Keep everyone cool (and happy) with these healthy ice lollies

Our popsicle version of a smoothie has a beautiful marbled look that can be made in an array of colours. The photo features three different flavour combinations: mango and passion fruit; strawberries and raspberries; and blueberries, but you can adapt this recipe to any fruit of choice – just let your imagination run wild! If you choose a very ripe and sweet fruit, you can use a little less sweetener, or increase it if your fruit is very tart.

Marbled Smoothie Popsicles

Makes 10 popsicles

Ingredients

For the banana smoothie
2 ripe bananas, peeled
500g full-fat plain unsweetened Greek yoghurt*
2 tbsp pure maple syrup or quality raw honey
¼ tsp vanilla powder or 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the fruit smoothie
150g fresh ripe berries or fruit of choice
2 tbsp pure maple syrup or quality raw honey

For the extras
fresh ripe berries or fruit of choice, roughly chopped
nut butter
toasted nuts, roughly chopped
Coconut & Buckwheat Granola (see recipe below)
quality dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa) or raw vegan refined sugar-free chocolate, roughly chopped

Method
Roughly chop the bananas and add them to a blender along with the rest of the banana smoothie ingredients. Blend on a high speed until completely smooth.

Set aside about 350g of the banana smoothie, leaving the rest in the blender. Add all of the fruit smoothie ingredients to the blender and blend until completely smooth.

Carefully fill 10 popsicle moulds with the smoothies, alternating between the banana and fruit one to create a marbled look (you can also use the back of a teaspoon or a knife to help create this ripple effect). For an even more spectacular look and interesting texture, try adding some of the extras in the moulds between the different coloured layers.

Cover, insert the popsicle sticks and set in the freezer for at least 4 hours until completely firm or overnight. They can keep in the freezer for days, weeks, months, years… (but secretly, you know they won’t!).

* For a vegan alternative, try replacing the yoghurt with full-fat plain unsweetened coconut yoghurt or milk.

Tip: We found our popsicle moulds on Amazon, but if you don’t have any, mini paper cups with popsicle sticks or teaspoons inserted in the middle work well too.

Coconut & Buckwheat Granola
What we love about this granola, apart from its “coconutty” flavour, is the crunchy clusters it forms when baked. This granola is ideal on top of our smoothie bowls or simply sprinkled on yoghurt. We tend not to make our granola too sweet, but feel free to add an extra dash of maple syrup if you wish.

Makes 875g

Ingredients
150g mixed raw nuts and seeds*
400g rolled oats (choose certified gluten-free if allergic)
100g raw buckwheat
80g buckwheat flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp sea salt
125ml cold-pressed coconut oil
5 tbsp pure maple syrup
¼ tsp vanilla powder or 1 tsp vanilla extract
125ml filtered water
50g coconut chips

Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6 and line a baking tray with parchment paper. Add the dry ingredients (apart from the coconut chips) to a large bowl. Stir until well mixed and set aside. Melt the coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla in a saucepan on a low heat. Stir through the water and then pour over the dry ingredients. Mix until well combined.

Extracted from Green Kitchen Smoothies by David Frenkiel & Luise Vindahl (Hardie Grant, approx €14). Photography © David Frenkiel.