In the Kitchen with Sidra: Healthy Frozen Treats
Posted by Sidra Forman on Thu, Jul 15, 2010
I love to cool down with a frozen treat on a hot summer day, but not all frozen desserts are created equal, especially when it comes to calories. And of course, stopping at the local ice cream shop or buying packaged frozen treats, whether you choose the healthful sorbets or the heavy cream-based ice creams, can easily lighten your wallet!
The fix for both problems: Make your own healthy frozen desserts. I do this all summer long, sometimes using pure frozen fruit and other times, creating more elaborate treats using yogurt, fat-free milk or even fat-free pudding. It's surprisingly simple to make your own frozen desserts. All you need:
• A blender. This is recommended, but not absolutely essential.
• A container to make popsicles. You can use a popsicle mold or even a paper cup. You'll also need a popsicle stick or you can use a chopstick.
• Ripe fruit. Fruit that's picked at its peak or left to ripen offers a more intense flavor and is sweeter than unripened fruit. Plus, the texture of ripe fruit makes it ideal for creating frozen fruit pops or for blending into a smoothie. In fact, sometimes the fruit alone can make a good popsicle.
This week, I made two different types of pops—a minty strawberry frozen yogurt pop and a blueberry frozen pop; the blueberries were a bit tart so I added a tiny bit of honey to make the popsicles a little sweeter. Feel fry to try either or both recipes, and let me know what you think!
Frozen Strawberry Mint Yogurt Pops
Makes 4 Servings
Prep time: 5 minutes
Total time: 3 hours, 5 minutes (including freezing time)
Ingredients
½ cup sliced fresh strawberries
1 cup non-fat plain yogurt
1 tablespoon fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoons honey
Directions
1. Combine all ingredients in a blender. Process until smooth, about 1 minute.
2. Pour mixture into 4 popsicle molds or paper cups. Place a popsicle stick or chopstick in the middle of each and freeze for 3 hours or until solid.
3. To serve, remove from molds or peel away the paper cup.
Nutritional Information
1 serving
Calories: 73
Protein: 4 g
Carbohydrate: 15 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.5 g
Sugars: 10 g
Total Fat: 0 g
Saturated Fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 1 mg
Calcium: 129 mg
Sodium: 48 mg
Fruit Popsicles
Makes 4 servings
Prep time: 5 minutes
Total time: 3 hours, 5 minutes (including freezing time)
Ingredients
1 1/3 cups fresh fruit (I used blueberries, but any fruit will work)
2 tablespoons honey (optional; your fruit might be sweet enough without additional sweetener. If you do add, do so gradually.)
Directions
1. Combine all ingredients in a blender. Process until smooth, about 1 minute.
2. Pour the mixture into 4 popsicle molds or paper cups. Place a popsicle stick or chopstick in the middle of each and freeze for 3 hours or until solid.
3. To serve, remove from molds or peel away the paper cup.
Nutritional Information
1 serving
Calories: 59
Protein: 0 g
Carbohydrate: 16 g
Dietary Fiber: 1 g
Sugars: 13 g
Total Fat: 0 g
Saturated Fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Calcium: 4 mg
Sodium: 1 mg