Orange creamsicle or minty watermelon?

Jessica Gavin's popsicle flavours sound as if they could have come out of a gourmet grocery store: minty watermelon, peach-strawberry yoghurt, blackberry lemon and orange-mango coconut. The difference is that each has five or fewer ingredients — and no high-fructose corn syrup.

Most of Gavin's recipes mix puréed fruit with either Greek yoghurt or coconut milk, plus a little honey, depending on the sweetness of the fruit. The food science expert, who wrote Easy Culinary Science for Better Cooking, suggested tasting the mixture for sweetness before adding honey.

For her home-made popsicles, Kacie Barnes, a dietitian nutritionist in Dallas in the United States, rarely adds sweetener. That’s in part because most fruit is already sweet, but also because kids rarely eat only one, she said.

Her simplest pops combine 100 per cent juice with a little unflavoured collagen protein powder for a nutritional boost. Some juice blends that include vegetables — look at the label to make sure there is no added sugar— also help expose kids to flavours they might not eat otherwise, she said.

“It’s a great way to add another ingredient that they might not be eating a ton of,” said Barnes, whose website is Mama Knows Nutrition.

As for popsicle moulds, several types are available online, but Barnes and Gavin both said you can get away without buying anything. Small paper cups or even ice cube trays work, and instead of traditional sticks, you could use small spoons.

Gavin, however, cautioned not to expect the exact texture and flavour of supermarket pops. Home-made ones tend to be icier because they freeze more slowly than in industrial flash freezers and lack ingredients that make the texture smoother.

But she said your kids won’t care.

Jessica Gavin’s Minty Watermelon Popsicles

INGREDIENTS

3 cups watermelon slices, divided

1 tablespoon fresh mint leaves

1 1/2 cups coconut water

2 tablespoons lime juice

1 tablespoon honey

DIRECTIONS

In a blender, purée 2 1/2 cups diced watermelon pieces, mint leaves, coconut water, lime juice and honey. Cut the remaining 1/2 cup watermelon slices into ¼-inch cubes.

Evenly divide the diced watermelon into the moulds, tapping them down to the bottom.

Stir the popsicle mixture, then evenly divide it among the moulds. Insert the popsicle sticks. If they do not stay in place, use a piece of tape to hold them upright.

Freeze for at least six hours.

Kacie Barnes’ Orange Creamsicles

INGREDIENTS

1 banana

1 cup plain whole milk Greek yoghurt or full-fat coconut milk

1/2 cup orange juice

1 teaspoon orange zest

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Divide into popsicle moulds and insert sticks. Freeze for at least six hours.