Summertime is here, and with it comes fun outdoor activities and playdates.

Many parents reach for the easy frozen snacks – the standard popsicles, Otter pops, and ice cream treats.

Unfortunately, they are full of things parents don’t want their children eating.  Not only do they contain ingredients like high fructose corn syrup, artificial colors, and artificial sweeteners, they have no nutritional value whatsoever, and are what I like to call “fake foods.”  I’ve found, however, that many parents are busy and don’t know what to serve instead, so they just give these things by “default.”

Now I have nothing against treats once in a while.

But instead of giving a fake food, why not pick a treat, that will actually be good for them, too?

What parent wouldn’t want that?

More than just serving healthier food, you will also be teaching your child better life skills, too

Rather than just give my child a healthy snack, I always like to use that as an opportunity to teach her healthy habits, and show how easy and fun it is to make wonderful, healthy snacks for yourself.  One aspect of conscious parenting is to realize that there are opportunities lurking in every corner to actually empower your child, with everyday things like what you feed yourself.

Making your own healthy and refreshing summer treats is a great opportunity to do something with your children, get them involved, teach them how easy and fun these are to make.

(You can even start doing this with toddlers.)

What are some fun refreshing summer snacks?

Each of the following treats is tasty, kid approved, and fun to make.  They contain real whole fruit (which contains the natural fiber), antioxidants, probiotics, nourishing healthy fats.

I like to call them vitamins on a stick.

This is especially important for children when they are outdoors, and more active…. they get wonderful nutrients and the high antioxidant content can even help with preventing skin damage from the sun!

Snack #1: Banana pops

This is one of the most simple snacks to make, and it’s amazing how tasty these are!  They are super creamy and taste like banana ice cream.

Peel a banana, and put a popsicle stick in the bottom.  Wrap in tin foil and freeze.  One option is to also dip in peanut butter and then add some raw chopped nuts on the outside.  I prefer them plain, but that is one way to spice them up for some variety.

Snack #2: Frozen grapes

OK, so this one is probably even easier.  Wash some organic grapes (grapes are one of the highest pesticide foods if not organic, so please be sure to use organic grapes) and put into ziploc bags for individual servings.  They can get a little sticky when they thaw so best to divide them up into individual servings before freezing.

Snack #3: Coconut kefir popsicles

This is one of my favorites, not only for the flavor, but because  the wonderful ingredients are SO healthy.  This one takes an extra day to make, because of the kefir, but it’s worth it.

What you’ll need:

• Coconut water
• Coconut milk
• Kefir starter

Take equal parts of coconut water, and coconut milk.  I usually do 1-2 cans of organic coconut milk (the full fat version, but it does come in a lower fat version but it’s not as creamy of course) and then 1-2 containers of coconut water.  I mix the two into a plastic or glass jug.  I then add one packet of kefir starter (available at health food stores in the baking aisle).  I mix it together and then leave it on the counter (with the top off) for 24 hours to begin it’s magic.  After 24 hours, I put it in the fridge.  It is a wonderful drink option as well.

Pour the coconut kefir into popsicle molds.  For variety, you can add some other ingredients as well.  Cut up fruits like strawberry, cherries, bananas, peaches, blueberries.  They come out creamy, and tangy like frozen yogurt used to taste long ago….  🙂

Super healthy because of the coconut milk, which contains …..The kefir is a wonderful probiotic, which helps with immunity, digestion, and keeping a great balance of intestinal flora.

Snack #4: Fruit medley popsicles

I posted about these wonderful popsicles a little while back, as an example of the idea that how we prepare our food, and spend time with loved ones in preparation, actually makes the food even healthier.

The recipe we used is at the bottom of this post ( click on the link at the bottom of the post).

One great alternative to the recipe is to use the coconut kefir, instead of diluted juice.

 

What are your favorite healthy summertime snacks?