Guest Post: Strawberry Lemonade Popsicles

Today I have a guest post from Starlene of GAPS Diet Journey. Starlene and I have been on GAPS for about the same amount of time and have become friends. She has a fantastic book full of GAPS legal recipes called Beyond Grain and Dairy as well as a book about Baking with Coconut Flour and her newest book of deserts called Everybody Loves Pudding. Not only are all of her recipes grain free and GAPS legal but they are also all diary free as well. I’m sure you will love this simple and festive looking recipe.

I have not calculated the oxalate content for each popsicle but the only ingredient to be worried about at all is the Strawberries. Since they are just a small part of this small treat my estimation is that each of these popsicles is quite low oxalate and even eating 2 of them would probably be fine on a low oxalate diet.

Enjoy~ PattyLA

Has summer arrived where you live? It has with a vengeance here in Arizona. When it gets this hot one of the sweetest ways to cool down is to eat a popsicle. I’m not talking about your run of the mill commercially processed, sugar laden, artificially colored and flavored popsicle. I’m talking about a real food popsicle made with healthy ingredients that tastes good and also contains a secret ingredient: gelatin. Why the gelatin? Well, I thought it would be one more way to sneak goodness in. Patty says this about gelatin in her e-book Broth Elixir of Life:

“Gelatin is not just nutritious, but has also been found to be very healing in the digestive tract. This healing is why gelatin is emphasized so much in the GAPS Diet. In fact it is one of the foundational parts of that healing diet and is begun from the first day.”

The powdered gelatin I used is Bernard Jensen’s. I have never used gelatin in popsicles before, but I am planning to continue because there is not only the nutritional aspect but the gelatin adds a smooth and silky mouth feel to these popsicles.

I am totally in love with the Tovolo brand popsicle molds. They are BPA-free which makes them even more awesome! One of the things I like most about the Rocket Pops is that they only hold 2.5 ounces in each mold. It looks like you are getting this huge popsicle and it seems to last forever but there is really only a very small amount. This helps a lot for me with my son Matthew because he feels like he is getting to splurge when he can have two popsicles.

This recipe makes 2 cups of Strawberry Lemonade which will fill six Tovolo Rocket Pop Molds. I used 1 tablespoon and 2 teaspoons of Tropical Traditions raw honey but you can use more or less depending on you and your family’s tastes, plus maybe your strawberries will be sweeter than mine were when I made these. These popsicles are a slightly sweet and mildy tart - refreshing and delicious on a hot summer day!

Strawberry Lemonade Popsicles

• 6 large strawberries (about 6 ounces worth)
• 3 tablespoons hot water
• 1 tablespoon powdered gelatin
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about two lemons, juiced)
• 1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons raw honey (sweeten to taste)
• water

1. Rinse strawberries in cool water. Remove stems and core.
2. Mash strawberries until they are puréed into small bits using a potato masher.
3. Add 2 teaspoons of honey to sweeten, if necessary.
4. In a small cup add the hot water and gelatin. Stir until dissolved.
5. Add the dissolved gelatin to the strawberries.
6. Squeeze the lemons to harvest 3 tablespoons of juice and add to the strawberries.
7. Add water until you have a total of 1-3/4 cups.
8. Add honey to taste.
9. Add water until you have a total of 2 cups of liquid.

If you are using the Tovolo molds, press each mold upright into the base. Fill just below the top and set the handle on top. Freeze overnight for best results.

One important tip: When you place the handles into the popsicles, do not press them down. Just let them sit lightly on top of the mold. If you do they will be extremely hard to remove once they are frozen. I have done this more than once and keep forgetting because it feels so natural to just push the handle down until it snaps into place.

To remove the popsicles, run under warm water for a minute or two and try pulling on the handle. If you try before they are completely frozen the handle may pop out without the popsicle. If this happens, just fill the inside with water, re-insert the handle and allow to freeze completely. Also, be sure to rinse the popsicle molds and handles as soon as the popsicle is eaten as the molds are tricky to clean if the juice dries inside. Soak in warm soapy water if that happens.

Enjoy!

Starlene is the author of GAPS Diet Journey, where she chronicles her journey to health on the GAPS Diet and explores other healing modalities compatible with GAPS. Starlene has written three e-books: Beyond Grain & Dairy, Baking with Coconut Flour and Everyone Loves Pudding. You can keep up with Starlene through her blog, and connect with her on Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter.