Celebrate Summer with Hidden Veggie Popsicles

In our house, summer doesn’t mean the learning stops… but it does look a lot different than during the school year. One of the best places for learning at home? The kitchen! Cooking with kids teaches so many amazing lessons  – from life, math, science, and more –it makes our kitchen the site of endless summer fun. This month, we made Hidden Veggie Popsicles in colors to match our favorite Learning Resources Alphabet Popsicles.

Cooking with Kids Using Nature’s Rainbow

The best part of summer is the produce. The colors, smell, and tastes of nature’s rainbow are at their most vibrant this time of year. And don’t let this spread fool you – while my kids love fruit, I’d basically given up on getting them to eat vegetables.

But after matching their Alphabet Popsicles to this beautiful rainbow, I asked if they wanted to try to make popsicles in colors to match… they eagerly agreed, even if that meant slipping a few hidden veggies into the popsicles too.

Hidden Veggie Popsicle Recipes

Homemade popsicles are so easy to make – and kids love them. All you need is a good mold, a blender, and your freezer. We made four different hidden veggie popsicle recipes – Yellow, Green, Hot Pink, and Burgundy. Each recipe makes ten popsicles.

Yellow Hidden Veggie Popsicles

1 nectarine

1 cup cantaloupe, cubed

2 small golden beets, steamed and peeled or 2 carrots

Juice from 1 lime

1 cup water with dissolved gelatin

Green Hidden Veggie Popsicles

2 cups kale, chopped

6 kiwis, peeled

6-8 large mint leaves

Juice from 1 lime

1 cup water with dissolved gelatin

Hot Pink Veggie Popsicles

4-6 large strawberries

2 small red beets, steamed and peeled

2 cups watermelon, cubed

Juice from 1 lime1 cup water with dissolved gelatin

Burgundy Hidden Veggie Popsicles

2 cups blueberries

2 purple carrots, steamed or 1 red beet, steamed and peeled

Juice from 1 lime

1 cup water with dissolved gelatin

For each recipe, add all fruits and vegetables to a blender. Dissolve unflavored gelatin in water as directed, then add to blender. The gelatin, while optional, keeps the popsicles from dripping when they melt!

Fill your popsicle molds with your mixture, cover, and freeze overnight.

Summer Brain Drain Ends in the Kitchen

While making popsicles, my toddler worked on matching colors, while my 3-year-old learned to name new fruits, vegetables, and herbs. My rising kindergartener worked on her math skills, measuring out ingredients – and her early literacy skills, as she helped record our recipes.

And best of all? They were all more than happy to sample their work. Hidden veggie popsicles - the perfect, healthy treat, to beat the heat all summer.