7 Popsicles For #Ramadan2016 Summer

Ramadan is visiting us again this Summer (alhamdulillah). While you may buy ice creams to stay cool, try to simplify by making dessert at home. It's healthier, cheaper and more 'conscious' food. Here's seven powerful popsicles from Pinterest mostly made from fruit (see my Ramadan Recipe board) for a hydrating Iftar. Hurray!

Encourage yourself towards a 'eat less, eat better' criteria for Ramadan, which, by the way, is like 5% about food and 95% about communicating to Allah but you still gotta eat happy in this heat, right?

1. Mango Lassi Popsicle

Ingredients:  *As a rough estimate, 1 cup = 200g/ 8 fluid ounces / 250ml
• Thick Greek Yoghurt   • 11oz (large) can Mango Nectar Concentrate/Puree   • 1 ripe mango, peeled and chopped   • 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom   • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon   • 1 level tablespoon crystallised ginger, chopped   • 1/2 cup chopped pistachios

Method: Blend all together except pistachios until smooth. Pour into your popsicle mould. Sprinkle pistachios on top and insert popsicle sticks. Freeze for 4-5 hours.

TWEAKS! Swap yoghurt for any milk, omit nuts if allergic, squeeze in a whole orange for tang, sprinkle in green tea powder (crushed tea leaves).

Image + original recipe A Spicy Perspective

2. Fruit Salad Popsicle

Ingredients: • 1/2 cup fresh blueberries/ripe blackcurrants   • 1/2 cup chopped fresh strawberries/raspberries   • 1 kiwi, peeled and thinly sliced   • 1 peach or nectarine, diced small   • Grape/apple juice or any clear juice

Method: Stack your fruit into the moulds by first pressing the larger fruits to the sides of each mould then tumbling smaller pieces on top. Fill to the brim with the juice. Add in sticks, freeze for up to 4-5 hrs then pop'em out.

TWEAKS! Omit the juice and gently stir the entire fruit salad into liquid watermelon puree before pouring into moulds. Or, for a kids' themed Iftar, use sugar free lemonade. Here's how I make my lemonade for curing headaches.

Watch how to layer the fruit on Everyday Food's YouTube channel.

3. Rainbow popcsicle

Ingredients:
• FOR THE RED LAYER - 1 frozen banana, 1/2 cup greek yoghurt, 1/2 cup frozen raspberries, 1/2 cup frozen strawberries, water or liquid for blending
• THE ORANGE LAYER - 1 frozen banana, 1/2 cup greek yoghurt, 1/2 cup frozen peaches, 1 small orange, 1/4 cup frozen mango, little water for blending
• YELLOW LAYER - 2 frozen bananas, 1/2 cup greek yoghurt, 1 cup frozen pineapple, water
• GREEN LAYER - 2 frozen bananas, 1/2 cup greek yoghurt, 1 handful (or more) spinach, 1 cup frozen pineapple, water or liquid
• BLUE LAYER - 2 frozen bananas, 1/2 cup blueberries, 1/2 cup greek yoghurt, 1 cup frozen pineapple, 2-3 drops of vegetarian blue food coloring, water
• PURPLE LAYER - 1 frozen banana, 1/2 cup greek yoghurt, 1 cup frozen mixed berries, water
• MAGENTA LAYER - 1 frozen banana, 1/2 cup greek yoghurt, 1/2 cup sliced beets, 1 cup frozen strawberries or raspberries

Method: Blend each 'colour' consecutively in a blender or processor. First spoon the red layer into each popsicle mould, wash out your blender before blitzing the next 'colour'. Spoon the remaining in order, add the sticks and freeze for 6 hours.

TWEAKS! If you want straighter sections freeze each coloured fruit layer before spooning the next - that does take longer and I preferred the gradient fruit effects. Replace fruits with vegetables for like-for-like colour e.g. swapping oranges for carrots, if you want to introduce more veg.

Image + recipe + First Year Blog

4. Almond Milk Popsicle

Ingredients: • 1.5 cups/8 fluid ounces Almond Milk   • 1 cup plain greek yoghurt   • 1/2 cup smooth almond butter (next to the peanut butter...)   • 2 ripe bananas   • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
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FOR THE CHOCOLATE DIP: 12 ounces dark chocolate, 2 tablespoons coconut oil, 1 cup roasted almonds, finely ground

Method: Blend all the ingredients together until smooth, creamy and a little frothy. Let it settle then pour into the popsicle mould. Tap to remove air bubbles. Freeze for 4-5 hours.

TWEAKS! Swap almond milk for soy milk or goat's milk; instead of almond butter try organic hazelnut or peanut butter. You can even make your own by simply processing 3-4 cups of nuts for 5minutes until its of smooth consistency. Tip: Roast the nuts first.
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FOR THE CHOCOLATE DIP: Melt the chocolate and oil in a bowl and stir until glossily smooth; let it cool slightly. Take out each popsicle and immediately spoon a small amount of chocolate on the top or dip each one into the bowl, tap off excess then sprinkle almonds over. To be honest, this can be eaten straight away provided the chocolate isn't hot, otherwise place each popsicle onto a tray lined with baking paper and freeze for 20mins. THEN EAT.

Image + recipe + The Harvest Kitchen

5. Green Smoothie Popsicle

Ingredients:
• RED LAYER - 1 cup frozen raspberries and red currants, 1/4 cup water, 1 tablespoon chia seeds* (or any other *superfood seed e.g. flax, pumpkin seeds, poppy seeds).
• GREEN LAYER - 1 banana, 1 apple, peeled and roughly chopped, 1 orange, peeled, 1 kiwi, peeled, 1/4 pineapple, peeled and roughly chopped, 2-3 hand full fresh spinach, 3 dried dates or 1 dried fig, 1 passion fruit, 1 tablespoon chia seeds, 1 tablespoon flax seeds, 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, 3/4 cup water.

Method: Blend the red layer first and spoon to fill one-third of the mould. It's okay if the mixture is thick or 'seedy', it's meant to be. Wash out your blender then blitz up the green layer and spoon into each mould until full. Add the lids/sticks and freeze for 4-5 hours. Run the mould under warm water to release free.

TWEAKS! If allergic, omit all the seeds. For nutrition and colour add kale, spinach and lime zest for the green layer; add tomatoes and strawberries together for the red layer. It actually tastes lovely.

Image + recipe + Vegan Heaven

6. Three-Ingredient Strawberry Popsicle

Ingredients: 1) 4 cups fresh strawberries, hulled. 2) 1 lime, zested, peeled and sliced. 3) 1/4th cup raw honey (not a purified blend, please).

Method: Blend altogether. Pour into mould, add the sticks and freeze for 3-4 hours.

TWEAKS! If the berries are out of season and not very sweet, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of icing sugar (that's confectioner's sugar to you Americans) over them before blending.

Other 3-ingredient combinations include in season fruit: RASPBERRY-BLUEBERRY-GREEN TEA, MELON-ORANGE-LEMON, MILK-PISTACHIO-ROOH AFZA (Google this).

Image + recipe + No Biggie, who also has a YouTube video for making this 3-ingredient treat.

7. Orange & Carrot Popsicle

Ingredients:
• 6 oranges, peeled (remove all the white pith too)   • 3/4 cup chopped carrots   • 3 tablespoons brown sugar   • 2 tablespoons honey   • Juice of half a lemon

Method: Blend all together for a few minutes until smooth. Pour into moulds and freeze as usual for 3-4 hours.

TWEAKS! This recipe works beautiful with Pink Lady apples. Just peel 3 apples and push them through your juicer with the carrots before blending with oranges.

Image + recipe + EatWell101

May Allah bless you this Ramadan and have mercy on you.

Zaufishan, The Eco Muslim

More Ramadan Stuff
+ Healthy Ramadan Recipes e-Book
+ What To Eat During Ramadan
+ Tips For Fasting Greener At Work