What to do With Left Over Smoothie: Zoku Pops Maker Reviewed

After making the smoothie recipe in my last blog you may have been left wondering what you could do with left over smoothie. Well the answer that we have come up with in our household is to make popsicles. We started using the Zoku Pop maker about a year ago when my son got it for his birthday.
                                                              

Here is what you do. Make  sure you keep the Zoku in your freeze all the time that way it is completely ready to use when you want to make a popsicle.  Once the Zoku has been frozen you take it out and add the popsicle sticks. Then you pour any juice or mix to create your very own version of a popsicle. They even have extra tools so that you can make fun designs or do things like make vanilla cream filled orange pops. So to make a smoothie pop just add in enough smoothie to fill to the stop line and allow to sit for about 7 minutes.


At this point you will want to check to see if it is done by looking at it.

If it is solid at the center towards the white stick you can take it out.

Now you get to enjoy it! It is that quick and easy.

Assuming you make three pops in a batch you can start right over and make another batch and then store them in a Zoku pop container.
                                                     




When you are done you can pop the maker back into the freezer again or let it thaw out completely before washing with warm soapy water.


What my kids love about the Zoku maker: it is fast and easy to use so they can easily help and have very quick pops to eat without having to wait over night or all day. They can use their imagination to create designs using different color juice and experiment with what it might look like if they change how they are positioning the pop maker.


What I love about the Zoku maker: it is fast and easy. My kids get to be independent and make decisions about how they each want their pops to look and taste. They get to measure learning math and science. They develop independence and motor skills. When designing their pops they have to use planning and experimentation, we can discuss how an action will cause a reaction and make hypothesis about what those will be. This is a perfect time to talk about liquids and solids and how when something gets really cold it turns from a liquid into a solid. They get to see it happen right before their eyes! It allows for vocabulary building when discussing what they want to put in the pop, how they want it to look, and how they will achieve that. All while making a popsicle. Although this thing is a bit pricy for a pop maker it has been put to good use in our house and I recommend it.