There’s no feeling like the reprieve you feel from a hot, burning hot day when you finally have a glass of cold water or a spoonful of ice cream. Instantly, you feel refreshed, like you’ve transported from the hot dessert to a poolside oasis.

Usually, I’m the kind of girl who reaches for the pint of ice cream in the fridge to beat the heat, but I often get in the mood to eat something healthy for a change. (Yes, somehow my sweet tooth does reach its limit.) These Striped Smoothie Popsicles use fresh fruit and plain organic yogurt as a healthy (and tart!) alternative to stay cool.

Instead of buying these popsicles from the store where I’m never 100% assured of what all the ingredients are in most packaged foods, I at least have the knowledge and satisfaction of knowing these popsicles only contain fruit and yogurt. There are no added sugars or sweeteners here!

These popsicles incorporate tart blueberries, juicy mangoes, ripe strawberries, and sweet peaches!

Striped Smoothie Popsicles

Makes 6 popsicles

Ingredients:

•  2 cups plain yogurt (3 2/3 cups of yogurt). Nonfat or greek yogurt work well for this.
• 1/3 cup blueberries
• 1/3 cup diced mango
• 1/3 cup chopped strawberries

Directions:

In three small mixing bowls, add 2/3 cup of chilled, plain yogurt to 1/3 cup of each fruit. This means you’ll have yogurt and blueberries in one bowl, yogurt and mango in another, and yogurt and strawberries in the last.

One by one, run the ingredients in each bowl through a blender. Try to make sure the consistency is as smooth as possible. Think of a fresh, rich, creamy smoothie…or of a well-blended fruit yogurt.

In your popsicle mold, slowly spoon in a little bit of one yogurt/smoothie (the one you want at the top of the popsicle) without hitting the sides of the mold. Then, add in your popsicle sticks and freeze.

Wait until the first layer is fully frozen before proceeding to the next step! Also, keep the smoothies in the fridge to make sure they are chilled and not runny when you are layering the smoothies.

Now here is where I’m going to show you two options. One is great for if you are low on time, and the other is great for if you want the most perfect stripes possible.

OPTION 1: After freezing the base layer of the popsicles, carefully pour the next layer of yogurt on top. Make sure the yogurt is cold and not runny at all! Once that level has evened out and set, carefully pour another layer of a different yogurt on top. Continue until you reach the top of the mold and then freeze overnight.

OPTION 2: Freeze each layer of yogurt before pouring another layer on. This can take a long time to do, but it results in the cleanest lines between yogurts.

No matter which option you pick, the taste of the popsicles stays the same, which is what matters!

Hope you enjoy these healthy tart treats!

Yum