Summer weather in Nashville is not for the faint-hearted. Seriously the humidity is a killer which is why for the past 15 years my family has headed up North. We’re all Canadian-Americans so we migrate for the summer back to the Great White North.
As long as your not north of Edmonton your summer will be anything but white. Come on people…global warming. Seriously our annual migration to Canada is something we all look forward to—LeBraun included. Note: He’s been talking about it since we left Canada for our wedding last August.
We enjoy weather hovering between the mid-20s to mid-30s (that’s 80s and 90s Fahrenheit) with very minimal humidity. The lakes are close and there are always nice cool breezes coming down the mountain.
But it’s still Summer and summertime calls for popsicles! Have you ever read the ingredients on store-bought popsicles. Most are riddled with added sugars and artificial flavors. Yuck! So when we bought ourselves a popsicle mold years ago, the decision was made that we should never again have to suffer the sugar-high of a store-bought popsicle….that may be a bit dramatic but you get the picture. Homemade popsicles for us from here on out.
With a good mold (and a bit of patience) homemade popsicles can easily be created AND enjoyed!
Summer is the perfect time for fruit-based popsicles because so many delicious, juicy fruits are in season. Here are just a few:
- Apricots
- Plums
- Cherries
- Blackberries
- Nectarines
- Strawberries
- Peaches
- Passion Fruit
- Melon
- Lime
- Lemon
We ended up at a local u-pick the other day and came home with several pounds of strawberries so the flavor choice was easy for us. Adding lime gives the sweet berries a bit of a punch. Zesty!
If you have trouble waiting for food to be completely finished cooking before enjoying (like us), it’s best to prepare these in the evening allowing them to freeze overnight while you’re sleeping. It’s a serious problem for us. We’re always “testing” food before it’s prepared. Our fingers have gotten the kitchen slap before. Haha.
We have two of the Zoku Classic Pop Mold. We’ve never owned another one so I can’t attest to its superiority but it has worked great for us.
GLUTEN-FREE, VEGAN STRAWBERRY LIME POPSICLES
Ingredients
- 2 lbs of ripe strawberries, washed and hulled
- 1 lime, zested
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 tsp agave (optional for added sweetness)
Directions
- Cut the strawberries into halves.
- Add all ingredients to a bender.
- Blend until pureed.
- Pour the puree into the popsicle molds, insert the popsicle stick bottoms.
- Place the filled popsicle molds on a completely flat surface in the freezer overnight or until fully frozen.
- One at a time, pull out the mold from the container and run under warm water for 30-60 seconds, or until plastic mold cover releases from the popsicle. Repeat until all are released or release as needed.
- Enjoy!
