Okay, I’m probably aging myself here, but do you remember being able to get frozen bananas dipped in chocolate at Dairy Queen growing up? The ones that came on a stick and were absolutely delicious? Because I do! I don’t know if it’s sad or awesome that I’d choose a frozen banana over everything else one can get when at a fast food chain full of frozen treats, but I loved them. And apparently I still think they’re awesome because chocolate covered frozen banana pops happen every summer in this house. We most often sprinkle them with chopped nuts (peanuts + chocolate + banana = actual heaven), but this time around we went for the naturally coloured candy sprinkles I bought ages ago for a birthday party {they’re not at all healthful, for the record – just naturally coloured}. Put a few candy sprinkles on anything and the kids will think it’s amazing, but the best part of these frozen banana pops for me? Not having to melt actual chocolate. In fact, there’s no actual chocolate involved.
Tag Archives: frozen treats
Chunky Monkey Frozen Yogurt Bites
My Miss G… My goodness, she’s growing up. At the moment, she wants nothing more than to be a teenager. 16 is the magical age she talks about most and she just can’t wait to get there {ugh},. Of course this also means she wants to do everything very teenagerish too… She wants to read grown up books, wear grown up clothes, talk in a grown up way, and basically do everything on her own – including cooking. Her absolute favourite is ‘invent cooking’, which means pulling random ingredients out of the fridge and pantry to mix up mystery concoctions {and admittedly takes some letting go on my part}, but she’s also beginning to have quite a repertoire of actual recipes she can make on her own too. These chunky monkey frozen yogurt bites are easy peasey for her to make solo and they’re also a very favourite breakfast and snack. And the best part? We almost always have a jar of them in the freezer, which means that we always have something yummy and ready to eat when needed.
Yogurt and Granola Popsicles
It goes without saying that we have a thing for popsicles… Among many others, we’ve made milk & cereal popsicles, chunky fruit popsicles, polka dotted blueberry lemonade popsicles, watermelon popsicles, and most recently – yogurt and granola popsicles! These are basically just a yogurt and fruit parfait in popsicle form, so a totally acceptable breakfast option in my opinion {because com’on – it is summer after all!}
Homemade Real Fruit Yogurt Tubes
As I was brainstorming some fun lunchbox ideas last week, one of the staple kids’ lunchbox snacks that came to mind was yogurt tubes. Kids love them… They’re fun, usually covered in branded characters, and sometimes even turn your tongue blue. Plus, they can be frozen ahead of time and not only stay cool until lunch or snack time, but also serve as an icepack in your lunchbox. ☺
Chunky Fruit Popsicles
Oh my goodness… We’ve totally been on a popsicle making streak. We can’t seem to help it. It’s summer and summer requires a freezer stocked with delicious frozen treats… Right?? Currently, we’ve got polka dotted blueberry lemonade pops, chocolate avocado pudding fudgesicles, fresh fruit freeze pops, and these beautiful chunky fruit popsicles in our freezer and they’re all delicious!
Healthy Fruit and Honey Yogurt Popsicles
Popsicle season is in full swing here in the desert, so Miss G and I stocked up our freezer today with a big batch of tasty new treats – fruit and honey yogurt pops!
{Healthy} Tropical Fruit Popsicles
With 1/2 a crate of mango in the fridge and our supply of banana fudgesicles and avocado kiwi pops dwindling after last week’s burst of hot weather, Gracen I set out to make a yummy new batch of popsicles this afternoon. And yummy they are! The combination of mango, pineapple, coconut, and lime makes them taste just like something you’d sip on vacation while sunning on a gorgeous beach… Delicious!
Here’s our lineup of ingredients… Pineapple chunks (we used frozen because it’s what we had on hand, but fresh would be even better), mango chunks, a lime, one ripe banana, coconut milk, and Grae’s addition – unsweetened shredded coconut.
We began by juicing our lime and threw both the juice and the pulp into our food processor…
Along with everything else, except the shredded coconut.
Then we blended everything up until completely smooth while this little monkey gave our food processor some love.
Next, we added the shredded coconut and gave the mixture just a couple of pulses to mix it in. At this point, we had a little taste test and decided to add in a teaspoon of good honey because our mango was very tart (totally optional, of course).
Now while it does mean dirtying another dish, I always like to pour our popsicle mixture into a large measuring cup before filling the moulds. It’s so much easier and quicker than clumsy me attempting to pour straight from the food processor. Of course, if you use a blender, this won’t be an issue.
After I fill the moulds, Miss G’s job is to place a ‘stick’ in each one. When she was done, she desperately wanted a popsicle to eat (particularly, “the green and blue one on the riiiiiight”) .
Luckily, the disappointment that came with me telling her they’d need to sit in the freezer for several hours first was kicked to the curb with the offer of drinking up the leftover mixture, smoothie style.
Healthy Tropical Fruit Popsicles
- 3 small mangos
- 1 cup of pineapple
- 1 banana
- 1 cup of coconut milk
- juice and pulp from 1 lime
- 2 tablespoons of unsweetened shredded coconut
- honey (optional)
Juice lime and add both the juice and pulp to a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth. Add the shredded coconut and pulse just long enough to mix it in. Taste your mixture and add a small amount of honey if desired. Pour into moulds and freeze for several hours.
Enjoy!
♥
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Frozen Banana Bites
Only I would try to amp up the nutritional value of bananas… Haha! I kid. (Kinda.) The truth is, Miss G has been on a two ingredient ice cream kick lately. After asking for it for the third afternoon in a row, I decided it was time to switch things up a little bit. Though we’ve made frozen banana pops before (which Grae loved), I wanted to try something smaller and easier to snack on this time around. So along came the frozen banana bite. With only 3 ingredients, they’re a breeze to make, plus, dare I say they taste like banana cream pie? I do.
Here’s the ingredient lineup… Bananas (ripe, but not overripe), roasted ground flax seed, and cinnamon.
Start off by peeling the bananas and making sure all of the white stringy things are removed.
Chop them into coins (maybe about a half inch thick?) and set them aside.
Next, pour some roasted ground flax seed into a container with a lid (or a zip close bag).
Enthusiastically dump some cinnamon in too.
Put the lid on the container and give it a little shake.
Next, place the banana coins on top of the cinnamon/flax mixture.
Place the lid on the container again and shake until all of the banana coins are well coated.
Next, place the coated banana pieces onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Place the tray in the freezer for at least an hour.
Serve them frozen to your excited toddler and watch them disappear. (Without a word of a lie, Gracen gobbled up our entire batch – and that was after a full meal!)
Frozen Banana Bites (that taste like banana cream pie)
- 2-3 large ripe (but not over ripe) bananas
- 3 tablespoons of roasted ground flax seed
- 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
Peel the bananas and slice them into coins about a half inch thick, then set aside.
Put flax seed and cinnamon into a container with a lid or zip close bag and shake. Add the banana coins to the flax mixture and shake again. Place the coated banana pieces on a parchment-lined baking sheet and put in the freezer.
After about an hour in the freezer, the banana bites will be frozen, but still a tiny bit soft, making them perfect for serving. If you aren’t serving them right away, transfer the bites into a airtight container. When you’re ready to eat them, you can serve them completely frozen, or let them sit on the counter for 5 to 10 minutes beforehand (my preference).
Enjoy!