  All you need is a blender, some popsicle molds, and a little bit of patience.

Whipped Pineapple Pops from SuperHealthyKids.com

We tried these frozen treats at our home the other day, and Wow!  They are super simple yet super tasty.  They did not last long in our freezer. We used the three ingredients as listed in the recipe (linked below)–pineapple, cream, and lime–however I went a step further and added about 1/4 cup almond slices to the blender.  (I am trying to get my kids to like almonds more!)  The extra almond flavor is awesome with pineapple!  You could also use a small amount of natural almond extract as well to get the same flavor.

View full recipe—> Whipped Pineapple Pops

Frozen Lemonade with Fresh Berries

Photo credit: Tammy Mitchell Designs

For this treat, you can either choose to make your own homemade lemonade (my favorite) or you can use one of your favorite brands.  The photo here links to a great basic lemonade recipe if you’ve not tried it before.

We use mason jars to make this frozen treat that we can then put into a picnic lunch or take to the pool.  To get the berries frozen in the middle of the jar:

• Put sliced strawberries or a berry mix into each jar.
• Fill each mason jar halfway with lemonade.
• Cover and freeze until solid.
• Fill frozen jars up with remaining lemonade and freeze again.

Martha Stewart Tip:  These frozen jars can be packed in your picnic cooler in place of the ice to keep your other food cold.  Then, once you arrive at your picnic, they become some wonderful slushy goodness!

Tasty Yogurt Smoothies from 100DaysofRealFood.com

We use these silicone molds from Amazon.com for both yogurt smoothies and whipped pineapple pops.

We found a great recipe for homemade yogurt smoothies with zero added sugar!  The ripe banana ingredient gives these frozen treats their natural sweetness.  We used Lisa Leake’s Tasty Yogurt Smoothies recipe and followed her suggestion of putting them into these silicone popsicle molds.  They worked superbly!

By the way, I first only ordered one set of these molds because I wasn’t sure how well we would like them.  Well, we now own TWO sets, and it’s still not quite enough when all of our kids’ friends are over too! 

Slushy Strawberry Apple Peach Sorbet

This recipe is a slight adaptation from one of my own. Our strawberry apple peach sorbet is easily made in a blender, but my girls always like throwing their bowls of it into the freezer. After about an hour or two, you can enjoy some slushy goodness!

I have not made this yet in our popsicle molds, but that would be something to try to see how they turn out.

Frozen Chocolate Banana Pops from JoyofBaking.com

I have not been able to try these chocolatey frozen treats yet, but they are on my list for this summer!  Just a few simple ingredients again, and out comes these amazing frozen bananas.  The recipe on the site calls for a little oil to be melted in with the chocolate; however, I also enjoy using a little bit of real butter to make the chocolate extra creamy.  If you’re a newbie to this, stick with what the recipe says first, and then try your hand at experimenting later.

View full recipe here—> Frozen Chocolate Banana Pops

Featured Image Photo Credit: Hal Goodtree via Compfight cc