Freezer Pops
My daughter wanted to help me make a recipe for this month and looked through her kids cook books. She decided on a freezer pop and this is what she had to say:
I saw this recipe I had to try it. It sounded good with bananas and orange juice. We liked them but the orange juice flavor was a little strong. We think maybe the bananas could have been riper or maybe add another one to make you taste it more. Oh the recipe called for making it in paper cups, but we used Popsicle molds.
Do you let your children help you in the kitchen? All my children love to help and it makes them, I think, more eager to try new things!
Banana Freezer Pops
- 2 ripen medium bananas
- 1 can (6 oz) frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 Tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 8 (3 oz) paper or plastic cups {or Popsicle molds}
- 8 wooden sticks
Peel bananas; break into chunks. Place in food processor or blender container. Add orange juice concentrate, water, honey and vanilla; process until smooth. Pour banana mixture evenly into cups. Cover top of each cup with small piece of aluminum foil. Insert wooden stick through center of foil into banana mixture. Place cups on tray; freeze until firm {about 3 hours}. To serve, remove foil; tear off paper cups or slide out of plastic cups.
If you want you could make this into a shake instead. The book says to increase water to 1 1/2 cups and add four ice cubes. Process in blender until thick and creamy.
I’ve also clipped a frozen banana recipe with chocolates and sprinkles. I now have another one!
Years ago I went to a healthy cooking class that also had tips for getting kids to eat more healthfully. We made a shake called an Or-Ban-A. It was quite simple: 1 Cup Orange Juice; 1 Peeled Banana; and 1 Apple with the core removed and the skin still on. Place this in the blender and blend until it is a liquified “milkshake” consistency. The fruit gives it a slushy consistency and the apple peel is no longer detectable. This is very filling and full of fiber plus the O.J. makes it sweet enough that you do not have to add sugar or honey. Our family – adults & 4 kids – loved it! It makes a big drink so smaller children could share or you could pour small portions into small glasses and place one at each person’s plate. Great for drinking in a closed cup in the car with a bigger straw on the way when you’re time crunched. You could probably use other fruit combinations but I wasn’t very inventive 30 years ago!
I forgot to say that allowing kids to work/help in the kitchen is very important so that they’ll become comfortable cooking adults who are willing to try new foods. If our world suddenly had no more processed or packaged foods, some people would starve to death because they’ve never had the opportunity to experiment in the kitchen as kids. Besides almost everyone wants to taste what they eat! You are a smart Mother!