It's getting hot in here: Cool Summer treats!

Whew, the dog days of summer are here!  Actually, I'm not really sure what the dog days of summer are but this summer has been miserably hot and humid here in WV.  After one of the worst winters in decades we are now having one of the hottest summers in decades which means that I hear, "Mom,  I'm hot!!!" about 437 times a day.
These popsicles have been a go to treat to serve my overheated munchkins this summer.  They love them and since they are super healthy I have no guilt if they eat a couple a day! The great thing about them is you can they can be tailored to whatever fruits your kids like or what's on sale that week!  Here's what we used:

Frozen Strawberries
Frozen Blueberries
Yogurt - we used vanilla but you can use whatever you have
Milk
Carrots- Come on, trust me, you won't even taste them and they are a great way to sneak in some veggies
Frozen Bananas- I save the leftover parts from when the kids want banana in their oatmeal but don't want the entire banana. Just throw them in a freezer bag!

Optional: Protein powder.  My youngest isn't the best eater so I cleared it with my pediatrician and we put in some vanilla protein powder in smoothies and popsicles.

Note: Since I use all frozen fruit I don't need to use ice. My kids complain that it makes the popsicles taste watery.  I buy fruit when it is on sale cheap and throw it in the freezer for this purpose, a few weeks ago I snagged $1 pints of blueberries and I was thrilled!

I'm sure since this recipe is so complex that you are on the edge of your seat wondering what is next, here is the earth shattering next step: put all the ingredients into a blender.  My assistants demonstrate proper technique:

My youngest no longer wears real clothes, everyday is dress up to her!

Now, blend it all up so it's nice a creamy.


I usually let my kiddo's taste test it at this point and give them a smoothie.  Then, break out my $1 popsicle molds from Family Dollar and start filling 'em up. 

This usually yields enough to fill 2 popsicle molds (16 popsicles) and 2 smoothies.

Pop the molds in the freezer, they will be ready in a few hours. I have found that the smoothie makes the wait easier.  Doesn't that look yummy, and as promised, there is no evidence of the carrots!

We like to get creative with the fruit we use too, if you have a yummy combo feel free to share it : )

Here is the budget breakdown:
I had all the ingredients on hand, but determined that the cost for the portions needed for the popsicles would be about $2, making each one cost about $0.12!