frozen treats for summer...

I don't know about you, but now that summer is upon us, the boys are constantly popping into the fridge and freezer looking for something refreshing... we had a serious heat wave about a week ago when we had highs in the 90's all week. THAT was a wake-up - hello? I'm the heat that makes you swelter all summer long...

Anyway. On to the recipe/idea... I absolutely can not stomach the thought of our boys cooling off with  the popular brand of "popsicle" on more than an occasional basis. If you haven't checked these out lately - yikes. I used to think they were fine when they only had a serious amount of food coloring in them. Now it's colossal. As in, those popsicals have more coloring than the paper I scrap with. Not good.

As a healthier {I'm not claiming this as a health recipe. Ha!}alternative, I whipped these up a couple of weeks ago, and the boys beg for them on a daily basis. ^_^ The nice thing being that I can freeze a batch and toss them into a freezer bag for them to pull out at their leisure. With mommy's permission. ;)
Frozen Fruit Treats
Ingredients:
2-3 c. low fat, organic vanilla yogurt
1/2-3/4c. 2% organic milk
2 c. of your favorite frozen fruits
And, depending on the fruit you use,
1/4 c. granulated sugar

These are just general quantities that you can adjust to your tastes as you get used to making them. I only add the sugar when I'm using a tart fruit, like the red and black raspberries in this case. Another favorite around here in mango. Mixed with just about anything. But, when I use mango, I tend to leave out the sugar. Got it? Good. We always tend to dip a spoon in after mixing to make sure it tastes good. Just remember that whatever you taste at the time you mix up, will not be as sweet when frozen. It has something to do with how your tastebuds perceive cold flavors...

Honestly, I just dump everything in my food processor and whiz it up. Before:

WahLah! This mixture is good just the way it is if you want to sprinkle some granola in!

For the treats, just gently spoon the mixture into frozen treat molds, pop your lid on, and insert your sticks. No big deal if it all doesn't fit. I store it in the fridge and then pour another round with this set comes out.

Freeze them for a good 7-8 hours. {Ignore the slightly icky freezer. How in the world to those get dirty?}

After the time period of eight hours {And putting up with your kids asking, "Are they done, yet?" enough times that it reminds you why you don't take many road trips}

You have some happy kiddos!

Happy enough that they regularly ask for these for breakfast. Yeah. You heard me. At least it's better than a donut!

Store them in a freezer bag for happy snacking through the summer!