Thursday, June 21, 2012

~Sweet {Sugarless} Treats~

Sugar and my daughter just do not mix well. We have been avoiding anything sweetened with sugar, as well as anything with lots of natural sweeteners, and our household has been happier for it. :) However, just because I've nixed the sugar does not mean I've eliminated treats!

Chocolate-Banana Pop

Chocolate-Banana Pops
(makes 4 freezer pops)
2 bananas
2 T. cocoa powder
1/2 cup milk

Put all ingredients in a blender, and blend until smooth. Pour into popsicle molds and freeze. Enjoy!

This is a great chocolaty treat and you won't even miss the sugar! I love to see my daughter's happy face smeared with chocolate and know that I won't be dealing with a sugar crash within the next half hour!

Juice Pops
Pour juice into freezer molds and freeze.

On a hot day these melt fast!


Purple Cow Pop
Purple Cow Pops
Mix equal amounts of yogurt and grape juice, pour into molds and freeze. I used unsweetened yogurt, so these were slightly tangy and but still sweet. I liked them, and my dd did eat them, but she wasn't enthralled with them. If I make them again I'll probably add a little honey to the yogurt, or use less yogurt. Her favorites are the chocolate-banana pops!

Banana-on-a-Stick
Slice bananas in half, and stick a wooden popsicle stick about halfway up the middle. Freeze...and enjoy!

Banana "Ice Cream"
This one-ingredient "ice cream" is all over Pinterest. My parents have been making this since I was 6 years old! I have a Champion Juicer so I just run frozen bananas through the juicer. But if you don't have a Champion, look up the directions for other options. It tastes delicious and even my husband likes it as a treat! You can also add cocoa powder for a chocolate version.

Smoothies
For smoothies I just eyeball the amounts. I use a variety of fruits and usually do yogurt, a banana, a frozen fruit, and another fresh fruit if I have it on hand. Tip: to make a smoothie for one person, use a narrow-mouth pint jar and fill half-way with the smoothie ingredients. The blender blades will fit on the jar so you can use the jar to blend and drink from.

Most of these involve bananas...I'd say we're getting our potassium this summer! :)

What are your favorite no-sugar sweet treats? Do share! I'd love to add more variety to our front-porch summer treats! :)