Summer is the perfect season for cold treats like frozen desserts or just simple but satisfying fare like ice-cream, slushes, granitas or popsicles. And what better way to beat the summer heat than with a combination of a delicious Popsicle with natural/ organic and healthy?
Does it seem almost an impossible thought that someone could have put together a book full of Popsicle recipes which are colourful, attractive, all natural, healthy and tasty? Anni Daulter seems to have done it with her book “Ice Pop Joy (Organic.Healthy.Fresh.Delicious)”.
(Image Courtesy Sellers Publishing)
When Sellers Publishing sent me a review copy, I was delighted with the photographs and colours in the book. The book is aimed at getting children to eat fresh, natural and healthy and it does it in an excellent manner since which child could ever resist a colourful Ice Pop? After looking through the book, forget about the child in me, even the adult in me cannot resist them!
Ice Pop Joy starts with a chapter that is titled “Help, I Can’t Get My Children To Eat Anything Healthy!” Some of her tips to handle this include “Don’t hide the ingredients from them” and “Ask for their suggestions”. The next chapter explains just what is needed to make Pops (very few and basic items actually), and is followed by a chapter on natural sweeteners that can be used and which ones are safe for what aged children. She also provides links to sites/ stores where one can source ice pop moulds, organic fruit and vegetables, and speciality ingredients like agave nectar, chocolate nibs, nuts, coconut sugar, herbs and teas.
(Image Courtesy Sellers Publishing)
The recipes are divided into chapters titled Pure Fruit Pops, Veggie Pops, Yogurt Pops, Tofu Pops, Herbal Tea Pops, Chocolate Pops and Speciality Pops. Almost every recipe in the book is accompanied by beautiful full page photographs of the ice pops, many of them featuring children.
The recipes include Pomalicious (fruit and cherry tomatoes), Rockstar (fruit, kale and agave nectar), Green Machine (with spinach, bananas and pineapple), Peach Party (with fruit and yogurt), Tropical Tofu (fruit, coconut water and tofu), Rooibos Red Tea Pops (rooibos tea and fruit), Heavenly (white chocolate coconut milk and nuts), Happiness (milk, cream and white chocolate) and Pina Colada Surprise (fruit and coconut milk)
As you can see, while a lot of them are meant for children, there are quite a few that would appeal to older children and adults too. I don’t like things like raw plantain, yams, jackfruit to mention a few and I’m glad they don’t feature in any of the popsicles in the book or I might have been tempted to make them!
If you are looking for one more way to get children to eat healthy easily then this is a book for you. I can see many ways in which I could adapt many of the recipes by adding some flavours I like or even serving the Popsicle as a granita or even a slush/ shake.
So that’s what I did with the recipe for “Peace Pops” (don’t know why she calls that) in the book. I made it and served it as granita. No one who has one of these pops (or the granita), not even children who can usually figure out the “I don’t like that” ingredient will tell you this one has carrots in it! If I hadn’t made it, I wouldn’t have known it.
I have given the recipe as it is in the book, but I just let it freeze in a container till firm and then served it in glasses. I didn’t have coconut sugar so I used jaggery and it isn’t the season for strawberries now though mangoes are available in plenty, so I used frozen starwberries.
The temperatures here, where I live, are down quite a bit because of the rains. However, it’s never too cool in the tropics as you can see from my less than perfect photograph of the melting granita.
Ice Pop Joy : A Review, Some Peace Pops Granita (GF, V) And A Giveaway
Ingredients
- 3 carrots , peeled and cut into chunks
- 1 cup strawberries chopped
- 1 mango whole , peeled and chopped
- 3/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1 cup water purified
Instructions
- In a steamer, boil 4 cups of water. Steam the carrots for 12 minutes. Put the steamed carrots ina the blender and purxe9e till smooth. Add the strawberries to the carrot purxe9e and blend.
- Add the mango, coconut sugar, and water to the blended mixture, and blend all the ingredients together into a smooth texture.
- Pour the mixture into chosen pop moulds and put sticks in place. Freeze pops till solid. This recipe makes 8 (4 ounce) pops.
I'm Aparna and My Diverse Kitchen is my ovo-lacto vegetarian food blog where you'll find recipes, food stories & photography. I've been blogging since 2007 and believe the kitchen, and the dining table (by extension) is really the heart of a home. 
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