Watermelon Frozen Yogurt Popsicles

This pregnancy has made me crave two things I don't normally care for: chips and water ice. We go to Ralph's, a local Italian ice chain, quite often. We even had them come to our wedding to give out Italian ice when our guests left... we take our ices quite seriously ::wink wink::. However I always get the heavy cream ice which is like a slushier ice cream... yet since being pregnant nothing is more appealing than water ice- lemon in particular. When this ice pop recipe popped up on Cassie's blog I knew I had to make them. It was a healthier way to cure my constant need for fruity water ice. The best thing about this recipe is the possibilities. I'm already imagining a pineapple version- yum. Just change the fruit and even the yogurt and you have a new flavor. These are creamy and taste exactly like the fruit you use because... well... they're made from fruit! Yes, I am clearly Captain Obvious today, I apologize. Even my dad who was skeptical really liked them. Before the summer ends and all of the great fruit disappears give these a shot!

Source: Cassie Craves

Ingredients:
2 cups seedless watermelon, diced
1 6-8 oz carton vanilla yogurt
1 tbsp sugar

Directions:
1- In a food processor combine all of the ingredients and blend until smooth. Pour into ice pop molds and freeze according to the directions for the molds (mine required 4-6 hours but I let them go overnight to be sure).

Fruity Italian Ice

This post is life changing. I kid you not. Don't let the plastic bowl or the slightly blurry picture distract you.

If you are anything like me the summer means long hot days, going to the beach, BBQs, and lots and lots of ice cream. Ice cream and Italian ice are two of my favorite parts of summer but too much of a good thing can add a few extra pounds around the middle. Enter fruity Italian ice.

I am on the nutrition committee at school and basically our goal is to remove all of the fun from childhood. I kid, I kid. However, if you ask many of our skeptics, they'd say that really is our mission. Our main goal is to limit the sugar intake of these kids during school hours. I promised my kids an ice cream party but I instantly felt guilty. Here I am on this committee and yet I'm not practicing what I preach. So instead I convinced my kids that this homemade Italian ice was MUCH cooler. I must say- it was! Not only was it delicious but it was so healthy. And the kids got to see it being made in the class. A learning experience if I do say so myself.

All you need for this is a food processor and some frozen fruit. The trick is to let it process until it's smooth. My first few batches were much more like chipped ice but the last batch I let run longer and it came out like soft serve ice cream. I can't wait to try this again using other fruits! Delicious, easy, nutritious, and a great way to sneak in some extra fruit servings.

Source: Loser for Life

Ingredient:

Fresh, chopped, frozen fruit (I used watermelon, I'd assume pineapple would do nicely as well)

Directions:

1- Place the frozen fruit pieces in a food processor.
2- If you want it to be choppy, like slushy ice, hit pulse a few times until the fruit it chopped up and resembles Italian ice.
3- If you prefer it more smooth, let the food processor run for about 2-3 minutes or until smooth like soft ice cream.