popsicles Archives • New Nostalgia

RECIPES/ Sweets

Kid Friendly Avocado Recipe Contest

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Avocados from Mexico for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Avocados are a pretty popular fruit (yes, they are a fruit!) here in our household, but most of the recipes I use them in, my kids don’t even know they are there!

I make my Avocado Green Smoothie Popsicles almost weekly, they have such a great, fruity, creamy lusciousness to them. Avocado’s are great for creating a smooth creaminess in many recipes, and are full of health benefits that are essential for child development and growth. Another recipe that my kids love is Chocolate-Avocado Mousse with Raspberries! This is a super rich, healthy and easy recipe to make.

Chocolate-Avocado Mousse with Raspberries

2 large ripe avocados
1/3 cup organic unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cupagave nectar, or honey
11/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoons almond extract
Raspberries, fresh or frozen, to top

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1. Halve and pit the avocados and scoop out the flesh. Transfer the avocado flesh to the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Using a spoon, break up the avocado a little in the food processor.
2. Add the cocoa powder, agave nectar (or honey), vanilla extract, and almost extract to the processor and process for 1-2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then process again until the mousse is very smooth, 1-2 minutes longer.
3. Taste the mousse and if not sweet enough, add more nectar, 1 teaspoon at a time. Pulse to mix.
4. Spoon the mousse into serving vessels (martini glasses are pretty!) and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 8 hours.
5. Serve the mousse chilled and garnished with raspberries.

**Drizzle in more or less agave or honey, depending on your tastes.
Avocados have potassium, folate, fiber, Vitamin C, E and B-complex vitamins that support memory and brain function, which make them a great choice for both kids and adults. You get all this in the above recipe, and your chocolate fix, too! You would never have guessed that avocados were used to thicken the mousse and that it would make it so creamy and delicious! This mouse is vegan, and is super healthful: no eggs, no dairy, and no refined sugars. Cocoa powder and raspberries both have antioxidants in them. Just one ounce of dark chocolate packs as many antioxidants as a glass of red wine. Buy natural cocoa powder with a minimum of 70% cocoa. Avoid anything that says “dutch processed” or “processed with alkali” in order to keep the good flavonoids found in chocolate.
This mousse takes just minutes to prepare. No cooking or baking!

I serve this to my kids smeared on graham crackers. They think it is frosting!:)

I recently heard of a fun way to help kids fall in love with avocados. It is a contest called “The Avocado’s From Mexico Mini Chef Video Contest!”

Mini Chef Video Contest

Starting November 14th, Avocados from Mexico is hosting a video contest for parents of children ages 5-15. Submit a 1-3 minute video of your child/children preparing an avocado dish and be sure to have them include why they love avocados and the catchy Avocados from Mexico jingle found on their website. Videos will be judged on the Mini Chef’s personality and the presence of avocado.

One grand prize winner gets $1,000 in cash plus an HD Camcorder (for future home videos!), a Nintendo 3D, 2 games and a personalized Mini Chef jacket. Nine runners up win big too with an HD Camcorder, a Nintendo 3D and a personalized Mini Chef jacket. Tons of great prizes and tons of chances to win – what’s not to love?

Get your video in by December 4th and check back on December 6th to see if your video is one of 10 finalists. Public voting will take place on YouTube December 6-11. The video with the most Likes wins and will be posted on the website December 12th.

Let me know in the comments if you are planning on entering! Would love to see what your little munchkins come up with!

RECIPES/ Sweets

Green Smoothie Popsicles

We have been making all kinds of real fruit popsicles around here. The price for real fruit popsicles at the store is sky high, so we save money and make our own.

I throw in whatever frozen fruit we happen to have hanging out in the freezer. I try to get some type of green vegetable in there, so they usually end up in some shade of green.

My frozen fruit bin. I usually have mango, pineapple, wild blueberries, mixed berries & cherries in it.

This is considered the “snack/dessert” bin in our home.

These particular Green Smoothie popsicles have mango, pineapple, avocado, kale, and banana.

The avocado gives them wonderful creaminess, and the fruit gives them a tropical sweetness. The kale just disappears, my kids don’t even notice it.

I start by throwing in about 1/2 cup of frozen pineapple chunks, 1/2 cup frozen mango chunks, and a peeled, frozen banana. To easily peel the frozen banana, soak in some water for a couple minutes, pop the top of the peel off and slide it right out into the blender. Add the avocado and kale, and 1/2 cup of water. Then blend.

You may have to stop the blender and stir, adding more water as you go.

Your goal is to add just enough water to make a vortex in the middle of the blender, as the picture above shows. Blend a couple of minutes, until kale is chopped into tiny bits. Taste. If needs more sweetness, add your choice of sweetener-agave nectar, stevia, honey or sugar.

Pour into popsicle molds and freeze until set.

My girls get so excited when they hear the blender. They know they either get a smoothie or that I am making popsicles.

Sometimes I add a scoop of Plant Fusion Vanilla Protein Powder.

When I do this, I will often give into their request to have popsicles for breakfast. After all, they contain protein, fiber, vegetables and fruits! Add some toast and it is a very filling breakfast!

I enjoy the leftovers in smoothie form. If the girls are too impatient to wait for the popsicles to freeze, then they join in with me.:)

Green Smoothie Popsicles

1/2 cup frozen pineapple

1/2 cup frozen mango

1 frozen banana, peeled

1 avocado, pitted and flesh scooped out (optional, adds creaminess)

a large handful of kale (or spinach, or romaine)

water added for consistency

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Add all ingredients into the blender. Continue to blend while adding water, until “vortex” forms in the middle. You may have to stop the blender and use a spoon to stir occasionally.

Blend for a minute or 2, until kale is chopped into very small pieces.

Pour into popsicle molds or enjoy as a smoothie.

Frugal/ HOME/ RECIPES/ Sweets

Homemade Popsicles

This morning, there was no fresh fruit in the house. My girls are used to having some type of fruit with their breakfast, so I decided to make them fruit smoothies with some frozen fruit I had hanging out in the freezer.
My method of making fruit smoothies is pretty much dump and blend. I fill my blender 2/3 full with frozen fruit, then add enough liquid (start with a cup and add as needed) so that it will blend easily and smoothly. I like mine thin enough so I can see a vortex when looking down into the blender, then I know it won’t get stuck in our straws! I usually use water and a splash of orange juice. I will add honey or sugar if the fruit is not very sweet, you won’t know until you taste a bit of the smoothie. I like having frozen peach or frozen banana in our smoothies, they both add a nice texture/thickness, and are both less expensive then frozen berries. If you were to use all berries, it would take a lot and would be costly.
This morning, I used a frozen fruit mix that had peaches, pineapple, grapes, and melon. I also added frozen strawberries and blueberries. We were running a bit behind, and I did not leave my girls enough time to slurp much of their smoothies down. Because of this, I had a bunch leftover.

What to do with it??

Make homemade popsicles!! The kids love these, they are so easy to make and MUCH less expensive then the whole fruit popsicles you can buy. These little plastic molds are great, but if you don’t have any, you can use a paper cup with a wooden craft stick. We made these all summer long, their favorite is when I add yogurt to the smoothie, which makes a creamy popsicle.

I will do a series on smoothies coming up. There are so many ways to make them: green smoothies, fruit smoothes, yogurt smoothies, protein smoothies, we even make healthy chocolate peanut butter smoothies and chocolate covered cherry smoothies. MMM-MM! They are a staple in our home, a great way to have a healthy snack and to get those fruits and veggies in!!