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Green Ice Pops, Yes Green

June 28, 2012

A complaint I frequently hear from moms is that they can't get their kids to eat their greens -- especially leafy greens. I totally get it. I've got one kid who will happily eat steamed beet greens or sautéed spinach and another one who has recently begun saying "BLECH!" right to my face when I offer it to her (I wonder who that little three year-old could be?!). And while Chloe can occasionally act persnickety about certain foods, I've discovered ways to encourage her to eat her greens without resorting to trickery.

Cooked greens can be a challenging sell, but maybe it's a texture thing -- not a color thing -- because I have surprisingly found raw to be much less of an issue with both of my kids. Whether tossed in a kale salad, blended into a green smoothie, green juice or frozen in these green ice pops, my kids love raw greens. And I let Kenya and Chloe make these pops with me so they know exactly what's going in them. I want them to know that green food can be scrumptious and getting them involved in the preparation is one of the best ways to do that.

On warm summer afternoons when my kids need a pick me up, these ice pops are the way to go. Made with coconut water which has dehydration-fighting electrolytes, pineapple with all it's digestive enzymes, and of course tons of nutrient-rich kale, you know your little whippersnapper is going to get their greens and then some. There's no better way to "lick" a greens aversion than through these pops!

Green Ice Pops  (makes 8 ice pops, depending on the size of your mold)

  • Prep Time:5 minutes,
  • Total Time: 6 hours, 5 minutes,

Ingredients

  • 1 cup packed kale leaves*
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped pineapple
  • 1 small banana
  • 1 cup coconut water

Preparation

  1. 1. Combine all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and puree. The kale will remain in tiny pieces -- that is okay.
  2. 2. Pour the mixture into ice pop molds and freeze for at least 6 hours and up to 4 months.
  3. 3. Unmold and serve.
  4. Note: This also makes a great smoothie if you have any puree leftover. Just pour in a glass and drink up!
  5. * Collard green, spinach or other leafy greens work as well

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Comments






  1. aida mollenkamp

    June 28, 2012 at 7:28 pm

    Awesome to hear that Chloe is into these — we have some adults in our house who aren’t into greens that I may try these on!

  2. Jennifer

    June 28, 2012 at 6:24 pm

    These are so yummy (and healthy)! After making the green ice pops for my son I drank the rest!

  3. Veronica Dudine

    June 28, 2012 at 2:31 pm

    Just made these with the kids (2 and 5) and they loved them. We add greens to our smoothies all the time – I never thought of putting them in pops. Thanks for the great idea!

  4. Melanie

    June 28, 2012 at 11:49 am

    I am in love with this new site!!

    I can’t wait to see if my son will eat these.

    What popsicle molds do you recommend?

  5. april

    June 28, 2012 at 10:39 am

    I am excited to try these. I , too, am curious about good molds to use. Thanks!

  6. Hillary

    June 28, 2012 at 10:25 am

    What type of molds do you use. I tried some once and didn’t turn out very well.

  7. Shannon

    June 28, 2012 at 9:48 am

    Wow the new website is fabulous! So easy on the eyes. I just had one of my daughters read the recipe with me.
    “What does it taste like?”
    “Pineapple and banana.”
    “But it’s GREEN!”
    The look on her face was priceless :-)

  8. Nicky

    June 28, 2012 at 9:29 am

    Thank you for all of the green ideas you provide. I have 2 anti-green monsters. I absolutely love the new look – all your hard work has paid off!!!

  9. Lorelei

    June 28, 2012 at 8:52 am

    I love your new logo-type, but I miss the illustration of you and your kids. ;-) I guess if they are all grown up now it would be out-dated. But I loved it anyway. What made you decide to use burnt orange instead of brown? I’m sure the design process was long and you are psyched to have your new site up. Congrats!

    Oh – and I’m looking forward to trying these green pops!

  10. Chris B

    June 28, 2012 at 8:36 am

    Would this work with spinach instead of kale?

    • catherine

      June 28, 2012 at 11:46 am

      Yes! Any leafy green, really.

  11. Sonia

    June 28, 2012 at 8:22 am

    My daughter is allergic to pineapple, what fruit do you recommend to substitute? Thank you!

  12. Debra

    June 28, 2012 at 7:56 am

    Can I replace coconut water with anything else my nephew is allergic