Not long ago, my son Mathias got into the habit of eating popsicles for breakfast. I know, my boyfriend already gave me an earful of how it is THE parenting fail. What happened was that it was one sunny weekend morning, and I had bought a box of “healthier” fruit popsicles (it was Outshine brand, and they are delicious!). I wanted one, so soon Mathias and I were having popsicles for breakfast. (And of course, we had more of other “normal breakfast food” afterward…) But the problem was, Mathias kept wanting popsicles in the mornings afterward.

It was refreshing, having fruity, juicy ice bars first thing in the morning. #1, it does wake you up and feels more refreshing than having other heavier staple breakfast food. #2, my main defense was “It’s made from fruit! How much different is it from having fruit smoothie or juice as breakfast?” When I reasoned with above, my boyfriend pointed out that “There are tons of extra sugar added in.”

It’s true, so I had to say yes, it is different from actual fruit juice or smoothie. But then I thought, why not make natural popsicles, with less sugar?

I tried several methods. At first try, I blended frozen strawberries with some milk, honey, and bananas – although delicious right out of blender (like a smoothie), when it was frozen, the texture was too icy. The second try, I blended the fruits with whole milk yogurt – the texture was alright, but the taste of the yogurt was quite overwhelming.

The third try was when it worked out – I boiled the berries with little water and some agave syrup, and simmered the compote for a few minutes, and froze them into popsicles. Resulting popsicles were the right amount sweet and tart, and the texture was soft but still crisp.

You can make these easy popsicles with either fresh or frozen berries. I hope you enjoy these refreshing treats!

Ingredients
  • 6 cup strawberries fresh or frozen
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 5 TBSP agave syrup
Equipment
  • popsicle mold
Instructions
  1. Hull the strawberries if they are fresh.
I used the ones I froze before… and the lesson learned: hull them before you freeze them. I had to wait until they thawed to hull them.

2. Combine the berries, water and agave syrup in a cooking pot. Cook over low heat, while mashing the fruits with a spoon. When it comes to boil, lower the heat to simmer and keep stirring for 4~5 more minutes.

Let the mixture cool, and pour into the mold. Insert the popsicle sticks in (not too deep! Otherwise, you’ll see the tip of the stick in the popsicles.) Freeze.