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.
Last week I let you in on a fun and simple recipe for a high calorie snack for toddlers and young children who really still need to be getting good healthy high calorie foods. My children did not like protein at all and although avocado is great for children neither of mine have ever liked it. One thing both of them have always loved though is a good smoothie and berries.
Smoothies in general are a great snack or even a meal. They can be made to order so easily at home using almost whatever fruits and vegetables juice and milk you can find around the house.When you make them at home you get total control to limit the sugar by using 100% juice and if you need a little added sweetening using honey or agave in small amounts to get the right taste. In our house we need a particularly high calorie count which is what most toddlers need as long as they are nutritious as well.
I figured out that a wonderful way to boost the calorie content of a smoothie is with avocado, the taste blends right in and makes the smoothie very creamy. For added protein I can not adore Greek yogurt enough. In particular the brand Fage has an amazingly high protein content with 7 ounces containing 18 grams! There are a few other things I add to get more protein and calories packed into these smoothies so check out the recipe. I would also like to note that smoothies in general are very forgiving and can be added to or have ingredients changed according to your likes.
You can involve your little ones by allowing them to measure, add ingredients, and if you use a normal blender pressing the buttons on the machine. We use an immersion blender which I love for making smoothies it works so much better than any blender I have ever had but my kids do not get to help so much with the mixing process.
Here is the recipe:
1 1/2 cups frozen mixed berries
1/2 an avacado
7 oz whole milk plain yogurt (I use Greek)
1/4 cup whole milk (or if you really want to add calories 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream)
1 tablespoon ground Flax seed
1 tablespoon wheat germ
2/3 cup 100% juice (we use cran/rasp)
1 tablespoon honey (optonal)
Makes 2 12oz cups
Check back soon for a hint on what to do with left over smoothie.
