YOUR AD HERE »

You Heart What You Eat: Popsicle Parade Part 2

Tera Johnson-Swartz/For Steamboat Today







I’m just going to confess right now, while peaches are clearly not green in color, these pops are as green as green can get; however, the flavor of these pops will take you away to a place where you care less as to the color and/or picturesque quality and more about how much they remind you of a peaches and cream ice cream flavor.

I grew up loving peaches and all the sticky juice dribbling down my face and arm that came with it. They were the very definition of summer — beautiful, sweet and oh-so-delicious.

Today, peaches served in the form of a peaches and fresh cream dessert remind me of what my grandmother must have eaten after a long day working on the farm where she grew up. It’s nostalgic I suppose, but nothing makes me happier than finding ways to recreate a slightly different yet equally effective flavor for my children’s memory banks.



This particular popsicle combines veggies and fruit in such a way that only the color reminds you that vegetables are even there at all. Along with the secret ingredient (date paste), this pop contains a whopping 1 cup of raw spinach and is under 100 calories (70 for each pop to be exact).

Low in cholesterol and sodium and high in dietary fiber (2 grams), vitamin A (12 percent) and vitamin C (9 percent), these tasty treats are the perfect cool snack for just about any time of day with little to no guilt in sharing with your kiddos or indulging for yourself.



Peaches and Dreams

Ingredients:

1 avocado

1-1 ½ cup raw spinach

2 ripe peaches

1 tablespoon date paste

4 teaspoons plain Greek-style yogurt

1/8 to ¼ cup almond milk

Date paste: In a medium- to large-sized bowl place 1 to 2 cups of dates. Pour enough scalding hot water to just cover them, cover with plastic wrap or pyrex container lid and set aside 3-plus hours (overnight is even better). In the morning pour the rehydrated dates and about ¼ to ½ the date-water in a blender or food processor and blend until an applesauce-consistency paste is formed. Put into a tightly sealed container and in between uses keep in the refrigerator (lasting one to two weeks).

Peaches and Dreams: In a blender, combine all ingredients listed above until a creamy “smoothie” or “pudding” texture is formed. Taste and decide if there’s something you’d like more flavor of — peaches or yogurt — if it’s too sweet a bit more plain yogurt makes all the difference. Next, spoon your mixture into popsicle molds and freeze (3 to 4 hours) until ready to serve. Enjoy.

You Heart What You Eat is a weekly blog offering a twist of healthy alternative tips and recipes for some of our most coveted comfort foods. From decadent desserts to main dish favorites, you’ll surely look forward to our next edition. Questions or suggestions you’d like included in one of our future blogs should be directed to Tera Johnson-Swartz via email at terajohnsonswartz@gmail.com.

Tera Johnson-Swartz is a mommy first but also enjoys working one of her many, many side gigs whether it be freelance writing, music, massage therapy, independent childbirth, lactation or health educating. She is eternally grateful she is able to follow her passion each and every day and loves her supporting husband and their two young children and couldn’t imagine living a better life outside the city limits of Steamboat Springs.


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

Readers around Steamboat and Routt County make the Steamboat Pilot & Today’s work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.