It is Popsicle Time! How to make them homemade -- with recipe ideas

I barely stepped out for a few minutes this morning to water the garden and I was already drenched in sweat. Even a steady diet of freezing cold coconut water isn't enough to keep me cool these days. Some temperatures just call for popsicles!

Store-bought popsicles are both full of sugar and overpriced. It's really quite sad. But that doesn't mean you have to give them up all together.

Say it with me now: homemade popsicles.

Benefits:
+ Jam pack fruits and veggies into your little ones (or big ones: I'm talking about you picky husbands!)
+ Keep cool
+ Inexpensive to make
+ Fun for kids to help with
+ Reduces waste -- hey, what else were you going to do with that strawberry puree?
+ If you make them with a mold, and not just cups and sticks, it reduces waste

I know not everyone owns a popsicle mold set (and if you don't but want to buy one: go BPA-free please) so the easy way to do this without one is to pour your ingredients into Dixie cups and place a wooden stick in the centre. Keep them all on one plate in the freezer to make it easy.

It may seem self explanatory how to make them but I do have a few tips:
- If they get stuck, run warm water over the base and it will help them slide out
- Keep your recipe smooth with no chunks (unless you're purposefully leaving whole fruit in the popsicle) because it can be a choking hazard if you're not expecting it
- Don't fill it all the way to the top -- liquids expand when they freeze
- Set the mold, or cups, carefully and levelly in the freezer, no spills please
- Let soda de-fizz a little if you're using it

Okay, so what should you use in the molds or cups to make your homemade popsicle? Choose a few ingredients and blend or whisk them together. Here are one billion ideas off the top of my head:

• Yogurt + orange juice
• Carrot juice + pineapple juice, or the liquid from canned pineapple
• A leftover green smoothie
• Root beer + vanilla ice cream (not healthy but my supervisor at work told me this one)
• Leftover fruit sorbet or frozen yogurt
• Yogurt + frozen berries, or berry jam
• Soy milk + fruit juice
• Almond milk + coffee + honey
• Yogurt + honey + cocoa powder -- mmmmm!
• Brewed chai latte
• Iced tea or even hot, sweetened tea brought to room temperature first
• Applesauce
• Pudding
• Lemonade or limeade
• Coconut water + fruit
• Coconut milk + fruit
• Pureed fruit: peaches, strawberries, watermelon
• Banana + almond butter
• Vitamin water
• Booze?
• "Pregnancy pops" -- one website said to freezer ginger tea with honey for morning sickness, too cool

There are lots of recipes online if you take a minute to search.

Berry Pops could be delicious with a few substitutions.

Here's a great list of featured popsicle recipes from Country Living.

How much fun is this Triple Citrus Popsicle?

Whoa: Spa Pops!

This one has coconut, chocolate and raspberries by the looks of it so - I'm sold!

Also, try this recipe:

Or if you want to be really lazy, just freeze fruit on a stick (but for goodness sake, dip it in chocolate first):