Lower Sugar Strawberry Cream Popsicles

Cancer treatment is tough. There are good days and there are worse days. What do you do on the days when you or your loved one can’t seem to stomach anything? It is so important to provide the body with nutrients during this critical period. While popsicles certainly will not be enough to meet nutritional needs, my Lower Sugar Strawberry Cream Popsicles may be a great treat for when appetite is not there. Beyond treatment, they are just great to have on hand generally. What is amazing about these popsicles is that you can make them at home in minutes, exactly the way you like, and with boosted nutritional value. Keep reading to learn more about these delicious treats.

Why I Love Frozen Desserts

Year round, frozen desserts deserve a place in our sweets rotation. I love keeping frozen treats on-hand and even if you don’t eat them frozen like theLower Sugar Strawberry Cream Popsicles. You can keep certain foods in the freezer for ease. For example, I keep cookie dough frozen so that I can take off a piece at a time and make 1 to 2 cookies rather than an entire batch. A couple of my favorite frozen treats (aside from this new recipe!) are my green tea frozen yogurt cups and my banana split vegan ice cream.

Health Benefits of Strawberries

Strawberries are incredibly rich in vitamin C, an important antioxidant for the body. It is a precursor to collagen so it's good for the skin and wound healing. It also plays a role in keeping the immune system strong. This is a priority when dealing with cancer. Strawberries are colored so brightly, which indicates the presence of special antioxidants only found in red fruits and veggies. These special antioxidants help to fight cancer and also offer anti-inflammatory effects as well.

Ice Cream vs Sorbet

I made this recipe with ice cream – a really lovely, rich vanilla bean variety but you’ve got lots of options here, too! Use plain vanilla, French vanilla, or vanilla bean. To cut the dairy completely, try a sorbet instead. I have a new article out that explains the difference here in All Recipes.

If vanilla is not your thing or it is a flavor that you can’t seem to tolerate right now, you could instead get creative with other flavors. Consider a coconut cream, a strawberry on strawberry, or even something creative like pistachio. The sweetness in this recipe comes solely from the ice cream or sorbet so whichever you choose will serve as the flavor base for the Lower Sugar Strawberry Cream Popsicles.

Making The Lower Sugar Strawberries and Cream Pops

These are seriously easy to make and you can mix them up with different types of cream filling that suits your dietary and taste needs as well as different mix-ins for flavors and colors. I cut all the added sugar in this recipe, so you don’t have to worry too much about added sugars negatively affecting your cancer progress. The beauty of these Lower Sugar Strawberry Cream Popsicles is that you can customize them to really make them your own.

The Strawberries

Though you can make these Lower Sugar Strawberry Cream Popsicles with any type of berries, I strongly suggest strawberries. They pair so well with the creamy texture of ice cream or sorbet and it’s a perfect sweet/tart balance. Alternatively, you could add blueberries for a beautiful purple color and if you use blackberries or raspberries, I do suggest you consider adding a little extra sweetness since they’re a touch more tart.

Whether you’re growing your own strawberries, you get them at a local farmers market, or you pick them up at the store, fresh adds a nice, vibrant flavor and they’re easy to work with, prepping quickly. If you’d rather use frozen, that’s fine, too. Frozen foods maintain their nutrition very well and are often more affordable, too.

The Ice Cream

There are a lot of options here for you – ice cream, sherbet, sorbet, or even frozen yogurt. If you’re using a frozen yogurt or a regular yogurt that you’ve frozen, you may need to add a little more sugar to the berries (or the yogurt) as it may end up too tart. Yogurt has the added benefit of having gut healthy probiotics so that could be a really nice food to add for good digestion. Additionally, probiotics help to promote a healthy gut microbiota, which in turn helps to support a healthy immune system. Consider using frozen yogurt to give your immune system a little boost.

The Molds

I got these little molds online for a very affordable price. Look for 6 that come in a pack and that are silicone or flexible so you can easily push the popsicles out when they’re done. These molds are worth the cost because you’ll use them over and over again.

You have to let me know if you try these Lower Sugar Strawberry Cream Popsicles! Drop a comment below with what flavor combinations you used and how they turned out.

Ingredients

• 1 pound strawberries, hulled and quartered *about 20 medium-sized berries

• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

• 1 ½ cup vanilla ice cream, sorbet, or frozen yogurt

Instructions

1. Combine the strawberries and lemon juice in a medium saucepan. Cook them over medium heat, stirring until the fruit has broken down and is very soft, about 8 to 10 minutes.

2. Transfer the fruit mixture to a mixing bowl and refrigerate it uncovered until it's completely cooled, about 30 minutes.

3. While the fruit is cooling, set the ice cream or sorbet out on the counter to soften for about 5 to 10 minutes at room temperature. You want it to be soft and workable but not liquid.

4. Pour 1 tablespoon of fruit into the bottom of one of six, 3oz popsicle molds. Add 2 tablespoons of softened ice cream or sorbet and alternate the fruit and ice cream in layers until the molds are full.

5. Insert the popsicle sticks and freeze the molds until they're solid, at least 6 hours, or up to 3 weeks.