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):

What is maca good for

Quiz.

What's grown in Peru, considered a root, and I've tried it in four different forms?

If you answered coffee, you're wrong. Coffee's not a root and I've tried it in 180 forms.

It's maca!

Maca is, yes, a Peruvian root. It tastes a little bit like coffee (or burnt chocolate, or dark caramel) and comes in many forms. It's main benefit is to balance out-of-whack hormone levels.

Although one big study came out that found it had no effect on hormone levels (boo!) the other 149 done recently have shown great things.

I'll outline one incredible result from taking maca with a real life case that I witnessed. That result is: increased fertility.

I was the newest employee at a health food store and a couple came in complaining that they couldn't get pregnant. And they'd been trying for 10 years. Another employee was the first to help them and explained the benefits of maca root while I listened in intently.

My co-worker told both the husband and wife to take liquid maca concentrate daily and to keep trying. And to let her know what happens.

I kid you not they came back less than a year later with a newborn in their hands and I pretty much had tears in my eyes. Everyone else did too.

Maca can lead to better sperm production, sperm motility, and semen volume. That's a recipe for a babe if you ask me!

Fertility isn't the only aspect of hormone health that you should be worried about. Acne, cramping, moodiness... they can all be associated with hormone imbalance.

And, it has other benefits too (don't worry!) It can also increase energy. I've felt this first hand.

The Vega website (one company who produces a maca supplement) says it can:

• Promote vitality
• Metabolize carbohydrates, fats and protein
• Develop and maintain strong bones and teeth
• Form red blood cells and support their proper function
• Contribute to a feeling of overall well-being
• Maintain good health
• Provide antioxidant support

After looking at that list - and not being overly afraid of its aphrodisiac reputation - I gave it a shot. In powdered form, liquid form, concentrate (phew! strong!) and this new "coffee" kind. The coffee one is a powdered maca granule that can be percolated to make a mug of hot, dark coffee-like liquid that is actually liquid maca. Because it gives energy some people can totally switch from coffee to maca-coffee.

So if you're in the market to balance any hormonal strangeness (menopause, anyone?) maybe you could throw a spoon of powdered maca into your morning smoothie. Just make sure you've got a crib and change table ready ;)

Coffee - A Good Drug

Today while having a conversation with a six year old (we were having a picnic) she poured me a pretend beverage and I asked her what it was.

 

She said, "I don't know. What do you think?"

And I said, "Is it coffee? Mmmmm."

And she said, "No, coffee is drugs."

 

This is pretty much like saying Your Deity is dead to a religious person, or Baseball sucks to Joe Long.

I wanted to throw the table over / offer a free science lecture / call Children's Aid. But what I did say was, "I think coffee is good."

So apparently some drugs are good. (Lesson of the day.)

As a coffee enthusiast and nutrition promoter (in that order), I spend a fair bit of time finding medical benefits to being a java-head. I have summarized them for you below. Cheers.

• When caffeine blocks adenosine in your brain it increases the release of other neurotrasmitters that control your cognitive function. This makes you smarter and increases your memory. It also makes you happier (dopamine).
• Coffee is nutritious. It is a great source of antioxidants which fight free radicals in your body, keeping you in tip top shape. One cup has decent amounts of B vitamins, potassium and manganese. Coffee reduces your reaction time. No more broken glass.
• Mood is always increased after coffee ingestion. Not just because it's so great to have a nice chat with a friend over a steaming mug.
• Coffee drinkers has less cases of heart rhythm issues, and stroke. 
• Caffeine burns excess fat because it stimulates the nervous system to raise metabolic rate. Studies calculated that your body burns 11-12% more while on coffee.
• Up to 12oz per day is safe during pregnancy as shown by studies that proved no effect of consumption under 200mg of caffeine.
• Coffee improves physical performance. It is the go to work out drink of the educated.
• Coffee reduces your risk of Diabetes. (Between 23-67% to be not exact.) In fact, in studies the more cups of coffee the participants drank, the more their risk decreased.
• Coffee may reduce your risk of Alzheimer's (60%) and Parkinson's (32-60%).
• Coffee can protect your liver by lowering your chances of cirrhosis (liver damage) by 80%. Your risk of liver cancer also goes down by 40%. They say 4 cups a day is best for this benefit.

Bottom line, in a large study it was found that people who drink coffee were at a lower risk of death by any cause than those who don't drink it. So stay alive, brew some up!