When I told Chantal I was going to do a blog post on green popsicles and how I would make them with a green smoothie, she hesitated and said, “Green smoothie?”
Yup.
“You mean those green smoothies you make in the morning that make me want to throw up?” she queried.
Uh, yeah, I guess. But let me explain before you stop reading, dear cherished blogpost reader.
I do make green smoothies in the morning, but the only reason they make Chantal want to throw up is because she has a thing with raw kale and swiss chard – let’s just say raw ground up greens in general – not agreeing that well with her stomach. She finds them bitter – even when surrounded by lots of ground up fruit. Go figure. Ok, and our son is not a huge fan of my green smoothies either.
But I love them.
I’ll get to how I make them shortly, and you can be the judge – I guarantee you they are stupendous for your health.
But first, one of the reasons for this post is to use my green smoothies to showcase our newly designed plastic-free, stainless steel Freezycup ice pop molds.
They are made in India by a lovely, family-run manufacturer we know and trust for their ethical practices and commitment to crafting quality products. Each Freezycup is sold individually and comes with four reusable bamboo popsicle sticks and four food grade silicone gaskets – orange, red, green and blue.
Made of high quality food grade stainless steel 18-8 (304). They are free of bisphenol A, lead, and phthalates. We have tested them in a third party accredited laboratory to ensure compliance with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (2008) (CPSIA) and the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA).
The bamboo sticks are a definite step up from traditional non-forest friendly wooden popsicle sticks. Bamboo is a grass. It is also one of the fastest growing plants in the world, without the need for fertilizers, pesticides or much water, making it an eco-friendly choice.
Our bamboo sticks are certified compliant with U.S. Food and Drug Administration standards. You receive four of these hardy reusable sticks for free with each Freezycup you purchase, but we also offer the ice pop sticks separately in boxes of 50, so you can have lots of back-ups around when little ones “misplace” their popsicle sticks. And if they are misplaced in the natural environment, at least you will know they are biodegradable and will break down on their own quite quickly.
We’re currently offering the box of sticks at 50% off for the next couple of weeks when you order online.
We also have stands for the ice pop molds – a stainless steel holder, and a funky wooden holder made locally by our talented woodworking buddy Brant.
Now back to my green smoothie popsicles.
When I make a green smoothie, there are few staples I usually include – such as greens from some of our local farmers – but beyond those basics I just throw in whatever we happen to have around; as much raw and organic as possible.
For those who read my post on making Indian dal, you’ll know that is a common cooking technique of mine:
Use whatever is on hand and hope for the best!
The photo on the right gives you an idea of what went into this one…
– Spinach from Neil at Woods Farm (a local farm)
– Kale from Charlotte and Richard at Ferme Lève-tôt (another local farm)
– Pea greens from Jan at 100 Mile Farm (another local farm)
– Sauerkraut from Juniper Farm – just kidding! I’ve never put sauerkraut in my green smoothie (at least not yet), but I wanted to mention Juniper Farm too (yet another local farm)
– And hey, while I’m mentioning local farms, I could have added in some maple syrup from Älska Farm or Ferme et Forêt
– raw hulled hemp seed
– raw ground brown flax seed
– an apple
– an orange
– an avocado
– some strawberries
– a banana
– pure well water
It all goes into our trusty vintage Vitamix blender with a stainless steel pitcher, which we found on eBay a few years ago.
As you may know, Vitamix no longer offers the stainless steel pitchers for retail sale, but our friend and plastic-free activist colleague, Beth Terry of the My Plastic-Free Life blog has begun a petition to encourage Vitamix to bring back the stainless steel pitcher.
You can read her post about the issue here, and a recent update to that post here. And the petition is here, so please consider signing it.
I then add enough water to just start to cover the ingredients, and this is totally variable depending on how thick or thin you like your smoothie. As you can see in the photo on the left, all those ingredients actually will fit in the Vitamix, even with room to spare.
I like a medium thickness – still very pourable, but good and hearty. And with the hemp seed, ground flax seed, and avocado, it will thicken a bit more as it sits and settles if you’re not drinking it all at once. I generally make a big batch like this, which lasts several days, so it tends to get a bit thicker when stored in the fridge.
Once nicely blended, into the popsicle mold it pours.
A few solid hours of freezing time, and voilà, you have a green smoothie popsicle!
So how does it taste? You know what – I’m not even going to get into that. I love the taste, and frankly, that’s all that matters for my purposes, which are focused on crafting an uber-healthy morning nectar. I’ll admit that when I use less fruit – sometimes I just use a banana and the greens – it can be a bit bland, but I do still love it. So it’s a subjective thing. If it makes you want to vomit, maybe switch things up a bit.
Try it out, and make it your own. And if you want a green smoothie without the greens – like some folks I know – well, use lots of kiwi, or find a healthy greens protein powder that tickles your taste buds and fills you with green.
*** Enter our Freezycup Ice Pop Recipe Contest! ***
