Red, White, and Blue Popsicles

The 4th of July is almost here! There are lots of festive treats making their way around the internet, but most them rely on highly processed ingredients and chemical nasties. Yuck!  Instead, why not try these layered pops? They're the perfect way to cool down on the 4th, and aren't full of junk. All you need  is some fruit, plain yogurt, and a little honey. Red White Blue Popsicles

The measurements below are specific to my popsicle molds. If you have different molds, you can figure out how much you'll of each layer by using the following method.

Determine how many ounces each of your popsicle molds hold. Divide this number by three and then multiply by the total number of popsicles. This is how many ounces you will need of each layer. My popsicle molds hold 3 ounces each and there are 10 molds total, so I need 10 ounces of each layer.

Knowing how much whole fruit you'll need to get the correct amount of blended fruit is a little bit of a guessing game. My best tip is to start small and keep adding more until you get the correct amount.

Note: Even with all the measuring, your eyes will be your best guide. Things expand when they freeze and fruit can vary in size and water content. When you fill your molds, you want each layer to take up about a third of the mold, so keep that in mind. If you have left over yogurt or fruit puree, you can always use it for something else!

[x_video type="16:9, 5:3, 5:4, 4:3, 3:2" m4v="" ogv="" poster="" hide_controls="" autoplay="" embed='' no_container="true"]

Ingredients

1 heaping cup fresh or thawed frozen strawberries (raspberries or cherries would work too)

1 cup plain yogurt (learn how to make yogurt)

Juice of 1 lemon

3 tablespoons honey

1 heaping cup thawed frozen blueberries

Directions
  1. Puree the strawberries (or other red fruit) in a blender.
  2. Pour the strawberry puree into the first third of each mold being careful not to get the puree on the walls of the mold.
  3. Add your popsicle sicks and freeze until solid, about 6 hours.
  4. Combine the yogurt, lemon juice, and honey and whisk until combined.
  5. Pour the yogurt mixture into the molds on top of the frozen strawberry puree, filling up the second third of each mold.
  6. Freeze until solid, about 6 hours.
  7. Puree the blueberries in blender.
  8. Pour the blueberry puree into the molds on top of the frozen yogurt mixture, filling up the last third of each mold.
  9. Freeze until solid, about 6 hours.
  10. For serving, you have two options. You can remove the popsicles from the molds at the time of serving or you remove them ahead of time and wrap them individually in parchment or wax paper. The first is less work over all, while the second allows for effortless distribution at serving time.

Note: Alternatively, you can add all of the layers at once, as shown in the video above. This gives you some mixing between the layers and takes less time because you only need to wait for things to freeze one time.

What's you go-to dish for a summer party? Share in the comments below!