Strawberry Yogurt Popsicles and Smoothies

Well, we are getting toward the end of strawberry season as far as our patch goes. We have roughly 20 quarts of crushed (plain, no sugar) strawberries chilling away in the freezer. We have eaten strawberries several different ways, including our favorite- fresh.


The one thing I have wanted to try before this season is over was to make strawberry popsicles for the kids. They love popsicles on a hot day as much as they love hot chocolate on a cold one. Popsicles win out (mom-wise) because they can be made healthy and the kids don't even notice. I use a popsicle mold and make my own. Most often I use our grape juice. Sometimes we have overnight company and they bring orange juice along. We're not used to drinking juice with breakfast- we drink water- so the leftover orange juice gets poured into the molds. Our mold makes seven popsicles, but if they aren't all eaten by the time I have more to make, I simply pop them out into freezer bags and refreeze. Wooden popsicle sticks work just as well as the fancy plastic ones.

So, I decided to try my hand at creating a strawberry popsicle recipe and below is the fruit of my labor (wow- two puns not intended). I knew what I had on hand and what I thought would taste yummy. While tasting, I discovered that this should not be just reserved for the kids and makes a fine smoothie as well. The best part? This recipe makes enough for seven popsicles and a nice tall glass of smoothie for the mommy making them.


Strawberry Yogurt Popsicles and Smoothie
Yields 14 (4-inch tall) popsicles OR 2 large glasses of smoothie OR a combination of the two

2 cups plain yogurt (I used homemade- bought will work just fine and give you a slightly thicker smoothie)
1 cup crushed strawberries
6-8 tbsp. honey
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup milk (evaporated, skim, whole, whatever you have)

Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend away. Pour into molds to freeze and or glasses to drink.





The kids love these (we just did a final taste test). If you have crushed strawberries in the freezer, you can make these all summer long.