Easy Homemade Ice Pops

In recent years it has become a tradition to welcome the hot days of summer by treating our kids to a box of ice pops. Within a few days or weeks, my husband and I start questioning whether buying icy cold tubes of food coloring and sugar water is such a good idea. We always say "We should just make our own frozen treats, with fruit, instead!" -But it never happens. Until this year!

Please understand, I am not a Pinterest Pro, by any means. I do crafts, experiments, and recipes with my children because I want to make memories with them, but a good portion of the time my creations look like a Pinterest Fail. That having been said, making ice pops is incredibly easy!

What do you need?

If you don't already own them, you need to snag a box of popsicle bags (or use ice pop molds). I bought 100 "Zip-a-Pop 2X5 Popsicle Bags" off Amazon for about $10. I bought them weeks in advance so that I would be prepared for an impromptu ice pop making session with the kids when the hot weather arrived.

Beyond that, all you need is a blender, a funnel, some fruit (fresh or frozen), a little water, and the sweetener of your choice. I used a small amount of local honey. 

Instructions:

Step 1: Gather your fruit. If using fresh fruit, wash it. If using frozen fruit, let it thaw slightly (enough so that it will blend easily). 
Step 2: Put your fruit in your blender with a small amount of water (a few tablespoons should do it if you are using a watery fruit like grapes, otherwise you might want to use 1/2 cup or more).
Step 3. Add a scoop of honey or other sweetener, 1-2 tablespoons is plenty for a large blender.
Step 4. Blend until you have a smoothie-like consistency, add more water if you want it thinner.
Step 5. Fill the ice pop bags (leaving a half inch or more at the top so there is room for the frozen treat to expand). Using a small funnel to fill each bag is the easiest, fastest, and cleanest way to get the job done!
Step 6. Place bags on a baking sheet and place in freezer overnight (or until frozen).

My Ice Pops

I made two batches of ice pops. One bowl was full of fresh grapes, honey and water, and had a very thin consistency. The other batch consisted of frozen strawberries, blueberries, cherries, water and honey, and had a thick consistency. Both batches came out just fine.

I started out by giving each of my children their own small bowl of the blended mixture and a small spoon, so they could fill their own bags. They enjoyed this very much, but it made a colossal mess. I then held a bag with a small funnel in top and let them take turns scooping the mix into the bags and that produced much nicer looking ice pops with less mess (and they still had fun). 

So if you are looking for something quick, easy, and fun to do on a hot day skip the store-bought ice pops and make a batch of homemade fruit-pops instead. Pictures below!
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