Life, Gluten Free

Creamy Strawberry Popsicles (dairy free)

These creamy popsicles were a big hit in my house! Even though it's not really summer here at all. It's pretty much been raining for a couple months. But, my daughter loves popsicles and will eat them any time of the year. 

Strawberries are in season so this is a great recipe to make. All you need is strawberries, maple syrup and coconut milk! I used my Vitamix but you could use any blender.

Ingredients:

1 can of organic full fat coconut milk

1/4 cup maple syrup

8 big organic strawberries - plus extra to cut into chunks

Directions:

Add coconut milk, maple syrup and strawberries to blender. Blend until well mixed.

Pour into your favorite popsicle molds and add some strawberry chunks for extra flavor and fun.

Freeze overnight.

Sophie said she really liked that I put strawberry chunks in the popsicles :)

Enjoy on a rainy or sunny day!

Jolly Llama Dairy-Free Popsicle Giveaway!

Have you heard of Jolly Llama Popsicles? They are gluten-free, dairy-free and free of peanuts and tree nuts. We love them! They are also non-gmo!

Sophie went to horse camp this year and when it was really hot out, the counslers handed out popsicles to the kids. We bought Jolly Llama popsicles so that she could also have a popsicle at the end of the day!

They are creamy and taste great. Sophie's two favorite flavors are pineapple coconut and mango.

Jolly Llama currently offers these 5 flavors: Strawberry, Raspberry, Mango, Pineapple Coconut and Banana Coconut.

We love sharing them with friends and neighbors too.

Want to win a free box of Jolly Llama Popsicles? Head on over to Facebook and "Like" my Life, Gluten Free page. Comment on my post about Jolly Llama to win! What flavor would you choose?

*If you don't have facebook, you can comment on my blog to be entered to win! 

Giveaway is open until Wednesday August 20th. Good luck! :)

Visit Jolly Llama to find your local store that carries them.

Jolly Llama is made in a facility that does NOT process or contain any tree nuts, peanuts, soy, wheat, or eggs.

 

Peach & Tangerine Popsicles

A few weeks ago we made these peach & tangerine popsicles. They were a huge hit!

So to make these - Sophie juiced a bunch of organic murcott tangerines, saving some in a mason jar to drink.

The rest we poured into the vitamix to make these creamy popsicles.

Ingredients:

1 can organic unsweetened coconut milk (we use thai kitchen, 13.66 ounches)

2 organic tangerines, juiced

3 organic peaches

4 tablespoons raw honey

Directions:

Juice the tangerines and chop the peaches.

Add all the ingredients to a blender.

Blend well and add to popsicle molds. 

Freeze until done, then eat all you want! :)

Coconut Lime Popsicles

Spring is here and with it, warmer days! I've been wanting to make something with lime and every time I go to our natural grocers, I see limes and I want to buy them.

And at random times, I have the coconut song stuck in my head by Harry Nilsson.

Doesn't this happen to anyone else?

Put the lime in the coconut and drink 'em both together,
Put the lime in the coconut, and you'll feel better

Thanks to both Harry Nilsson and my urge to buy limes, I came up with this quick popsicle recipe that Sophie has really been enjoying.

Coconut Lime Popsicles

 Makes 6

free of: dairy, soy, gluten, eggs, tree-nuts

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup organic coconut flakes

1 can organic coconut milk (full fat, 13.66 ounces)

7 tablespoons fresh squeezed organic lime juice (about 5 limes)

1/2 cup organic maple syrup

Directions:

Add coconut flakes to high-powered blender and blend briefly until the flakes are very fine shreds (almost a powdery consistency).

Add coconut milk, maple syrup and lime juice.

Blend just enough to mix the ingredients.

Add to popsicle molds, and freeze for 4-6 hours or until frozen completely.

* You can buy finely shredded coconut in place of the coconut flakes, but that's what I had on hand this time. Larger flakes would be good in the popsicle too, but would add a different texture.

Coconut Cream Popsicles

These were a big hit, I barely got to get any photos of them before they were gone. We will definitely make them again, and next time perhaps add some vanilla bean powder - not that they even really need it.

It's still hot outsie, if you haven't noticed. Too hot.

Coconut Cream Popsicles

no: dairy, tree-nuts, soy

Ingredients:

1 can organic coconut cream (full fat, we use thai kitchen which is 13.66 ounces)

1/4 cup water

1 cup organic finely shredded coconut (we use tropical traditions)

2 heaping tablespoons raw honey

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

Directions:

Add coconut milk and water to a sauce pan.

Warm on medium heat, stirring in honey.

Allow honey to completely melt, continually stirring.

Add cinnamon, if you choose.

Remove from heat and add shredded coconut, mixing well with a spoon or a whisk.

Pour into popsicle molds and freeze! 

The dog days of summer

"Dog Days" (Latin: diēs caniculārēs) are the hottest, most sultry days of summer. (wikipedia)

I don't know about you, but the weather here sure has been hot lately.

I-sure-hope-fall-comes-early kind of hot.

Mom-please-can-I-have-a-popsicle kind of hot.

Luckily for my daughter, I've been enjoying expirementing with our new popsicle molds!

A good popsicle mold must have these qualifying specifications:

BPA-FREE

Easy to clean

Easy to store in the freezer

Fun

Groovy

Pink

The ones we have now almost fit the following requirements, minus the pink. So, we got yellow instead.. which is pretty too. Tovolo Groovy Yellow Popsicle Molds are easy to clean, but they do take up a lot of room in the freezer. 

This is what I do: once the popsicles have become fully frozen (4-6 hours) then I take them all and place them in a plastic bag, minus the yellow stand. I do still keep them in their individual sleeves.

My daughter's favorite popsicles, that I have created so far, are definitely the plum coconut cream ones. (pictured above).

The first day we received the popsicle molds, we had to make some.

I decided to do something rather simple with the first batch and so we cut up some bananas and grapes. We tossed them into the sleeves and pushed them down towards the bottom. I added coconut water to three of the popsicle sleeves, and then for the other half I pureed a coconut milk and banana mixture. 

You know you make good popsicles when all six of them are gone before a week goes by. Earlier this week I made a Coconut Cream Popsicle (with shredded coconut, sounds good right?) I know you're sitting on the edge of your seat. It is Sophie-approved, and the recipe will soon be in a google-reader near you.