All Things Frozen Day 3: Frozen Snacks on a Stick

Want to hear my secret weapon for dealing with summer heat? Add ICE!

Today's Activity: Frozen Snacks on a Stick, or in other words--Popsicles

My girls really like to eat frozen things. The Sweet Bee is really hit and miss when it comes to eating (or even trying) most foods, but if it's frozen I can almost guarantee that she will eat it. So we've been experimenting with a few different snacks on a stick.

Our standard favorite is Orange Yogurt Creamsicles.

Here is what you'll need:
Plain vanilla yogurt
Orange juice
Popsicle mold

That's it. I don't use exact measurements. I just start mixing yogurt and juice (I use a glass Pyrex 1 cup measuring cup) until I get the flavor I like. Use a whisk to mix it up. Pour into molds, freeze and enjoy.
We regularly eat this for a bedtime snack (hence the wet hair and lack of clothes--the Sweet Bee just had a bath).
I wrote about last year's Popsicle concoctions here.

Make and Takes recently had this great post: Treats to Keep the Kids Cool for Summer. We made our own watermelon popsicles and they were a winner at our house!

As you can tell, we had fun with a few different shapes.

Next we loaded grapes on a skewer. Amazing! My kids have been picky about grapes lately, but they'll eat them frozen! I think the skewer adds to the excitement.
All this talk of popsicles makes me want to start singing that Popsicle song from the 60's (no, I'm not that old--my parents just made sure I was thoroughly exposed to the music of that decade).

Popsicle ba-ma-ma-ma-ma ba-ma-ma-ma-ma
Popsicle ba-ma-ma-ma-ma
If you want to keep cool it does the trick
And it comes on a stick
Uh-huh-huh uh-huh-huh
Jan and Dean, Popsicle, 1966

Yummy Popsicles

The hot days of summer are at their peak, and we're staying cool with tasty homemade popsicles.

The first recipe we tried came from here. It was super easy, super yummy, and I felt healthier just eating one.

We then modified the recipe and tried mixing straight grape juice with plain yogurt and had a good result.

Our third trial used a recipe from here. We went with the Rocky Road Pops, with less than stellar results. I thought they were okay, but the Ant Bug had enough after two bites.


Today we hit the jackpot with the best concoction yet.

Here's what you'll need:
Raspberries, in small chunks
Plain yogurt
Berry flavored Juicy Juice

Mix the yogurt with a little juice (I don't have exact amounts, so just use your best judgment). Toss in the berries, and fill your molds half full. Let freeze for 30 minutes or so, then come back and fill your molds with juice and add the handle or sticks or whatever you use. Come back a few hours later and voila--a tasty healthy treat, perfect for the hot days of summer.


Really, the possibilities here are endless. Strawberries, blueberries, peaches, raspberries. Mix in some yogurt, add some juice, and there you go. The yogurt adds a creamy touch so it's more like a creamsicle, but it's all delicious.

So what summer treats are you eating?

FHE: A Foundation on Christ

Scripture of the Week:
"And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall."
Helaman 5:12

Lesson Plan
Read the following quote by President Monson from the February 2010 Ensign

“If we do not have a deep foundation of faith and a solid testimony of truth, we may have difficulty withstanding the harsh storms and icy winds of adversity which inevitably come to each of us.
“Mortality is a period of testing, a time to prove ourselves worthy to return to the presence of our Heavenly Father. In order for us to be tested, we must face challenges and difficulties. These can break us, and the surface of our souls may crack and crumble—that is, if our foundations of faith, our testimonies of truth are not deeply embedded within us.”
Thomas S. Monson, “On Being Spiritually Prepared,” Ensign, Feb 2010, 4–6

Sing "The Wise Man and the Foolish Man" (CS, 281)

Discuss what a foundation is, read Helaman 5:12, and discuss how we should build a foundation centered on Jesus Christ.

Look up the following verses and discuss what we can learn in that verse that helps our testimonies grow stronger.

Mormon 7:5

Moroni 10:5

D&C 11:12

Articles of Faith 1:10

Ephesians 6:11

Moroni 7:41

D&C 1:37

I taped each scripture reference on a different block and had the girls pick which verse to read. Then we added the block to our foundation and built a tower.
Reality check: My children were getting pretty restless as we were looking up scriptures, so we opted to start eating our treat (popsicles) while we finished reading. Admittedly, that happens quite often during our lessons. So when all else fails, get their mouths and stomachs busy and hopefully they'll still absorb a little of the lesson!