A Sweet Treat

Zoku Quick Pop Maker


Last Christmas Heath's grandmother asked what present she could get for the girls.  Considering they have way too many toys as it is I asked Eva if she had any NON-toy ideas.  She had a brilliant suggestion stating that she "wanted a popsicle maker".  I don't think she even knew that such a thing existed but, indeed, there are magical contraptions that make cool, sweet treats in minutes.

On Christmas morning the girls opened their gift from "Biznona" (Great Grandmother in Italian) and squealed in delight to see the colorful pictures of "ice pops", as they now call them, all over the box.  We tore the box open, read the instructions and, after freezing for 24 hours, we had fun making our own creations with juices and fruits.

This little, cold box makes 3 popsicles at once and can freeze up to 9 popsicles at a time before it needs to go back in the freezer.  It takes 10 minutes to whip up a healthy, yummy dessert for the kids.  You can freeze any fruit inside the Quick Pop maker but, lately, I have stuck to using a variety of juices and milks.  Here is what we have tried:
- apple juice
- orange juice
- acai berry juice
- pink lemonade
- Silk Fruit & Protein soymilk
- So Delicious Cultured Coconut Milk, strawberry flavor

The possibilities are endless...I'm thinking chocolate soymilk would be pretty yummy!

PROS: 
-Virtually no clean-up
-Drip trays on the popsicles
-You can use a wide variety of milks, juices and fruits (there is a Zoku recipe book that you can purchase separately that has some pretty impressive ideas for fresh ingredients)
-Much cheaper to make then buying boxes of popsicles
-Ready in only 10 minutes, we store the base in the freezer so we can have popsicles any time of day
-Healthy dessert option (especially if you take the time to slice up fruit to stick in them)

CONS:
-Only makes three at a time so if we have a couple of friends over they have to wait for two 10 minute sessions for their popsicles to be ready
-The Zoku maker is at the high end of the popsicle makers ($50) but there are less expensive options at Target, Wal-Mart and Amazon.com