We have always loved popsicles at our house. We would even take them on vacation for snacks. Then came the realization of the dyes, the high fructose corn syrup and other ‘natural flavors.’ Bah! Summer still comes when you eat healthy and not having popsicles is not fun. I thought about using fruit juice, but then I realized that is really just sugar as well, so that wasn’t going to work for me. I tried watered down juice and the kids said, “This tastes like watered down juice.” So much for that idea. Then I learned about water kefir and the probiotic benefits and my brain started spinning ideas for popsicles. If I could use water kefir to make popsicles we could skip the dyes, the high fructose corn syrup and natural flavors and replace it with small amounts of fruit sugar and probiotics. That seemed like a win/win and it was. Everyone in our family will eat a kefir popsicle (and they like them). In the summer months you can find us on the porch, popsicles in hand.
To make water kefir popsicles:
First I do a traditional first ferment of water kefir. After it is finished I strain it and then add the fruit for flavor. You can blend in whole fruit like strawberries, blueberries, watermelon, or mangos. You can also make the popsicles with equal amount kefir and 100% fruit juice. I also like to add a splash of lemon or lime juice. Our favorite by far is grape juice and kefir. but there are loads of combinations that you can try.
I use molds like these because they use popsicle sticks instead of plastic pieces that need to be returned to the kitchen. Because let’s face it, those plastic pieces don’t always make it back to the kitchen and when they do they are often chewed into extra long, twisted towers, at least at our house. So I love sending out wooden sticks that will someday return to the earth even if they don’t return to the kitchen.
Our children have happily shared popsicles with their friends with no apology (which in our house is saying something because they usually hand over my food with a disclaimer) and the only problem we have is keeping the freezer stocked.
Enjoy!
Mellonee
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