Acute How-To: Frozen Treats

As of last week – it is officially summer and temps are rising!

One of my summer goals is to create healthy{ish} frozen treats that I can enjoy without the guilt on hot days.

These two popsicle recipes I created are a good start.  The Banana Split Fruit Pops are low fat, have no added sugar, and are super refreshing.  And, the Chocolate Chip Banana Pudding Pops are sugary sweet and taste really decadent – despite the fact that they are low fat.

What you will need for the Banana Split Fruit Pops:

• 2 Bananas
• 1 cup sliced Strawberries
• ½ cup sliced Pineapple
• ½ cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
• Water
• Blender
• Popsicle molds {I bought a set of four at Target for under $3} or small paper cups and popsicle sticks

Step One:

Put the fruit and almond milk in a blender and blend until smooth – about 2 minutes.  Add a little water if you need to get the blender going.

Step Two:

Pour the mixture into the popsicle molds {this will make about 10 three ounce popsicles} and freeze for at least six hours before eating.  You might need to dip the popsicle molds in warm water in order to loosen the frozen treat.

What you will need for the Chocolate Chip Banana Pudding Pops:

• 2 Bananas
• ¼  cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons corn starch
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 cups fat free milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Chocolate chips
• Popsicle molds

Step One:

In a small saucepan, whisk the cornstarch, sugar, and salt together.  Whisk in the milk and set the pan over low-medium heat.  Stir often, making sure to scrape the sides and the bottom of the pan as you are stirring.

Step Two:

While the milk + sugar mixture is heating, mash the two bananas and set aside.

Step Three:

When the milk + sugar mixture begins to boil, stir constantly for one minute.   Remove pan from heat and stir in the vanilla extract and mashed bananas.  The consistency will be similar to a lumpy cake batter.

Step Four:

Pour the pudding in a bowl and allow it to cool for about 30 minutes.

Step Five:

Divide the pudding equally amongst the popsicle molds {this will make about 8 pudding pops} and press a small handful of chocolate chips into each mold.  Freeze for about 6 hours before eating.

Enjoy these frozen treats over the upcoming holiday weekend!

The next frozen treat recipe I plan to create is a homemade ice cream sandwich…check back later this summer for my recipe.