Hi Everyone,
Happy Saturday to you! Since we went from 60’s to 90’s, it has been feeling like summer around here, but I am sure you can tell that from this weeks posts. So with all of the hot weather were having and the summer mood I am in I decided it was time for popsicles!
I bought a 3lbs. watermelon about a week ago from Trader Joe’s and I wasn’t sure what to do with it and with the heat I thought it would be perfect to make popsicles with it! So I cute up the melon, threw it in my food processor and had the sweetest juice. I felt I didn’t need to add any sugar to it, but if you happen to have a watermelon that wasn’t sweet, I recommend adding a little bit of honey to it. I was actually surprised how sweet the melon is, since it’s not water melon season.
I happen to snag a few 8oz plastic cups from work, and I filled my cups with my pink juice. But I needed to add a little more to my pops and since I happen to have a bazillion strawberries, I thought I would throw a few into my watermelon pops. It worked out perfect. Add a popsicle stick that I picked up from Michaels and in the freezer they went.
It wasn’t even four hours and my Husband was digging in the freezer for a popsicle. They most definitely quench your thirst and perfect for a hot evening. If your worried about seeds, don’t be. My watermelon was seedless, but there were still a few seeds in it. I didn’t want to take them all out so I processed them in my blender with the watermelon and when you eat the popsicle you don’t even notice. But if you don’t like seeds at all, you can always strain your watermelon juice. I am purely to lazy for that!
- 1 3 lbs watermelon
- 8 medium strawberries, cut in slices
- Peel watermelon from the rhine and roughly chop. Place watermelon in a blender and process until no more chunks remain. I got 3½ cups of watermelon juice. If the watermelon is not sweet enough you can add a pinch of stevia or honey. My watermelon had some tiny seeds in it, I left them in, if you don't like seeds, I recommend straining your watermelon juice. Please note: You do not notice the seeds at all!
- Evenly divide the watermelon between 4 8oz. freezer safe cups. Do not over flow the cups, you want to leave room for the strawberries and stick. Drop in strawberry slices and other berries if you would like. I used a skewer to push the strawberries down into the cup. Add a Popsicle stick and place in freezer for at least 4 hours or longer.
- To eat, remove popsicle from freezer, and leave at room temperature for 5 minutes or run the popsicle under warm water. Don't pull to hard on the stick or it may come out.
I know it seems a little early in the season for watermelon, but I love my frozen treats and watermelon is one of my favorite summer fruit, plus it really does cool you off in the hot heat.
Also, one last thing about watermelon, it has natural electrolytes in it to help keep you hydrated, plus it’s full of potassium, and is great for weight loss since it contains fiber, its low calorie and less then a gram of fat. It’s the perfect all around fruit!!
Now time for this weeks links:
Map my Fitness – This is a cool page, it calculates your BMI, plus it calculates the calories your burned doing an activity. I have been using it to calculate the calorie burned on a bike.
Shape Magazine – 10 Healthy Alcohol Infused Recipes, and my recipe for my Tequila Lime Shrimp Tacos is on the list! he he Perfect for Cinco De Mayo
Foodie by Glam – The Spring Flavor edition cookbook for the iPad app is now available for download for FREE – Two of my recipes are on in the online cookbook, Berry Popover Pancakes and Strawberry Avocado Salad with Strawberry Balsamic Dressing. I just haven’t seen it yet, because I can’t figure how to download it. I think I can get it on my iPhone? Right? Or do I need an iPad? All this app stuff is new to me. If you know, let me know! If you see my two recipes, let me know how they look.
From Foodista, the Long Term Effect of Fast Food. I really stay away from Fast Food, even though every once in a while I crave McDonalds French Fries, I just think, it will go to my thighs and then I walk away. Here is a chart to show you some of the effects. I love this kind of stuff!!
If your into over the top swimming pools, here is a post from Huffington Post with some pretty cool looking pools! When I win the lottery, I’m going to have one made for me!! 🙂 Maybe shaped like a big pepper!
Now that we went to pools, we better watch the effects of the sun. I was a sun goddess up until a few years ago, when I had to have several and I mean several moles removed to be checked for skin cancer. It was scary, and now I protect myself, by wearing sunblock and a big hat when I’m in the yard working. PLEASE protect yourself, get those moles looked at. Skin Cancer is the most visible cancer and the easiest to prevent and treat if you catch it in time. So I am giving you a link to WebMD on what to look for in moles. I LOVE the sun, but I must protect my skin and my life! If you need to be tan, get spray tanned, that’s what I do now!
Now for this weeks weekly recap!
Sunday: Pink Lemonade – This is a wonderful and refreshing drink, made with lemon juice and cranberry juice. Only 10 calories a cup. It’s guilt-free and so perfect to quench that thirst!
Monday: Sauza Rita – This is such a fun and easy drink to make. A different twist to a margarita, but I’ll admit it’s a strong drink.
Tuesday: Strawberry Cream Mousse – I love this dessert! It’s creamy, fresh and so easy to make! I just love Trader Joe’s Coconut Cream, I already have a can of it in the fridge. Not sure what I am going to make with it this week?
Wednesday: Mediterranean Grilled Chicken – This is a simple chicken dish, so full of flavor! I had a little bit of the salsa left over and had it on my salad the next night.
Thursday: Grilled Top Sirloin with Strawberry Salsa – I can’t get enough strawberries, which is probably pretty apparent this week. I am just on a strawberry kick, eventually I’ll get sick of them, nah, probably not! lol I promise to go easier on the strawberry recipes the next couple of weeks.
Friday: Skinny Strawberry Margarita – This is one of my favorite summer time drinks. I don’t drink a lot of alcohol, but if I do chose to have it, it would be in a drink like this one. Guilt-free, full of strawberries and only 104 calories for two big cups!!
After looking back this week, I didn’t realize until now, I had three drinks for you. That’s what happens when it hits the mid 90’s and we were not prepared for it. My Husband and I were so hot, thirsty, and not very hungry. We debated about turning the air on, but skipped it. Now it’s going to be a bit more comfortable, 70’s this week, so that means I can turn the oven back on! Yah, I can bake!!
Have a great weekend everyone!!
Toodles,
Jennifer
P.S. This weeks craving is Veggie Garden Egg Bake. Yum! I have all of the ingredients, and I need to make it this weekend!!
Strawberry Chicken Salad
Lemon Loaf (Starbucks Copycat)
Apple Crumb Bars
Vanilla Chia Seed Pudding
Yum, what a delicious week, love those popsicles with watermelon, I’m sure they must be so refreshing on a hot California day!
Thanks Chris! We loved the Popsicles and the day I made them it was in the 90’s which is an oddity, so they were refreshing!!